Archive
7 Years as Microsoft Most Valuable Professional
My heartfelt thanks Microsoft. Once again and for the past 7 years, I am tremendously honoured to receive the distinguished Microsoft MVP award, particularly given the select group of experts who are recognized.
A big thank you to Ben Armstrong, Sarah Cooley and the Hyper-V team.
“The Microsoft MVP Award recognizes inspiring, trusted, and independent experts from around the world who voluntarily share their passion and knowledge of Microsoft products with others.
… MVPs represent nearly 100 countries, speak over 40 different languages, and are awarded in almost 90 Microsoft technologies. Together, they answer more than 10 million questions each year.
Of the more than 100 million social and technical community members worldwide, only small portion are recognized as MVPs. As part of their award experience, MVPs are invited to share their feedback through direct interactions with Microsoft product group teams.”
I’m really looking forward to 2015 as it is promising to be a very exciting year with the release of Windows Server and System Center vNext looking to be one of the best versions ever launched.
Note sent by Microsoft:
Thank you for your exceptional contributions to technical communities! It gives us great pleasure to present you with the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Award for the technical expertise you generously provide to others. By sharing your knowledge, experience, and objective feedback, you inspire and help people to solve problems and discover new capabilities every day. We are honored to welcome you as a Microsoft MVP.
Steven Guggenheimer
Corporate Vice President
Once again, THANK YOU! It is great to be awarded for something you love to do and it is a great motivation to continue contributing to the community.
I also would like to thank Readify for their support. If you are passionate about technology as we, Readifarians are, check out what do here: http://readify.net
Deploying System Center Operations Manager vNext
Recently Microsoft released the preview version of their next release of Windows Server, Hyper-V and System Center as did Savision with Live Maps for System Center.
Note: This blog post was first published here : http://www.savision.com/resources/blog/installing-system-center-opsmgr-vnext-and-savision-live-maps-part-i-mvp-alessandro
You can download System Center vNext Preview here and Savision Live Maps from here.
To start, make sure of the following:
- You installed the SQL Server 2014 as the database server for the System Center vNext preview edition. To note, I run into SQL connectivity issues when I tried to use an SQL 2012 version, with a message stating that I did not have a compatible version of SQL installed. Whereas the documentation says that SQL 2012 is supported for vNext preview it is not the case.
- If the SQL Server is installed on a dedicated machine (recommended), that the host firewall is configured to allow inbound connections on port 1433 (SQL) , 80(http) and 443 (https)
- You installed Reporting Services (SSRS), Analysis Services and Full Text Search as it is required by Operations Manager.
- You created an account to install System Center and it is member of local administrators. For this post, I created an account named “sc-admin”.
- Logon on the machine you plan to install System Center with the “sc-admin”
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The “sc-admin” account has permissions to create a database in the installed SQL server. You can achieve this by either adding the account to the SQL server administrators when install SQL Server, of by adding the account using SQL Server Management Studio, by expanding Security->Logins and then creating a new login, adding the “sc-admin” account and selecting “sysadmin” as permission under Server Roles (preferable). You can also, if security is a concern, create a OperationsManager database and give the account DB Owner (dbo) permission.
If the credentials you are using to install do not have permission to create the database you will receive the following message:
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The SQL Server Agent is started and set to automatic:
Or else the following error will appear when the Reporting Services configuration times come in the Operations Manager installation wizard.
Quick Note: You will notice that although you are installing System Center Operations Manager vNext, the initial screen will show 2012R2 🙂
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To initiate the installation, click on Install and the Preview logo will appear
I also recommend selecting the Download the latest updates to the setup program checkbox.
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Select the System Center features you want to install. For this post, I am selecting: Management Server, Operations Console and Reporting Server. Click Next to continue.
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In the Select Installation location, provide the path for Operations Manager installation and click on Next.
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Your system will now be checked for hardware and software against System Center requirements. If some requirements are missing it will appear on the screen for your resolution.
