Free eBook: Microsoft Office 365: Connect and Collaborate Virtually Anywhere, Anytime

Free eBook: Microsoft Office 365: Connect and Collaborate Virtually Anywhere, Anytime

We are very excited to announce that we are able to offerMicrosoft Office 365: Connect and Collaborate Virtually Anywhere, Anytime (ISBN 9780735656949), by Katherine Murray, as a free eBook.

For details on this book, including the Table of Contents, see our previous blog post here.

To download your free PDF eBook, click here. Updates to this eBook, as well as additional eBook formats, will become available in the future, so check this blog for updates.

To download an EPUB or a MOBI version of this eBook, click here.

Introduction (excerpt)

Let’s hear it for freedom. Freedom from your desk. Freedom from those ­boring managers’ meetings. Freedom to work anywhere, with anyone, anytime, on almost any device. Sounds good, right?

Office 365 is Microsoft’s smart and simple answer to cloud computing. Using the various programs in Office 365, you can do all the tasks you’re used to doing in your favorite Office applications—write documents, create presentations, check email, manage your calendar, crunch numbers, and more—and then share what you create in real time on a team site, design and publish a website, and even create and host live online meetings while you’re traveling on the train, sitting in a coffee shop, or dialing in on your phone.

This book shows you how you can use cloud computing—and ­specifically, ­Office 365—to get more done, collaborate more easily, and work more ­flexibly than you ever have before. From the necessary how-tos about ­creating and administering your Office 365 account and working with the various Office 365 programs to sharing files with your team, creating a team site, using Office Web Apps, and holding online meetings, you’ll discover how easy it is to work online and off, accessing and sharing your files whenever you need to. After you learn about each of the core programs, you can try strategies for building successful teams, and get some good ideas on practical ways you can put all this cloud power to work.

Who This Book Is For

Microsoft Office 365: Connect and Collaborate Virtually Anywhere, Anytime is all about cloud solutions for small businesses, focusing on the core software services (Microsoft Exchange Online, Microsoft SharePoint Online, Office Web Apps, and Microsoft Lync), and demonstrating ways you can create, manage, and lead teams effectively using the communications and collaborative online tools.

You’ll find helpful ideas and solutions in Office 365 if you

· Own or work in a small business and want to be flexible where and when you work.

· Need to collaborate with others near or far.

· Want to store and work with files online from any point you have web access.

· Lead a team online or face to face.

What Is Cloud Computing?

The phrase cloud computing brings to mind for me the feeling of stretching out on a hillside on a summer day while my sons pointed out the animals and shapes they saw in the clouds above. Cloud computing is a little like that—the ability of your technology to take on the shape you need for the type of ­project you need to accomplish. Want to put together a project team? You can do that in the cloud so that team members all over the globe can ­collaborate and communicate easily. Need to create a meeting space for your regional sales reps? You can create a team site for everyone in the cloud, ­using web ­servers and software, and you can enable every person to log in from any point they have access to the web.

So where is this cloud? The real definition of the phrase cloud ­computing ­simply means the ability to access files and applications online through ­multiple devices—your ­computer, browser, or phone. Microsoft has already been offering cloud services through the web in various ways:

· Windows Live SkyDrive is one of the Windows Live Services, a free ­web-based ­application that enables you to save, store, organize, and share files easily.

· Microsoft Office Web Apps are available for Word 2010, PowerPoint 2010, Excel 2010, and OneNote 2010, making it possible for you to save and work with your Office files online and collaborate with other authors. Office 2010 Web Apps are free to registered Office 2010 users.

· Microsoft Office Live Small Business is a web-based suite of services that enable you to create and market a website, communicate with others by email and instant messaging, and store and share files online. The basic services are free, and you can add specialty features for a monthly fee.

· Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) is a suite of ­messaging and communications programs designed to provide the kind of collaboration support companies need. BPOS includes ­Microsoft Exchange Online, Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Office ­Communications Online, and Office Live Meeting, all for a monthly, per-user fee.

The best news about cloud computing for you as an end user is the added flexibility the services offer you, without additional investment in either hardware or software. You can simply use your web browser—which is open anyway, right?—to get to the files you need to work with, make any changes, and save and share the files as you see fit.

