In my File History deep-dive post on the Extreme Windows Blog, you can get a lot more information about File History in Windows 8.

If you're interested in learning more about the products or solutions discussed in this episode, click on any of the below links for free, in-depth information:

Resources:

• Microsoft Virtual Academy
• Download Microsoft Private Cloud Evaluation Software
• Microsoft Server and Cloud Platform website

Blogs

• Harold Wong’s Blog
• Windows Server Team Blog
• Virtualization Team Blog
• Learn more about Hyper-V Server Backup from Veeam

Videos:

• Virtualization and Cloud Experts Café - What’s New in Windows Server 2012
• Virtualization and Cloud Experts Café - A Discussion around VMware vs. Windows Server 2012
• Virtualization and Cloud Experts Café - Why Hyper-V Matters and How it Can Work for You
• Virtualization and Cloud Experts Café - Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter and Hyper-V Virtual Switch Overview
• Virtualization and Cloud Experts Café - Your Hyper-V Server 2012 Questions Answered! (Yes, its Free!)
• Virtualization and Cloud Experts Café - Why Hyper-V Replica Matters

Virtual Labs:

• TechNet Virtual Labs: System Center 2012

Follow @technetradio
Become a Fan @ facebook.com/MicrosoftTechNetRadio
Subscribe to our podcast via iTunes, Stitcher, or RSS

In this interview that starts at [04:24] , we cover:

• [07:40] Demo - Configuring the StorSimple System
  • Volume Access Groups
  • Cloud credentials to connect to Azure
  • Security encryption configuration of data
• [11:54] Demo - Connecting up a Windows Server to StorSimple cloud storage using iSCSI & assigning d
• [13:54] Demo - Copying data to mounted drive from iSCSI storage
• [14:34] Demo - Creating a volume group and specifying policy to backup the data in Azure or local via the StorSimple MMC
• [17:28] How do you effectively deal with the tax of your bandwidth to back up potentially TBs of data over the internet to the cloud?

News:

• Office 365 Home Premium released
• Exchange 2013 architecture blog post
• Delivering Lync 2013 over Wi-Fi WhitePaper
• Exploring Microsoft SharePoint 2013: New Features & Functions

Connect with the Edge Team:

Facebook – Twitter - Email

_________________

Abstract:
Kevin Remde, welcomes Craig Blessing, Vice President at Datacastle as they discuss how his company uses Windows Azure to protect business data. Tune in as he outlines for us Datacastle’s innovative cloud solutions which help organizations have secure, anytime, anywhere access to their data.

After watching this video, follow these next steps:

Step #1 – Start Your Free 90 Day Trial of Windows Azure
Step #2 – Download Windows Server 2012
Step #3 – Begin building your own Virtual Machines in Windows Azure!

If you're interested in learning more about the products or solutions discussed in this episode, click on any of the below links for free, in-depth information:

Resources:

• Microsoft Virtual Academy
• Download Microsoft Private Cloud Evaluation Software

Websites & Blogs:

• Kevin Remde’s Blog
• Learn more about Datacastle

Videos:

• TechNet Radio: Cloud Innovators – (Part 1) Private Cloud Principles
• TechNet Radio: Cloud Innovators – (Part 2) Private Cloud Security
• TechNet Radio: Cloud Innovators – (Part 3) Private Cloud Planning
• TechNet Radio: Cloud Innovators – (Part 4) Private Cloud IaaS

Virtual Labs:

• MSDN Virtual Labs: Windows Azure

Follow @technetradio
Become a Fan @ facebook.com/MicrosoftTechNetRadio
Subscribe to our podcast via iTunes, Stitcher, or RSS

For more information about System Center 2012 SP1 Data Protection Manager visit http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh758173.aspx.

News:

• [00:10] The Microsoft Holiday Look Book has been released: http://aka.ms/LookBook.
• [01:40] Skype Launches New Online Platform for Small Businesses (SITW): http://aka.ms/SITW.
• [02:55] WS2012 Essentials is available and you can download the evaluation: http://aka.ms/ServerEssentials.
• [04:30] The Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter (for VMware) has just been released: http://aka.ms/MVMC.
• [05:25] There were lots of announcements about new features in SharePoint 2013 at the recent SharePoint conference: http://aka.ms/SharePoint2013.
• [06:45] Remember to check out the case studies of customers using Microsoft's cloud technologies, which can be filtered by industry, brand, solution, country, product, and organization size: http://aka.ms/evidence. 

Connect with the Edge Team: Facebook – Twitter - Email

A successful database deployment requires a proper backup policy and scheduled management. The final part of the webcast will show you how to create scripts to automate scheduled backups to a local storage or remote network share using the free SQL Server Express edition and related tools, including proper transaction log management and maintenance scripts.

