Windows Fundamentals
Windows Foundation sessions cover the basics of administering Windows - not necessarily for beginners, but also as a way to dig into long-forgotten fundamentals that are core building blocks for higher-level administration, design, and troubleshooting.
Monday, September 8
TM1Understanding Group Policy Fundamentals
Derek Melber
Monday, September 8, 9:00 a.m.
You say you want to use Group Policy? Well, before you do, come and listen to Derek Melber, Group Policy MVP and author of the Group Policy Resource Kit, talk about the fundamentals of Group Policy. You will leave understanding all of the complexities of elements like enforcement, blocking inheritance, security filtering, SOM, and Group Policy Preferences. You will learn about how GPOs are created, their structure, searching, and their amazingly powerful targeting ability.
TM5Network Protocol & Troubleshooting Fundamentals
Don Jones
Monday, September 8, 10:30 a.m.
Get “back to basics” with this deep-dive session that covers, from the wire on up, how your network allows computers to communicate. Along the way, expert instructor Don Jones will share valuable troubleshooting tips based on his real-world experiences, and will review the tools and utilities that are available to troubleshoot each aspect of your network’s functioning. You’ll start right at the wire with a look at Ethernet and move through the entire TCP/IP protocol stack, including ARP, routing protocols, ICMP, DNS, and more. This is a fast-paced, information-packed session that’s designed to make you a networking expert!
Tuesday, September 9
TT12Deploying Windows XP, Vista, and Server 2008: The Rapid Way
Rhonda Layfield
Tuesday, September 9, 2:15 p.m.
Microsoft’s new deployment tools afree! If you remember Microsoft’s first Remote Installation Service (RIS) deployment tool, you remember how truly lacking it was. But all of that has changed with the new Windows Deployment Service. Join WDS expert Rhonda Layfield and peek into her WDS crib notes that’ll get you up and running in no time! One of the biggest complaints in getting started with WDS is that there is so much documentation that it’s hard to know where to start. No more! In this session Rhonda will dig deep into what you need to know to get WDS up and running in a flash.
TT13 Exposing the Critical Fundamentals in Windows Logons & Kerberos Authentication
Mark Minasi
Tuesday, September 9, 3:45 p.m.
Every day we log into our Windows systems. But what really happens when we do? How do our workstations and domain controllers exchange logon information without revealing our passwords? Security hardening guides talk about how scary old-style LM, NTLM and NTLMv2 logons are, but why exactly do they say that, particularly when it's hard keeping those old-style logins from happening? How does AD's favorite logon protocol, Kerberos, work? How is it more secure than the old guys, and where should you look more closely at securing it? Windows supplies a wealth of neat group policy and Registry settings, but many people don’t use them. Join expert Windows explainer and security geek Mark Minasi in an in-depth look at how Windows logins work, how they cannot work as well as how to better secure them. After seeing this talk, you will have no excuses for not tweaking those group policy security settings!
TT15 Encryption Fundamentals: Safely Using Bitlocker & EFS
James Conrad
Tuesday, September 9, 3:45 p.m.
Seen your laptop? Wasn’t it on the coffeehouse table when you went to get another latte? Now it’s gone! What about its confidential documents and personal information? One offline attack later and a hacker can take ownership of every file you have. Though you never want a laptop lost or stolen, if the unthinkable happens, you can at least have peace of mind that Bitlocker permanently encrypts the hard drive, making it impossible to read your data. In this session you’ll learn how to use Bitlocker to lock out hackers while avoiding accidentally locking yourself out of your own system! Also, if you want a more targeted but also effective method for protecting data we’ll show you how to use the Encrypting File System to encrypt specific files that are most security sensitive to you. You will learn how to encrypt your documents and securely safeguard the EFS decryption keys. Your data is confidential. Attend this session to keep it that way!
Wednesday, September 10
TW4
Making a Great Web Server Even Better: The Fundamentals of IIS 6 & 7
Don Jones
Wednesday, September 10, 10:30 a.m.
Can you honestly add “Web server administrator” to your resume? If not, attend this fast-paced session and learn how IIS 6 and 7 (in Windows Server 2003 and 2008, respectively) really work. You’ll learn about the server’s architecture, how to properly configure Web and FTP sites (and what each configuration option means), how Network Load Balancing works with IIS, how to secure IIS, and best of all how to troubleshoot IIS when it isn’t working. You’ll even get an overview of how to configure IIS for various application environments such as ASP, ASP.NET, PHP, and more.
TW11 Learn a New OS Today: Linux Fundamentals for Windows Administrators
Jeremy Moskowitz
Wednesday, September 10, 2:15 p.m.
Get smarter! Make more money! Get a head start on Linux fundamentals! Designed for the Linux beginner, in 75 minutes this session will help you understand the vocabulary of the Linux world, where things are, and how to perform key tasks. We’ll place a special emphasis on describing Linux commands in Windows terms. You’ll find learning a new OS today to be easier than you ever thought!