The great thing about cloud computing for companies is that it enables them to expand the services they offer both staff and customers without ­adding to their own hardware infrastructure. Web services enable companies to connect workers and make collaboration possible on a global scale without adding servers, setting up datacenters, and more. The environment is secure, ­flexible, and expandable to accommodate as many users as businesses need to ­support.

Introducing Office 365

Microsoft Office 365 is Microsoft’s latest venture into cloud computing, ­bringing ­together tried-and-true programs that make communicating and collaboration ­natural online. Office 365 includes Microsoft Exchange Online for email and scheduling, ­Microsoft SharePoint Online for sharing files and creating team sites, and Microsoft Lync Online for instant messaging and ­online meeting. Office 365 mixes the capabilities of those programs with cloud versions of Office Professional Plus programs.

What Cloud Computing Means for You

Office 365 makes using Office in the cloud a simple, natural, and affordable way to make the most of services you are already familiar with, in ways that easily extend the ­technology you are probably already using. Sound too good to be true? It’s not. ­Office 365 enables you to easily and naturally

· Collaborate globally in real time.

· Use programs you already know.

· Create a virtual office where you can work with information securely while you’re on the go.

· Use your PC, browser, or phone interchangeably.

· Keep your information secure.

· Keep your hardware costs down.

· Use multiple devices to access and work with files.

· Create a shared team site.

· Boost productivity by making it easy for people to work together.

· Give users instant access to each other with presence technology and instant ­messaging.

· Incorporate social networking in your team communication.

Office 365 Versions

Because different types of organizations and businesses have different needs, three ­different versions of Office 365 are available for end users. These three versions are

· Office 365 for small businesses Small businesses and professionals who don’t have large IT requirements will find just the set of tools they need in Office 365 for small businesses. This version is easy to try (free for 30 days) and then low-cost ($6 per user per month at the time of this book’s publication), and it offers businesses Office Web Apps, Microsoft SharePoint Online, Microsoft Exchange Online, and Microsoft Lync for instant messaging and online meetings.

· Office 365 for enterprises Enterprises have larger-scale IT needs than small businesses or individuals, requiring software that can handle a large number of email accounts, messages, and attachments; provide guaranteed uptime; offer reporting and support options; and deliver Active Directory features that enable a single sign-in for end users. ­Office 365 for enterprises offers all these features and adds on to standard BPOS services to extend the collaboration and online meeting capabilities. Office 365 for enterprises also offers flexible plans so that businesses of different sizes can tailor the features to get just the kind of cloud support they need.

· Office 365 for education Educational users face a unique set of challenges—they need to provide students with access to the latest software possible, but they have to do it on a shoestring (and perhaps diminishing) budget. Cloud-based services can help users in education save money and give students the tools they need to create projects, collaborate in real time, and learn how to use software in the cloud.

What Does Office 365 Add to BPOS?

Microsoft Business Productivity Online Standard Suite, also known as BPOS, has 40 million users all over the world. This highly successful online software suite offers communication and collaboration ­features that make it easy to connect in real time and work together on ­projects large and small.

Office 365 for enterprises extends the features of BPOS by adding Microsoft Lync for instant messaging and online meetings, Outlook Web App for management of email and scheduling, Office Web Apps, and the ability to create reports and administer the account through a web-based dashboard. The educational version of Office 365 also includes the latest version of Microsoft Live@Edu, which ­offers cloud solutions to thousands of schools and millions of students around the globe.

A Quick Roadmap

Microsoft Office 365: Connect and Collaborate Virtually Anywhere, Anytime is organized in three parts to help you learn about different aspects of setting up and ­working with Office 365.

Part I, “Finding Your Place in the Cloud,” takes a look at the way people are working in the cloud today and introduces you to Office 365. Chapter 1 looks closely at teams, both inside and outside the office environment, and it takes a look at the way Office 365 offers a greener choice for small businesses. Chapter 2 shows you how to create an Office 365 account and set up a profile, and it gives you a big-picture tour of Office 365 so that you can begin planning just what you want to do with the tools. Chapter 3 is for the team manager or person who will be managing the Office 365 site; you’ll learn how to ­customize the site, add mobile devices, and set up and manage Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SharePoint, and Microsoft Lync online.