All the instructions to generate the scripts on your own are available here. You can also download your free copy of Windows Server trial edition and run it on your favorite virtualization software, on Windows, Mac or Linux.

If you have any questions please contact @alexpilotti or @gracefr. 

Resources:

• Microsoft IIS Forum: http://forums.iis.net/   
• WebsiteSpark Program: http://www.microsoft.com/web/websitespark/

Bob explains why Riverbed selected Windows Azure for their customer to backup data into the cloud, how data is secured using security keys in conjunction with the Whiteware appliance. Bob explains why Azure is an important component in an enterprise back up strategy and for disaster recovery.

Architectural Overview

For an architectural overview of how Whitewater works with Windows Azure storage, see ISV Case Study: Cloud Storage Gateway Provides Backup into Windows Azure. 

About Whitewater

Whitewater automates enterprise backup to the cloud. The product from Riverbed is a gateway that combines data de-duplication, network optimization, data encryption, and integration with Windows Azure storage services through a single, virtual, or physical appliance.

No longer do enterprises need to use tape and move the files from disk to disk. Nor does an enterprise need to pay for a traditional disaster recovery site.

Whitewater cloud storage gateways and public cloud storage provides secure, off-site storage with restore anywhere capability for disaster recovery (DR). Data can be recovered by Whitewater from any location. Public cloud storage offers excellent DR capabilities without the high costs associated with remote DR sites or colocation service providers. With the public cloud and Whitewater cloud storage gateways – any size organization can significantly reduce its business risk from unplanned outages without the large capital investments and running costs required by competing solutions.

Additional Resources

Getting started with Windows Azure

See Also

Riverbed Whitewater

Windows Azure Storage

Video: Inside Windows Azure storage: what's new and under the hood deep dive

StorSimple uses an algorithm that tiers storage to an on-premises, high-performance disk or to Windows Azure Blob storage to optimize performance.

To address performance issues with on-premises data storage, a data compression process eliminates redundant data segments and minimizes the amount of storage space that an application consumes. At the same time that StorSimple optimizes storage space for data-intensive applications, it uses Cloud Clones—a patented StorSimple technology—to persistently store copies of application data in the cloud.

With StorSimple and Windows Azure, customers maintain control of their data and can take advantage of public cloud services with security-enhanced data connections. StorSimple uses Windows Azure AppFabric Access Control to provide rule-based authorization to validate requests and connect the on-premises applications to the cloud. Customers who deploy StorSimple use a private key to encrypt the data with AES-256 military-grade encryption before it is pushed to Windows Azure, helping to enhance security and ensure that data can only be retrieved by the customer.

About StorSimple

StorSimple provides application-optimized cloud storage for Microsoft Server applications. StorSimple's mission is to bring the benefits of the cloud to on-premises applications without forcing the migration of applications into the cloud. StorSimple manages storage and backup for working set apps such as Microsoft SharePoint, shared file drives, Microsoft Exchange, and virtual machine libraries, offering SSD performance with cloud elasticity.

Other ISV Videos

For videos on Windows Azure Platform, see:

• Accumulus Makes Subscription Billing Easy for Windows Azure
• Azure Email-Enables Lists, Low-Cost Storage for SharePoint
• Credit Card Processing for Windows Phone 7 on Windows Azure
• Crowd-Sourcing Public Sector App for Windows Phone, Azure
• Food Buster Game Achieves Scalability with Windows Azure
• BI Solutions Join On-Premises To Windows Azure Using Star Analytics Command Center

For other videos about independent software vendors (ISVs):

• Quark Extends SharePoint for Dynamic Publishing
• ProModel Adds Simulation, Visualization to Microsoft Project
• Slingbox Maker Sling Media Describes Cross-Platform Commitment to Silverlight
• Game Design and Development in Silverlight for Windows Phone 7
• Thumb-Driven Workflow on Windows 7 Slates from Blue Dot Solutions

Up to Date News for ISVs and Software Developers

See US ISV Community blog.

Coming from the same stable as the newly-announced Windows Home Server Codename “Vail” and Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials, the new platform is perfect for businesses already running on Windows Server, joining your Active Directory domain with ease to fully integrate into your existing network.

When in place, what will it do? Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials protects the clients and server on your network through:

• Server and PC backup, including file, folder and image based restore
• Centralized storage for file data and easier sharing
• Console driven administration for easier management
• Access to your data from virtually anywhere through Remote Web Access
• Network health monitoring for both Windows and Mac PC’s

It’s all managed with a simple dashboard that brings easy deployment and management of the Storage Server. Need to store and protect the data on your network with the ability to access it remotely over the web via PC and smartphone? Install, power on, quick configure and you’re set.

