SharePoint Engineers at Aivea has been running SQL 2008 for serveral months, yes x64 bit on Windows 2008 as well. Aivea SharePoint test labs now have about 4 physical machines and 7 VMs on MOSS 2007 - Windows 2008 - SQL Server 2008. Here are the top 8 reasons for using SQL Server 2008 for MOSS 2007 implementations

1. No more 2 Gig per File Limit, SQL 2008 has 8 Gig per File and you can stream out the BLOG objects. No need to wait for ClouldSpace as well
2. Backup compression (25-35% at least) - huge cost savings and hey it's native!
3. Transparent Encryption - transparently encrypt the data without the application needing to be aware or know about it.
4. Database Mirroring Enhancements - compressed tlogs, more automatic failover options
5. Policy Based Administration - manage policies across databases and even across instances and servers
6. Cluster enhancements - easier to configure and more scenarios that it supports including many in WS08 that provide more intelligence for failover
7. Resource Governor - limit wild database resources or control one database resources from another!
8. Reporting Services in SharePoint Mode (report builder rocks!) - easy reporting solutions built to leverage SharePoint mode with more flexibility and with ease.

The final and complete edition of the end-user Office SharePoint Server 2007 Training is now broadly available!

The training comes with rich set of videos, tutorials and articles that help end users learn the basics of SharePoint. The kit can be installed directly to individual machines (stand alone edition), or directly onto a SharePoint environment (portal edition). IT Departments, or even groups such as HR, Corporate Learning and others will be able to use and customize the kit to train users on SharePoint usage.

· Portal Edition: built on the Microsoft SharePoint Learning Kit (‘SLK’), the Portal Edition must be deployed onto a SharePoint Server site by a server administrator. It includes a reporting function that allows an administrator/trainer to track learners’ completed training topics. The content is compliant to the e-learning standard SCORM 2004.

· Standalone Edition: can be installed by an individual and easily accessed from a desktop icon. It does not allow customization or reporting, but give customers the ability to view the training before they deploy the Portal Edition on a SharePoint Server site.

Training topics included in the Office SharePoint Server 2007 Training:

· Collaboration: team sites, permissions, Web parts, libraries, lists, blogs, wikis, and workspaces.

· Enterprise Content Management: document and records management, protecting files, using workflows, compliance, and more.

· Search: finding files, Web sites, information and people.

· Portals and personalization: My Sites, targeting content, and managing My Site access

· Business processes and forms: streamline business processes, gather information with forms, and configure workflows.

· Business intelligence: share Excel workbooks, work with a Report Center site, use dashboards, integrate internal data, and more.

The SharePoint Conference was excellent! With 3,800+ attendees and a long waiting list, this was a big, BIG conference. Aivea team is excited to host our customers and partners in the Seattle area.

Aivea was showcased in the Day 2 videos and our booth got a ton of kudos!

http://www.microsoft.com/winme/0803/32436/32436_sharepoint_2_500k.asx

The following is a table of topics and links on SharePoint Architecture, some of them were presented at the conference.  

Title	Streaming Video	White Paper
Overview: Office SharePoint Server server farm architecture	None	Download
Overview: Configuring server farms	Watch	Download
Securing server farms	Watch	Download
Configuring performance options	Watch	None
Backup, Restore, High Availability and Disaster Recovery	Watch	Download
Operations and management	Watch	Download
Capacity planning	Watch	Download
Search architecture and configuration	Watch	Download

Aivea is a exhibitor at world's largest SharePoint conference. Please see us at booth #1003. We will be doing demos of Aivea SharePoint solutions at the booth as well as in the private suites. The conference is sold out! Over 3800 registered participants.

Please see details at http://www.mssharepointconference.com/pages/sponsors/exhibitors.aspx

The benefits of implementing an Enterprise Intranet by using Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server  (MOSS) 2007 to enhance collaboration and maintain consistency throughout your organization are clear and well-documented.

However, without proper governance, even the best planned intranet can eventually become out of control and lead to chaos.

What can you do to prevent this and get the most from your Office SharePoint Server 2007 investment?

Here is a whitepaper from Microsoft that would help - http://office.microsoft.com/download/afile.aspx?AssetID=AM102321871033

The SharePoint test data load tool (WSSDW.exe) is a performance testing tool that populates data for testing deployments of Office SharePoint Server 2007. The SharePoint test data load tool is available as a command-line executable program that accepts an XML configuration file that specifies the objects to be populated. The SharePoint test data load application calls a Microsoft .NET assembly (WSSDWLib.dll). WSSDWLib.dll can also be called from other applications.

This is a must use tool for all deployments over 50 users.

Here is more -- http://technet2.microsoft.com/Office/en-us/library/301ed832-95da-4251-b266-7be6288f7ea01033.mspx?mfr=true

We got an R&D server farm running with MOSS 2007 SP1 on SQL 2008 and Windows 2008.

Here is an interesting blog from the SharePoint team http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/archive/2008/01/16/windows-server-2008-and-sharepoint-resources.aspx

We will be posting the results of our testing very soon!

The 2008 Microsoft Office System Developer Conference

February 10-13, San Jose California

ODC 2008 is the premier event for Microsoft Office and SharePoint developers bringing together architects, developers, industry technical experts, Microsoft insiders, and key partners to redefine what it means to build on the Office system.

Aivea's has contributions in building OBA components and the platform

Are you geek enough? Sleepless – the Ultimate Office Dev Weekend in six cities across the U.S. features round the clock SharePoint and Office Development training, and a competition with $100,000 in prizes, including an all-expense-paid trip to the Microsoft Office System Developer Conference in San Jose! Think you’ve got what it takes? Apply Now!

Check out this video of what you can expect: Sleepless in NY

We got the Office Communication Server (OCS) 2007 up and running now. We are officially running Live Meeting internally without using any of the Microsoft servers. Out setup is not integrated telephonly/PBX just yet but it will happen in the next couple of weeks after we are done with the implementation of the Audiocodes Media Gateway for OCS 2007.

Here is what we have got running:

• Live Meeting that can support up to 100 participants
• IM and Enhanced Presence
• Integrated Voice with Office Communicator and OCS 2007
• OCS is fully integrated to Aivea's AD
• Video conferencing
• OCS 2007 and Office Communicator 2007 deployment the entire staff - about 100 people in 4 locations

Microsoft CRM 4.0 has RTM'd. Aivea CRM 4.0 consultants have been working closely with Microsoft engineers and partner managers.

Check out the Aivea Customer Experience Portal for CRM 3.0/4.0 - Priced at $1,995 per Server, Unlimited Users/Customers.

We are happy to announce the MSRP of the software (CRMLive.com is not included)

Due to the great success of Aivea's engineering talent and the wonderful support of our customers, we bought a new Class A office building in Beaverton, OR near Nike. We're in the process of doing the interiors tailored for the SCRUM software development process. We need more square feet per employee than most companies because every Aivea employee can get a full 10' x 10' office to themselves. Construction started this past Monday and we're supposed to be moved in entirely by February 2nd week.

We have been looking at an IP based integrated messaging solution (Phone, Instant Messaging, Conferencing, Presence, Integration with our offices in Seattle, Sunnyvale and Bangalore). Microsoft Office Communication Server (OCS) 2007 Enterprise Edition is a great fit for our needs of messaging and voice collaboration for about 100+ employees.

We are implementing OCS 2007 with Polycom CX 700 devices in the reception and conference rooms and Office Communicator 2007 for individual employees. The media gateway is from Audiocodes. OCS 2007 will be running on a HP Proliant D140 hardware with Windows 2003 standard and SQL Server 2005 enterprise.