I am writing this blog post amidst unpacking my bags and settling in (i.e. watching the LOST and Fringe season finales), after an all-inclusive week long trip to mostly sunny California. My employer was kind enough to sponsor my attendance of Microsoft’s annual educational conference, TechEd. The shindig was hosted at the Los Angeles Convention center from May 11th – 15th, and was jam packed with an over abundance of Information Technology nerdiness.
The conference kicked off with a keynote speech from Bill Veghte, Senior Vice President for the Windows Business, where he informed us that the theme this year will be focused on the technology awaiting us on the road ahead, with the impending releases of Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7. Along with a brief dog-and-pony show displaying features of both products, the most notable moment was when Bill announced that Windows 7 should be available to the public by this holiday season.
My time at the conference consisted of a plethora of Breakout and Birds-of-a-Feather sessions, as well as some interactive learning labs. Let me not forget the Partner Expo, which was introduced with more finger foods than you can shake a stick at, as well as an open bar to help wash them down. Vendor presence was fulfilled by the usual suspects, such as Dell, HP, Symantec, etc. Needless to say, I carried away more swag than I could fit in my TechEd tote bag.
From what I witnessed at the show, Windows Server 2008 R2 does not offer much that is particularly new, but instead incorporates features and functionality that was previously only obtainable via third party developers. Whereas application and desktop virtualization are the staple of companies such as VMWare and Citrix, both tasks can be obtained by Microsoft’s App-V and MED-V. Server virtualization can now be accomplished via Hyper-V. Sysadmins can have a tighter grasp on the end-user experience with desktop optimization (MDOP) and application management (AppLocker). So it seems, Microsoft is really pushing the concept of virtualization to embrace the color green, whether it be to cut costs or to reach for an eco friendly environment.
As far as the Windows 7 offerings, I was already pretty familiar with the OS from toying with the Beta and RC. One feature I was unaware of was the ability to create and attach virtual hard disks, handy for isolation environments. Microsoft also demoed XP Mode in Windows 7 via Windows Virtual PC, which comes free with the Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions of the OS. As one can expect, there will exist tight integration between Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2.
I shied away from the developer side of the house, but from what I can gather, much emphasis was placed on Windows Azure and the future of cloud computing. Database administration puts me to sleep, but SQL Server 2008 seemed to be highly praised.
Being that this was my first TechEd, I was impressed by the showing of 7,000+ attendees. However, I heard employee grumblings that attendance was down 50% compared to last year. I assume we can blame a faltering economy for the decrease in numbers. Overall, I had a great time and very much enjoyed the wholesome learning environment. I give Microsoft a Golf-style round of applause for their efforts, and do look forward to attending future TechEds.