The below example, Report Viewer is missing. To fix the issue, click on the
to expand
Note that in the above example there are two warnings: the first one about the system not having the recommended 4GB of memory and the second one about a pending restart. As I am installing this for a demo purpose, I can safely ignore the 1st warning, but I will have to click on Cancel and restart the machine in order to proceed the installation.
Click on the link to download and install Report Viewer
- If no error is reported, click on Next to continue.
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In the Specify the installation option, select Create the first Management server in a new management group and provide the name. For this post I am using the name “lab” for the management group name.
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Click on Next to continue and accept the License terms and click on Next to proceed.
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In the configure operational database, type the SQL server name and port (if different for the default 1433)
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Click on Next to progress and to the next step where you will need to provide the Data Warehouse database configuration
- Click on Next to continue and in the next step confirm the SQL Server instance that is running the SQL Reporting Services and then click on Next to proceed.
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In the Configure Operations Manager accounts, provide the accounts details and click on Next to proceed.
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In the Help improve Operations manager, select the desired options and click on Next to proceed.
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In the Update screen select the desired option (On is recommended) and click on Next to proceed.
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On the Installation Summary, click on Install and wait for the installation to complete.
Now we have System Center Operations Manager successfully installed.
Windows Server 2012 Update – released today
Today is a big day with the release of Windows Server 2012 R2 Update!
Windows Server 2012 R2 Update is a cumulative update of every hotfix released for Win2012 R2 to date. This just radically simplified our set of recommended hotfixes.
New Win2012 R2 Cluster Recommended hotfixes:
1. Windows RT 8.1, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 R2 Update April, 2014
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2919355
2. CSV snapshot file is corrupted when you create some files on the live volume
Springboard Series Insider – Spotlight of the month. @MSSpringboard
Microsoft Windows releases a monthly newsletter called Springboard Series Insider. This is a vastly popular online publication targeting IT Pros and anyone interested in Windows.
Only a few are listed in the Springboard Series Insider. So I am really happy and proud for this recognition. Thank you!
The Insider provides their subscribers with
- New Resources
- Windows Tip of the Month
- Something to Blog About
- Tips and Tricks
- Internet Explorer IT Corner
- Tweet Alert
- Events and Training
- Sneak Peek: For Insiders Only
This month the main theme is Windows 8.1 updates, which provides a number of features designed to improve the Windows 8.1 experience for enterprise environments.
If you haven’t signed up yet, now it is time :
.jpg "Sign up for the Springboard Series Insider newsletter")
Note: As always, if you have any suggestions on content you’d like to see or resources you need, please reach out to Microsoft anytime at springboard@microsoft.com. In the meantime, enjoy this month’s edition of the Springboard Series Insider and be sure to try out Windows 8.1 Update!
FREE Microsoft MVP Event Australia and New Zealand. March 2014. Register Now
The FREE MVP Community Camp (ComCamp) is a six-day event with both Live Webcasts and In-Person Seminars. MVPs from nine countries will deliver webcasts available to anyone anywhere to learn trends and techniques from these industry leaders; the in-person seminars will be available in 22 cities across seven countries with tracks providing opportunities to connect with others in the same expertise/interest area and to have a number of technology hands-on experiences.
Delivered by MVPs who not only possess the expert knowledge in their field but also have been influential technical leaders to IT community and audiences. Each session is 60 minutes long and includes Q&A to help you get an instant feedback on questions you have had during the session. Between each session, 15 minutes break is given for MVPs and community members to network, share their thoughts on topics presented and share technical experiences.
There are sessions happening in the principal cities of Australia : Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide and New Zealand. Make sure you register early to secure your spot.
Registration links:
My Microsoft Teched Australia 2013 speaking sessions
This year I will be presenting 4 ILL sessions at TechEd Australia, but you can also find me at the Microsoft Showcase : Datacenter and at the Insight booth in the Exhibition Centre.