Part II, “Teamwork in the Cloud,” is your guide to setting up, organizing, ­managing, and helping your team be successful using Office 365. Chapter 4 spotlights all the team features you can use to get everybody on the same page, calendar-wise; you’ll also find out how to share files, hold online ­meetings, instant message each other, and broadcast presentations. Chapter 5 walks you through creating, editing, and sharing a team site. Chapter 6 shows you how to create document libraries, share files with team members, and manage the files in SharePoint Online. You’ll also find out about working with file versions, tracking file changes, and comparing and merging files. Chapter 7 shows you how to create and use workflows to keep your team moving in the right direction, and Chapter 8 introduces all things Web App by shining a light on the capabilities of the various tools and showing you how to work with files online, coauthor documents, edit worksheets, broadcast presentations, and share notebooks. Chapter 9 rounds out this part of Office 365 by focusing on mobile technologies: find out how to use the various Office Mobile applications to review, edit, and share the files you develop with your team.

Part III, “Connecting in Real Time,” shows you how to use the ­communication and instant-messaging options in Office 365 to stay in touch with your team in real time. In Chapter 10, “Email and Organize with Office 365,” you learn how to use Outlook Web App to import and manage contacts, set email preferences, organize mail ­folders, work with your calendars and tasks, and more. Chapter 11, “Talking it Over with Microsoft Lync,” shows you how to connect in real time to other online users through instant ­messaging, voice calls, and online chats. You’ll learn how to manage transcripts, invite others to the ­conversation, and host web meetings. Chapter 12, “Designing Your ­Public Website,” shows you how to use the web tools in Office 365 to create a ­website to ­showcase your products and services and give your customers a sense of who you are and what you offer. Chapter 13, “Integrating Office 365,” presents a set of examples that show how you and your team can use the ­various tools in Office 365 together to create and share business projects.

About the Author

Katherine Murray has been writing articles and best-selling books about Microsoft Office in all its flavors since it was first released. She’s taught hundreds of thousands of Office users how to be productive (and creative) in Microsoft Word 2010 Inside Out, Microsoft Office 2010 Plain & Simple, and Microsoft Word 2010 Plain & Simple, as well as through her many articles on CNET’s TechRepublic and in Windows Secrets. Katherine is also a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and writes frequently about earth care topics. Her book, Green Home Computing for Dummies, was published by Wiley in 2009.

Katherine’s blog and website, BlogOffice, has inspired and educated Office users since 2002. Her new Office 365 companion site,Connect & Collaborate,offers an ongoing source of how-to’s, tips, and strategic case studies for Office users and IT professionals who want to efficiently and successfully work in the Cloud. Katherine’s focus is on delivering essential techniques and insights to help members of virtual teams who may be developing workflow strategies and managing projects, as well as those who are tasked with bringing those projects—simple or complex—to completion.

Readers of this eBook, Microsoft® Office 365: Connect and Collaborate Virtually Anywhere, Anytime, can sign up for Katherine’s free
monthly Office 365 newsletter “Connect & Collaborate” by clicking here, and can receive Katherine’s Video Tip of the Month by clickinghere.

Free ebook: Deploying Windows 7, Essential Guidance

Free ebook: Deploying Windows 7, Essential Guidance

Greetings! Microsoft Press and TechNet Magazine have teamed up to create a free ebook: Deploying Windows 7, Essential Guidance from the Windows 7 Resource Kit and TechNet Magazine. The ebook includes ten complete chapters from Microsoft Press’s Windows 7 Resource Kit (ISBN: 9780735627000; ISBN: 1760 pages), by Mitch Tulloch, Tony Northrup, Jerry Honeycutt, Ed Wilson, and the Windows 7 Team at Microsoft:

Chapter 3 Deployment Platform . . . . . . . . . 85
Chapter 4 Planning Deployment . . . . . . . . . 113
Chapter 5 Testing Application Compatibility . . . . . . . . . 139
Chapter 6 Developing Disk Images . . . . . . . . . 179
Chapter 7 Migrating User State Data . . . . . . . . . 223
Chapter 8 Deploying Applications . . . . . . . . .  247
Chapter 9 Preparing Windows PE . . . . . . . . . 273
Chapter 10 Configuring Windows Deployment Services . . . . . . . . . 293
Chapter 11 Using Volume Activation . . . . . . . . . 335
Chapter 12 Deploying with Microsoft Deployment Toolkit . . . . . . . . . 355

It also includes six articles from TechNet Magazine:

Migrate Already! Why You Should Migrate to Windows 7 If You’re Still Waffling  . . . . . . . . . 383
Don Jones
8 Common Issues in Windows 7 Migrations. . . . . . . . . 387
Don Jones
9 Things You Should Know About Windows 7. . . . . . . . . 391
William Stanek
Can’t We All Just Get Along? Running Windows 7 in Mixed Environments . . . . . . . . . 397
William Stanek
Integrating Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2. . . . . . . . . 403
Alan Maddison
The Good Computing Seal of Approval: Windows 7 Certification. . . . . . . . . 409
Joshua Hoffman

Over 400 pages of expert guidance; enjoy!

