TechNet Magazine December 2008 Interop issue now online

The December 2008 issue of TechNet
Magazine is now available online. And
it's filled with information about interop.

Find out how to integrate Linux clients
with Active Directory, Manage Macs in
a Windows environment, and more.

FEATURE ARTICLES
Authenticate Linux Clients with Active Directory
Many IT shops are divided into two camps—the Windows team and the Linux team—but we all have the same ultimate goal of providing high-quality and cost- effective IT services. One way you can do this is by sharing core software infrastructure. Think Windows and Linux don’t mix? See how you can configure Linux machines to use Active Directory for authentication.

Managing Macs in Your Windows Environment
Today, the likelihood of a homogeneous network has become increasingly remote. It’s in your interest not to limit yourself to a single platform. Instead, you can be known as the IT guy who can do whatever needs to be done—whether it be supporting Mac or Windows. Don Jones teaches what you need to know to set up a Mac on your Windows network, troubleshoot network problems, share files and folders among Macs and Windows-based systems, and configure Macs to use your network printers.

Interacting with Windows from a Mac Environment
How times have changed! These days it is fairly easy to bring Macs into your Windows network infrastructure. And with a little work you can even integrate  some of the operating system services. Learn how to connect Macs to Active Directory, see how you can use Entourage with Exchange, integrate the Messenger for Mac 7 application with your Windows-based communications, and explore how you can  bridge the platforms with virtualization.

Managing the Root Password on Your Mac
How do you give your Mac users the rights they need on an as-needed basis and improve security at the same time? Surprisingly, by enabling the root account. Find out how.

Understanding Proxy Authentication in AD LDS
Proxy authentication lets users perform a simple bind to an Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services instance but still have an association to an Active Directory account. This can be very useful: it gives developers full access to a user object without giving them access to the Active Directory account, and it allows products that require the X.500 format to be used with Active Directory. Here’s what you need to know about proxy authentication.

COLUMNS Toolbox: New Products for IT Pros
Greg Steen looks at managing your environment with Desktop Authority, checking site links with Xenu Link Sleuth, and managing partitions with GParted Live. Greg also discusses the book “How to Cheat at Administering Office Communications Server 2007”.

SQL Q&A: Row-Overflow, Differential Backups, and More
Paul Randal answers your questions about SQL Server. In this installment, Paul discusses the row-overflow feature, database mirroring and automatic failovers, backup strategies, and managing workloads and memory for failover scenarios.

Utility Spotlight: Change Analysis Diagnostic
See how the Change Analysis Diagnostic tool can help users discover system changes on their computers (from updates, new software, and changed hardware) and resolve problems they may encounter due to these changes.

Inside SharePoint: Enterprise Project Management with SharePoint
Microsoft Office Project Server (MOPS) 2007 is extremely complex and difficult to deploy. Yet the effort is worthwhile—MOPS inherits the strengths of SharePoint as an enterprise platform, allowing you to increase the efficiency of team collaboration within and across departments. This article discusses some of the challenges you’ll face when deploying MOPS.

Windows PowerShell: Building a Better Inventory Tool
Following up on the November installment of his Windows PowerShell column, Don Jones demonstrates an even better inventorying tool and demonstrates a sound process for building your own custom Windows PowerShell functions.

Hey, Scripting Guy!: Calculating Server Uptime
You need to calculate server downtime in order to report on server uptime. The  Scripting Guys have a Windows PowerShell script that can do this for you.

Security Watch: Revisiting the 10 Immutable Laws of Security, Part 3
It's been about 8 years since "The 10 Immutable Laws of Security" were first published, and a lot has changed since then. In part three of this series, Jesper Johansson wraps up his analysis of the immutable laws to see if they still hold true after all this time.

Field Notes: Prep Your Patch Policy
Without a thorough and consistent service pack policy, an organization runs the risk of disruptions and downtime. This is because systems throughout the organization may have different patches installed. The key is to think outside your domain.

Windows Confidential: Keep Your Caches Close
Raymond Chen looks at how a poorly implemented proxy server can completely nullify the benefits of a proxy server.

ON THE WEB Streaming Video: Building a Better Inventory Tool
Following up on the previous installment of his Windows PowerShell column, Don Jones shows you how to make an even better inventorying tool. And, in doing so, he demonstrates a sound process for building your own custom Windows PowerShell functions.

Online Exclusive Article: Managing the Root Password on Your Mac
How do you give your Mac users the rights they need on an as-needed basis and improve security at the same time? Surprisingly, by enabling the root account. Find out how.