Take time to visit Insight booth and learn about what we can do to help your business and to enter on a draw to win a Microsoft Surface or a signed copy of my book: System Center 2012 VMM.
My Sessions:
| AZR-I201
Wednesday 11:15 – 12:45 |
Getting to Know Windows Azure IaaS, Part 1
Whether you build apps or support the infrastructure that runs the apps, the cloud can be a really big place. For some, it’s a natural evolution for their application and infrastructure to embrace the power and scale of the cloud. For others, it’s a journey that has to begin with a single step. Windows Azure provides that first step with a scalable, flexible platform for deploying your applications your way. With our Infrastructure as a Service platform (IaaS) called Windows Azure Virtual Machines, you get the flexibility to choose between Windows and Linux with full control over the operating system configuration and installed software, matched with the portability of Hyper-V disk images. Windows Azure Virtual Machines provide the perfect environment for meeting all of your Infrastructure-as-a-Service needs. To learn more about our Infrastructure as a Service platform, we invite all developers and IT professionals to join Matt Hester as he introduces you to the Microsoft Cloud Platform, dives deep into Windows Azure Virtual Machines, and helps walk you through a hands-on demonstration of the power of IaaS on the Windows Azure platform. This is part 1 of 2. Please plan on attending both WAD-IL201 and WAD-IL202 to complete the lab. The lab requires you to connect to the Windows Azure Portal, where you will provision three separate virtual machines in the cloud and configure them each via a Remote Desktop client connection. All participants need to have access for Windows Azure prior to the lab. You can register for a FREE 90-day trial of the Windows Azure prior to the lab. You can sign up for your FREE trial here: http://aka.ms/IaasBootCamp. |
| AZR-I202
Wednesday |
Getting to Know Windows Azure IaaS, Part 2
Whether you build apps or support the infrastructure that runs the apps, the cloud can be a really big place. For some, it’s a natural evolution for their application and infrastructure to embrace the power and scale of the cloud. For others, it’s a journey that has to begin with a single step. Windows Azure provides that first step with a scalable, flexible platform for deploying your applications your way. With our Infrastructure as a Service platform (IaaS) called Windows Azure Virtual Machines, you get the flexibility to choose between Windows and Linux with full control over the operating system configuration and installed software, matched with the portability of Hyper-V disk images. Windows Azure Virtual Machines provide the perfect environment for meeting all of your Infrastructure-as-a-Service needs. To learn more about our Infrastructure as a Service platform, we invite all developers and IT professionals to join Matt Hester as he introduces you to the Microsoft Cloud Platform, dives deep into Windows Azure Virtual Machines, and helps walk you through a hands-on demonstration of the power of IaaS on the Windows Azure platform. This is part 2 of 2. In order to attend this session you need to attend WAD-IL201 first. The lab requires you to connect to the Windows Azure Portal, where you will provision three separate virtual machines in the cloud and configure them each via a Remote Desktop client connection. All participants need to have access for Windows Azure prior to the lab. You can register for a FREE 90-day trial of the Windows Azure prior to the lab. You can sign up for your FREE trial here: http://aka.ms/IaasBootCamp. |
| MDC-I315
Friday |
Microsoft System Center 2012 – Orchestrator: Overview and Automation of IT Process
This lab guides you through several process automation examples, providing hands-on experience with the concepts explained in the course manual and provides real-world context. In this exercise, you are introduced to the interfaces available with Orchestrator. Create a Runbook to perform actions such as working with File Management Objects, monitor a folder for the accumulation of more than 5 log files, move the files to an archive folder and log an event for each file archive operation, using the Runbook Tester Console to Validate Runbooks. This lab also covers the creation of a Runbook to perform the actions, such as automate recovery of a Windows Service based on alert detection from a unit monitor in System Center Operations Manager to address the intermittent Windows service failures. It also highlights advanced concepts and techniques that can be employed when creating runbooks in Orchestrator. |
| MDC-I321
Thursday |
Microsoft System Center 2012: Network Virtualization
This lab provides a step-by-step description for how to build, configure and implement Hyper-V Network Virtualization using Windows Server 2012 and System Center 2012 SP1. You create a multi-tenant virtual network on shared physical network including multiple subnets and virtual routes using the NVGRE configuration. |
Networking enhancements in the Windows 2012 R2 based on customer feedbacks
With Server 2012 and VMM 2012 SP1, Microsoft enabled new foundational scenarios from Continuous Availability (with in-box NIC Teaming) to building blocks for Software Defined Networking (with the extensible Hyper-V Virtual Switch and Hyper-V Network Virtualization [HNV]) to IP Address Management (IPAM).