Free ebook: First Look Microsoft Office 2010

Free ebook: First Look Microsoft Office 2010

We promised a more permanent home for this free ebook by Katherine Murray: here it is (in XPS) and here it is (in PDF). 14 chapters: dive in and enjoy!

Part I, “Envision the Possibilities,” introduces you to the changes in Office 2010 and shows you how you can make the most of the new features to fit the way you work today. Chapter 1, “Welcome to Office 2010,” gives you a play-by-play introduction to new features; Chapter 2, “Express Yourself Effectively and Efficiently,” details the great feature enhancements and visual effects throughout the applications; and Chapter 3, “Work Anywhere with Office 2010,” explores the flexibility factor by presenting a set of scenarios that enable users to complete their work no matter where their path takes them.

Part II, “Hit the Ground Running,” focuses on each of the Office 2010 applications in turn, spotlighting the key new features and showing how they relate to the whole. These chapters provide a how-to guide for many of the top features you’re likely to use right off the bat, and they offer inspiring ideas on how to get the most from your favorite applications.

Part III, “Next Steps with Office 2010,” zooms up to the big picture and provides examples to help you think through interoperability. How often do you use the various Office applications together? Customer research shows that people often don’t realize how well the applications work together as a complete system—which means they might be laboring over items they could easily incorporate from somewhere else. This part of the book provides examples for integrating the applications and explores Office 2010 security and training opportunities, as well.

Free ebook: Introducing Windows Server 2008 R2

Free ebook: Introducing Windows Server 2008 R2

Greetings! We’re happy to say that another free ebook is now available. 

Introducing Windows Server 2008 R2, by Charlie Russel and Craig Zacker with the Windows Server Team at Microsoft, can be downloaded here (XPS file, 28 MB) and here (PDF file, 11 MB).

Here is the book’s Content at a Glance:

Introduction    xvii
Chapter 1    What’s New in Windows Server R2    1
Chapter 2    Installation and Configuration: Adding R2 to Your World    9
Chapter 3    Hyper-V: Scaling and Migrating Virtual Machines    25
Chapter 4    Remote Desktop Services and VDI: Centralizing Desktop and Application Management    47
Chapter 5    Active Directory: Improving and Automating Identity and Access    65
Chapter 6    The File Services Role    91
Chapter 7    IIS 7.5: Improving the Web Application Platform    109
Chapter 8    DirectAccess and Network Policy Server    129
Chapter 9    Other Features and Enhancements    147
Index    163

And here’s part of the Introduction:

Introduction

Windows Server 2008 R2, or simply R2 for short, is the second release of
Windows Server 2008. It isn’t a completely new release, but rather adds
additional features and refinements to the existing release. In this book, we focus
on the new features and refinements in R2. We assume you have at least a general
knowledge of Windows Server, and that you have some familiarity with Windows
Server 2008, although we don’t assume you’re actively running Windows Server
2008. Where an R2 feature is a refinement of a feature that was new in Windows
Server 2008, we provide background on the Windows Server 2008 feature to
provide context.

Who This Book Is For

This book is targeted primarily at Windows server administrators who are responsible
for hands-on deployment and day-to-day management of Windows-based
servers for large organizations. Windows server administrators manage file and
print servers, network infrastructure servers, Web servers, and IT application
servers.

They use graphical administration tools as their primary interface but
also use Windows PowerShell commandlets and occasionally write Windows
PowerShell scripts for routine tasks and bulk operations. They conduct most
server management tasks remotely by using Terminal Server or administration
tools installed on their local workstation.

What This Book Is About

Covering every aspect of Windows Server 2008 R2 in nine chapters and approximately
200 pages is clearly an impossible task. Rather than try to cover everything,
we’ve focused on what is new and important, while giving you the context
from Windows Server 2008.