Keep an eye on the Windows Storage Server and Small Business Server blogs to find out more about Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials and expect to see pre-configured servers shipping with the platform in the first half of 2011.

It also includes 5 hot-swappable hard disk drives with capacities up to 10 TB (you can order it with either five 1 TB drives or five 2 TB drives). And it’s scalable with USB and eSATA connections. The server runs Windows Home Server as its OS and uses Intel’s D410 single-core processor running at 1.6 GHz. Prices start at $1,199.99 (€1,239 in Europe) for the 5 TB option.

Engadget says the new server offers “vaguely HAL 9000esque styling” like all the other LaCie 5big devices…which really just makes it that much cooler.

(via WeGotServed)

Although cloud security and stability continues to improve, not everyone is comfortable with having their data stored only in the cloud. With Mozy 2.0, that’s no longer a concern. You can still backup to the cloud, but you can also configure the program to save your backup to an external hard drive, too. This local option is made available via Mozy 2xProtect, which is included in the software.

The company also says that the new program delivers up to 25% faster upload speeds from desktop to cloud. It has a new user interface too, designed to be easier to understand and use.

Mozy for Windows is available in two different versions: Mozy Home for personal use and Mozy Pro for businesses. Home users get 2 GB of free online backup storage and for only $4.95/month, can get unlimited storage. Business users can buy either desktop or server licenses starting at $3.95 or $6.95 per month, respectively.

You can learn more about the new software here.

Datacastle CEO Ron Faith talks with Bruce Kyle, ISV Architect Evangelist, about how users and ITPros protect laptop data from in the cloud. He also describes the lessons learned in moving the server software to the cloud.

About Datacastle

Datacastle provides a way for businesses to protect high business impact information assets with data backup, recovery, encryption, and even data shredding if laptops are lost or stolen.

Datacastle RED includes secure data deduplication and is available as a hosted solution in Windows Azure or as an on premise implementation. Datacastle RED's features can be self-managed by end users or centrally-managed by IT using the administrative console that runs in Windows Azure. Datacastle's Web Services interface in the Windows Azure Platform also allows ITPros to integrate with other management and reporting consoles.

Other ISV Videos

For other videos of ISVs using Windows Azure, see:

• Quark/Sir Speedy Azure Case Study
• Aspect leverages storage + compute in call center application
• Scaling Web Sites with Azure and Local Cache
• Vidizmo - Nadeem Khan, President, Vidizmo talks about technology, roadmap and Microsoft partnership

Other ISV Videos

 For videos on Windows Phone 7, see:

• Teenager Makes Money Writing Windows Phone 7 Apps with AdCenter
• Talking  with Karmak.com about business applications on Windows Phone 7
• BinaryDads talk about building applications for Windows Phone 7
• Game Design and Development in Silverlight for Windows Phone 7
• Credit Card Processing for Windows Phone 7 on Windows Azure

For videos on Windows Azure Platform, see:

• Accumulus Makes Subscription Billing Easy for Windows Azure
• Azure Email-Enables Lists, Low-Cost Storage for SharePoint

For other videos about independent software vendors (ISVs):

• Quark Extends SharePoint for Dynamic Publishing
• ProModel Adds Simulation, Visualization to Microsoft Project
• Slingbox Maker Sling Media Describes Cross-Platform Commitment to Silverlight

For more news, tips, and links to developer training, see the US ISV Community blog.

filexpertéz is a powerful yet simple to use file management tool for desktop and server computers that replicates, deletes, backs up and restores files using a simple UI. By incorporating the features of Windows 7 SARANGSOFT cues users to their current application state.

CEO Alok Chakrabarti shows ISV Architect Evangelist Bruce Kyle each feature that was implemented in unmanaged code in C++. Alok explains that the effort took about a week to implement and test.

In addition, Alok explains that data back-up and restore to Windows Azure will be offered in a future version later this year.

About SARANGSoft

SARANGSoft is a Microsoft Certified Parther with the ISV Competency. The company offers a set of tools and utilities for the Windows users to help with the day to day tasks, such as data management (backup & restore, file copy & delete), IT administration, animation file editing & playback, scheduling tasks etc. Their applications help various types of users at home and at work by making their work simple, efficient, and accurate.

