December 10, 2008 by
Jason
Although the Server Message Block remote file was originally introduced in the 1980’s, the first major overhauling it suffered was with the availability of Windows Vista RTM in 2007. SMB2, as it was labeled in Vista RTM, was subsequently updated the following year, with the introduction of Windows Vista Service Pack 1, and Windows Server 2008 SP1. However, even with the advent of SMB2, Windows operating systems continue to be interoperable with platforms that support SMB1, as the latest version of the remote file protocol has been tweaked in order to provide full support for the connection setup mechanisms of its precursor.
“A key improvement in SMB2 is the way it makes it easy for clients to send a number of outstanding requests to a server. This allows the client to build a pipeline of requests, instead of waiting for a response before sending the next request. This is especially relevant when using a high latency network,†Jose Barreto, technology evangelist with the Storage Evangelism Team, explained. Read More»
Posted in Windows Vista | No Comments »
September 20, 2008 by
Jason
Vista lets you share your Internet connection with other computers on your network.
Logically enough, the feature that lets you do this is called Internet Connection Sharing, which gets abbreviated to ICS.
ICS can be a great way of saving time and money: instead of needing a modem and a phone line (or a DSL or cable modem) for each computer that needs Internet connectivity, you can get by with one modem and one phone line (or the equivalent). ICS is particularly good if you have a fast Internet connection such as a DSL or a cable modem that provides enough bandwidth for several computers under normal circumstances.
Set Up the Computer That Will Share the Connection
Start with the computer that will share the Internet connection. First set up your Internet connection,and then use the Network Setup Wizard to configure the computer by taking the following steps. Read More»
Posted in Internet, Windows Vista | No Comments »
September 12, 2007 by
Jason
In Windows Vista the networking components were designed to be much more intelligent and automatically adjust the network settings to optimize the connection speed. This is a great new feature. Your network components basically tweak themselves for optimal performance. In most situations, these components automatically adjust perfectly for best performance. However, with wireless WAN cards the detection of network conditions is flawed and can result in slower network performance.
To fix this problem, Microsoft has released a hotfix for users affected by this issue. If you have a Wireless WAN device, I suggest you give this hotfix a try. Read More»
Posted in Windows Vista | 5 Comments »
January 27, 2007 by
Jason
As a computer consultant to nonprofit organizations, I frequently encounter clients who pay more for their Internet service than they need to. They may have listened to a salesperson instead of a trusted advisor when selecting service, or never renegotiated their rate over the years as prices dropped. The result is that nonprofits sometimes end up paying hundreds of dollars a year for a level of Internet service they don’t need.
I’ve worked with organizations that have paid $24 per month for dial-up Internet service when less-expensive Internet Service Providers ( ISPs) abound, others that have paid $200 a month for SDSL when ADSL is adequate and costs less, and some that have paid high rates for slow ISDN when speedy ADSL is available for less. Read More»
Posted in Internet | No Comments »