Chapter 1, “What’s New in Windows Server R2” Provides a brief overview of
all the new features and capabilities of Windows Server 2008 R2.

Chapter 2, “Installation and Configuration: Adding R2 to Your World” Covers
minimum system requirements, basic installation and configuration of R2, and
what is involved in adding an R2 server to an existing Windows Server network.
Configuration of the Windows Server Core installation option, added in Windows
Server 2008, is covered, along with the steps required to add a Windows Server
2008 R2 domain controller to an existing Windows Server network.

Chapter 3, “Hyper-V: Scaling and Migrating Virtual Machines” Covers the
new Hyper-V features of Windows Server 2008 R2, including dynamic storage
management and Quick Migration of clustered virtual machines (VMs). Covers
creation and management of virtual machines using the Hyper-V Manager
console, Windows PowerShell, and the Failover Cluster Manager console and
discusses the features of System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2.

Chapter 4, “Remote Desktop Services and VDI: Centralizing Desktop and
Application Management” Covers Remote Desktop Services (the new name
for Terminal Services) and the enhancements of Windows Server 2008 R2, including
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), which uses the new RD Virtualization
Host capability of R2 to provide desktop virtualization. R2 also includes an all-new
Remote Desktop Services provider for Windows PowerShell.

Chapter 5, “Active Directory: Improving and Automating Identity and
Access” Covers the new features of Active Directory (AD), including an AD
Recycle Bin, a new set of Active Directory Windows PowerShell cmdlets, and
improvements in daily AD administration.

Chapter 6, “The File Services Role” Covers the new File Services features,
including BranchCache, Distributed File System–ReadOnly (DFS-R), and the File
Classification Infrastructure (FCI).

Chapter 7, “IIS 7.5: Improving the Web Application Platform” Covers the
features of the new version of Internet Information Services (IIS), including the
new Windows PowerShell management features.

Chapter 8, “DirectAccess and Network Policy Server” Covers the Network
Policy Server (NPS) and the new DirectAccess feature that allows Windows 7
computers to be transparently connected to internal network resources from anywhere
without requiring a virtual private network (VPN) connection.

Chapter 9, “Other Features and Enhancements” Covers the enhanced version
of Windows Server Backup included in R2, including the Windows PowerShell
commands for backing up. Also covered is the new BitLocker To Go capability,
which provides an important new protection for removable volumes such as
backup disks.

Enjoy! And please remember this:

We Want to Hear from You

We welcome your feedback about this book. Please share your comments and
ideas via the following short survey:

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/booksurvey

Your participation will help Microsoft Press create books that better meet your
needs and your standards.

We hope that you will give us detailed feedback via our survey. If you have
questions about our publishing program, upcoming titles, or Microsoft Press in
general, we encourage you to interact with us via Twitter at http://twitter.com/MicrosoftPress.

Free ebook: Own Your Future: Update Your Skills with Resources and Career Ideas from Microsoft

Free ebook: Own Your Future: Update Your Skills with Resources and Career Ideas from Microsoft

We’re thrilled to offer another free ebook: Own Your Future: Update Your Skills with Resources and Career Ideas from Microsoft, by Katherine Murray. The ebook contains eight chapters and an appendix describing how you can assess and build your technology-based job skills.

To give you a sense of the ebook’s content, here is its Foreword, by Microsoft Learning’s Lutz Ziob:

Foreword

In the midst of a struggling economy, our fast-changing, knowledge-based
economy has created unprecedented challenges for employers and workers
alike. Employers increasingly need workers with a broad range of information
technology (IT) skills. These skills will become even more important as we
continue to retool major sectors of our economy, such as healthcare, transportation
and energy. By 2014, more than three-quarters of all jobs in the
United States will require some level of computing or technology skills, and
the vast majority of newly created jobs will require post-secondary education
or training.

To meet this demand, students need a solid foundation in science,
technology, engineering, math, and design, as well as in related disciplines
such as computer science. And this means that workforce training systems
need to be improved and expanded to meet the needs of all workers—the
underemployed, the unemployed, and students who need better access to
the requisite skills. Everyone entering or already in the workforce should have
access to the resources they need to become lifelong learners who can adapt
to an ever-changing workplace.