Now with Server and VMM 2012R2, Microsoft is targeting the reduction of networking Capital Expenditures (CapEx), by enabling customers to maximize utilization of their existing resources and reduce the need for specialized hardware over time.
Microsoft got the feedback from customers advising that they want choice and flexibility in both the networking vendors they use and the cloud in which their workloads run. They need the ability to plug and play between vendors without having to change management software, processes, or knowledge, plus the ability to deploy any workloads across any cloud provider.
The other feedback received by Microsoft is that network automation is key. Automation is required across the Service Provider’s network, the tenant’s network, and network infrastructure services (load balancing, firewall, etc.).
As you can see in the figure below, the feedback is giving notably results to the customers with many features that further enhance Microsoft end-to-end capabilities:
Recommended articles:
IaaS Innovations in Windows 2012R2
To deliver smooth end-to-end scenarios in the Windows Server 2012 R2 release, Microsoft is focusing on two important aspects of delivering IaaS:
- Continuing to drive innovation into the infrastructure itself to ensure network, compute, and storage are not only low-cost, but also easy to operate through rich integration with System Center.
- Delivering a delightful experience for the IaaS and customer of the Service Provider (tenant administrators) using IaaS.
Microsoft is targeting specifically Service Providers and enterprises that want to act as Service Providers for their users.
To Download Windows 2012 R2 and System Center 2012 R2: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/evalcenter/dn205295.aspx?CR_CC=200142594
To read Microsoft published IaaS articles :
Windows Server 2012 R2. What’s new in this new version….
Windows Server 2012 R2 offers exciting new features and enhancements across virtualization, storage, networking, virtual desktop infrastructure, access and information protection, and more.
With Windows Azure VM and System Center 2012 R2, it unlocks improved application portability between on-premises environments and public and service provider clouds, increasing flexibility and elasticity of your IT services.
Windows Server 2012 R2 provides a scalable, highly available platform for mission-critical applications.
Windows Server 2012 R2 makes it easier to deploy a virtual desktop infrastructure, and can lower storage costs significantly by supporting a broad range of storage options and with a new feature VHD de-duplication.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure in Windows Server 2012 R2 makes it possible for users to access IT from virtually anywhere, providing them a rich Windows experience while ensuring enhanced data security and compliance.
For more info and evaluation:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/evalcenter/dn205292.aspx?CR_CC=200142594 (yet to be available)
New Windows version: “Windows Blue” to be called Windows 8.1
“Windows Blue” will be called Windows 8.1 and will be a free update to Windows 8 for consumers through the Windows Store
Blue advances the Windows 8 vision. It will deliver the latest new innovations across an increasingly broad array of form factors of all sizes, display, battery life and performance.
Blue, will be available for both Intel and ARM-based PCs and tablets, will be tailored to work on smaller form-factor tablets and devices.
Check out at the JP Morgan Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in Boston, with Tami Reller .
More info and source: http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2013/05/14/windows-keeps-getting-better.aspx
Recommended Books
System Center 2012 R2 Virtual Machine
System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012 Cookbook
Cloudtidings.com 