More ISV Videos About Windows 7 Light Up

 
• RES Software Lights Up Personal Desktops on Windows 7
• From Paper to the Cloud Part 2 -- Epson's Windows 7 Touch Kiosk For Marksheets
• Marketron Partners for Improved Business Intelligence, User Experience
• AnswerPoint Medical Systems leverages native features of Windows 7 for EMR Solution
• BumpTop brings 3-D Desktop to Windows 7 users
• Panopto utilizes Windows 7 features in Presentation Recording solution
• SARANGSoft Data Backup, Data Recovery Software Lights Up on Windows 7

Other ISV Videos About Compatible with Windows 7 Software Logo

• How Attachmate Earned Windows 7 Software Logo
• Attachmate Describes Benefits of Joining Front Runner for Windows 7

To perform a secure backup like this, you’ll need to select a folder for encryption within Gladinet’s Management Console. You then select Windows Azure from your list of target locations. The first time an encrypted folder is added, you’ll get a prompt to create a password that will be used to generate the encryption key. From that point forward, everything you upload to Azure will be encrypted.

This option is a part of the new Gladinet Desktop 2.0, an update to the program that brings a completely revamped Management Console, features like a new cache manager and new task manager, improved transfer speeds, and additional cloud services integration.

The backup manager is a part of the professional edition of the program. You can download it or the free version from here.

(via the Gladinet blog)

Anyway, after backing up the essentials (files, photos, music, videos, and my user account) via the included Windows Easy Transfer tool, it occurred to me that I needed to back up my Windows Live Writer settings too. This led me to the free software program called Windows Live Writer Backup. I thought I had used this in the past successfully, but this time around the program just hung. It looks like the current version was released back in the summer of last year, so maybe it just needs an update? (It’s open source, guys, so have at it!).

Since I couldn’t automate the process with the tool, I took a couple of screenshots of my settings and moved on. After reinstalling Windows, re-downloading my favorite programs and re-running the Easy Transfer tool to restore my files and other settings, I launched Windows Live Writer. I was prepared to reconfigure my settings using the saved screenshots, but - low-and-behold! - they were already there! I guess the Easy Transfer tool grabbed them too. How nice!

If you’re preparing to reinstall Windows (and users of the Release Candidate like I was – this means you!), I thought you’d be grateful to know about this little tip. It certainly made my experience easier and hopefully will help you too.

When running the program, it will automatically detect your profiles and accounts, allowing you to check or uncheck the boxes of the items you want to backup. And should disaster strike, you can also use the application to restore the backups it creates.

MailBrowserBackup is free software licensed under the GNU GPL v2. You can download it for Windows XP SP2, Vista, and Windows 7 from here.

The app incrementally backs up the data on your phone to their secure servers so you can always retrieve it easily. If your phone is stolen and a new SIM card is put into the device, the application recognizes the change and immediately encrypts all the data, including your phonebook, images, messages, etc. You can then retrieve the data from another phone that’s in your possession and – here’s the best part – that retrieval is done using SMS text messages that are automatically sent from the stolen phone...meaning the thief’s account is used to pay for them!

You can also hunt down your device once it's been re-activated. The mobile app can send your new phone the phone number, device ID, country code, operator name, and area code belonging to your stolen device.

However, the craziest thing about the Maverick Mobile app is that it actually lets you harass the thief! You can make spy calls to the device, which switches on the loudspeaker and mic of the stolen phone so you can listen in on the conversations made. But what’s even more hilarious is that you can disable the stolen phone remotely and then have the device sound a loud alarm that sounds like a siren. The only way to disable the siren is to remove the battery! You can also have the app send a customized message with the alarm (like “this phone has been reported stolen, to return it, please call…” (or whatever message you want).

I couldn’t find any company videos that would allow you to see the device in action, unfortunately. However, I did come across this video from eWEEK where they interview one of the company founders:

As it turns out, there is a tool that does just that. I recently came across a review of it over on gHacks. The tool is an Excel plugin called Autobackup. With Autobackup installed, you can specify how often you want your spreadsheet backed up, how many copies it should save, and how long those copies should be saved (in days). Installation is simple – just got to Tools –> Add-ins and browse for the Autobackup file. Autobackup is available as a free download from here. An English and Portuguese version are available.

A free version lets you store 1 GB of data for one year, but if you're really going to back up your computer, you'll need to go with one of the paid plans. For $59/year, a "Home" plan is available, which gives you unlimited storage and allows up to three PCs to connect. That's quite a bargain when you think about it. (But is it really unlimited?)

For businesses, the unlimited storage option can range up to $299 per year, depending on how many users and PCs you have.

While you're traveling, you can access your stored files from a web-based interface from which you can also email the files or publish them for public access.

If desired, you can specify the program to back up to a second hard drive, server, or PC on your local network, too.

There are, however, a couple of problems you should be aware of: Upline doesn't back up email archives or system restore files, but that may change in the future.

In the meantime, you can check out what Upline has to offer from the HP homepage for the service here.