Technology is only one piece of the puzzle, but it has a pivotal role to play in
these efforts. It can offer students, workers, and employers the training tools
they need, and it can help to quickly and efficiently expand access to educational
resources. IT also helps people develop other essential 21st-century
skills such as collaboration and teamwork, finding and interpreting information,
and using data to aid in decision making.

In this book, students will find a wealth of Microsoft resources they can
use to identify the technology skills they need, and gather knowledge and
experience to help them take charge of their careers. Here at Microsoft, we
care about students’ career success and hope these resources will open doors
to learning that will lead them to better opportunities and a deeper understanding
of the way technology continues to change and improve the ways
people work—both here in the U.S. and around the world.

Lutz Ziob
Microsoft Learning General Manager

You can download the ebook in XPS format here and in PDF format here.

We hope that you find this material useful. Please leave us a comment and let us know!

Free ebook: Understanding Microsoft Virtualization Solutions (Second Edition

Free ebook: Understanding Microsoft Virtualization Solutions (Second Edition)

Here it is! Mitch Tulloch has updated his free ebook of last year; it’s now updated for Windows Server 2008 R2. You can now download Understanding Microsoft Virtualization Solutions, From the Desktop to the Datacenter inXPS format here and in PDF format here.

Six chapters adding up to 466 pages.

Here are Mitch’s acknowledgments:

Acknowledgments This book would not have been possible without the support and assistance of numerous
individuals. First, I would like to especially thank Michael Cooper, Senior Product Manager
and Field Technical Community Lead for System Center and Virtualization Business Group;
Aurora Santiago, Product Manager for System Center and Virtualization Technical Readiness;
and Kenon Owens, Technical Product Marketing Manager for Integrated Virtualization, all
of whom helped drive this project forward and provided liaison with other members of the
virtualization team at Microsoft. Next, my sincere thanks to each of following experts at
Microsoft who provided key technical insights, peer-reviewed chapter content, contributed
Direct from the Source sidebars, and assisted me in many other ways with this project:

Aaron Holzer, Alex Balcanquall, Arun Jayendran, Balagopan Nikhil, Chuck Timon, Fei Lu, Isaac
Roybal, Karri Alexio-Tiernan, Max Herrmann, Megan Kidd, Mohit Srivastava, Peter Ballantyne,
Prashant Ketkar, Ran Kohavi, Ran Oelgiesser, Rick Kingslan, Vipul Shah and Wole Moses

Thanks also to Brett Polen of Xtreme Consulting Group, Rex Backman of Simplicity
Consulting, and Nicole Pargoff of iSoftStone who assisted me with certain topics covered in
this book. Special thanks to Bill Noonan, Mark Kitris, and the CTS Global Technical Readiness
(GTR) team at Microsoft for contributing their expertise to this project.

I’d also like to thank again others at Microsoft together with several Microsoft Most Valuable
Professionals (MVPs) who contributed their expertise to the previous edition of this book,
namely:

Anshul Rawat, Baldwin Ng, David Greschler, Edwin Yuen, Falko Gräfe, James O’Neill, Jason
Leznek, Jeff Woolsey, Kalle Saunamäki Kyle Beck, Michelle Foley, Ming Zhu, Peter Larsen,
Sean Donahue and Tim Mangan

Next, special thanks Devon Musgrave, the development editor for this project, and Valerie
Woolley, the project editor for this project, both of whom work at Microsoft Press. I’ve
enjoyed working with them on this book and hope to do so again on another one in the near
future.

Thanks also to Steve Sagman of Waypoint Press who managed the editing and
production for this book, to Bob Hogan the technical editor for this project, and to the
ever-insightful Roger LeBlanc who copy edited the manuscript. Thanks also to Ken Jones who
was project planner for this title.

As always, heartfelt thanks to my friend and agent, Neil Salkind of the Salkind Agency, which
is part of Studio B Productions, Inc.

And last but never least, thanks to my wife, Ingrid, for her encouragement and support
during this project.

—Mitch Tulloch

Enjoy!

Free ebook: Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2

Free ebook: Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2

We’re thrilled to publish another free ebook: Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2, by Ross Mistry and Stacia Misner!

The book contains 10 chapters and 216 pages, like so:

PART I   Database Administration

CHAPTER 1   SQL Server 2008 R2 Editions and Enhancements 3
CHAPTER 2   Multi-Server Administration 21
CHAPTER 3   Data-Tier Applications 41
CHAPTER 4   High Availability and Virtualization Enhancements 63
CHAPTER 5   Consolidation and Monitoring 85 

PART II   Business Intelligence Development

CHAPTER 6   Scalable Data Warehousing 109
CHAPTER 7   Master Data Services 125
CHAPTER 8   Complex Event Processing with StreamInsight 145
CHAPTER 9   Reporting Services Enhancements 165
CHAPTER 10   Self-Service Analysis with PowerPivot 189 

Here’s more info about the book:

Introduction

Our purpose in Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 is to point out both 

the new and the improved in the latest version of SQL Server. Because this 

version is Release 2 (R2) of SQL Server 2008, you might think the changes are 

relatively minor—more than a service pack, but not enough to justify an entirely 

new version. However, as you read this book, we think you will find that there are a 

lot of exciting enhancements and new capabilities engineered into SQL Server 2008 R2 

that will have a positive impact on your applications, ranging from improvements 

in operation to those in management. It is definitely not a minor release!

Who Is This Book For?

This book is for anyone who has an interest in SQL Server 2008 R2 and wants to
understand its capabilities. In a book of this size, we cannot cover every feature
that distinguishes SQL Server from other databases, and consequently we assume
that you have some familiarity with SQL Server already. You might be a database
administrator (DBA), an application developer, a power user, or a technical
decision maker. Regardless of your role, we hope that you can use this book to
discover the features in SQL Server 2008 R2 that are most beneficial to you.

How Is This Book Organized?

SQL Server 2008 R2, like its predecessors, is more than a database engine. It is a
collection of components that you can implement either separately or as a group
to form a scalable data platform. In broad terms, this data platform consists of
two types of components—those that help you manage data and those that help
you deliver business intelligence (BI). Accordingly, we have divided this book into
two parts to focus on the new capabilities for each of these areas.

Part I, “Database Administration,” is written with the DBA in mind and introduces
readers to the numerous innovations in SQL Server 2008 R2. Chapter 1, “SQL
Server 2008 R2 Editions and Enhancements,” discusses the key enhancements,
what’s new in the different editions of SQL Server 2008 R2, and the benefits of
running SQL Server 2008 R2 on Windows Server 2008 R2. In Chapter 2, “Multi-
Server Administration,” readers learn how centralized management capabilities
are improved with the introduction of the SQL Server Utility Control Point. Step-by-
step instructions show DBAs how to quickly designate a SQL Server instance as
a Utility Control Point and enroll instances for centralized multi-server management.
Chapter 3, “Data-Tier Applications,” focuses on how to streamline deployment
and manage and upgrade database applications with the new data-tier application
feature. Chapter 4, “High Availability and Virtualization Enhancements,”
covers high availability enhancements and includes step-by-step implementations
for ensuring business continuity with SQL Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008
R2, and Hyper-V Live Migration. Finally, in Chapter 5, “Consolidation and Monitoring,”
a discussion on consolidation strategies teaches readers how to improve
resource optimization. This chapter also explains how to use the new dashboard
and viewpoints to gain insight into application and database utilization, and it also
covers how to use capacity policy violations to help identify consolidation opportunities,
maximize investments, and ultimately maintain healthier systems.

In Part II, “Business Intelligence Development,” readers discover components
new to the SQL Server data platform, as well as significant enhancements to the
reporting component. Chapter 6, “Scalable Data Warehousing,” introduces the
data warehouse appliance known as SQL Server 2008 R2 Parallel Data Warehouse
by explaining its architecture, reviewing data layout strategies for optimal query
performance, and describing the integration points with SQL Server BI components.
In Chapter 7, “Master Data Services,” readers learn about master data
management concepts and the new Master Data Services component. Chapter 8,
“Complex Event Processing with StreamInsight,” describes scenarios that benefit
from complex event analysis, and it illustrates how to develop applications that
use the SQL Server StreamInsight engine for complex event processing. Chapter
9, “Reporting Services Enhancements,” reviews all the new features available in
SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services that support self-service reporting and
address common report design problems. Last, Chapter 10, “Self-Service Analysis
with PowerPivot,” continues the theme of self-service by explaining how users can
integrate disparate data for analysis by using SQL Server PowerPivot for Excel, and
how to centralize and share the results of this analysis by using SQL Server Power-
Pivot for SharePoint.

You can download the ebook in XPS format here and in PDF format here.

Enjoy!