Back in May, the ask to post a Step-By-Step on Active Directory migration from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2012 was fulfilled and was met with a great deal of interest. Recently an additional ask was put forward to detail migration of Active Directory from Windows Server 2008 R2 to Windows Server 2012. Of course being more than happy to oblige here is said post, however do also take time...

When we talk about migrating to a new OS we always have to think about each workload supported by the OS where looking at migrating. In this post we will look at migrating the Print and Document Services role from a Windows 2008 R2 server ( W2K8R2-1 ) to the destination Windows Server 2012 server ( PRNT-SRV ) To follow along: Download the evaluation of Windows Servers 2012 Use the info...

This is a typical highly available setup into Office 365. Ideally this server will be installed as virtual servers on multiple Hyper-V hosts. Think about redundancy, not only in the virtual servers, but in the Hyper-V servers as well. Install one AD FS and one AD FS Proxy on one Hyper-V host and the other AD FS and AD FS Proxy on another Hyper-V host. This prevents loss of service from a hardware failure...

Last week I posted an article that highlighted the new features supporting the virtualization of Active Directory in Windows Server 2012 .  As promised in that article we will now look at the process of cloning a Domain Controller. To follow along: Download the evaluation of Windows Servers 2012 Use the info in this  post to setup your own lab Scenarios that benefit from virtual domain controller...

The Cloud. We have been talking about it for years, but only in the past couple of years have we been telling you to create your own Private Cloud. Of course, Microsoft has a number of tools to help you to do this, and for the past year we have been talking about Windows Server 2012 , the Operating System (OS) Built From the Cloud Up. In this space you have read countless articles (Okay, you can count...

Recent interest on CANITPRO.NET in regards to Windows 8 for business has started a great deal of conversation around features organizations would like to learn more about. One such feature being mentioned is the AppLocker capability. Enabling specific settings surrounding which apps can and cannot be executed, AppLocker prevents malicious software or malware and unsupported applications to be run on...

Those of you who were lucky enough to attend TechEd 2013 North America were able to hear first hand how Microsoft is transforming to meet the needs of businesses amidst its own transformation. Microsoft is currently maneuvering itself to better address said needs around BYOD, Mobility Security, and Modern User Interface experiences. It was a tall order to fill when Microsoft released Windows 8 and...

We live in a virtual world. We interact virtually, our servers are virtual, even our presence at meeting is in a large part virtual. In fact…. I’m not really here… as always, if you’re looking to explore the topics discussed here: Download the evaluation of Windows Servers 2012 Use the info in this post to setup your own lab The virtual environment have provided...

Let’s face it: System Center 2012 is BIG.  Microsoft literally took seven completely separate products – three of which were HUGE on their own, and combined them into a single product.  It’s no wonder so many IT Pros and hopefuls are so intimidated by it.  I am not going to guide you through the actual installation of products in these articles.  My reasoning behind that is that...

Hello Folks, A while back Chris Di Lullo wrote a piece on protecting your friends and family from phone scams .  Well the bad guys must have been reading our blog because they have updated their “Modus operandi” or method of operation. Instead of calling and pretending to be from Microsoft offering to help “fix your window”.  They now are emailing you with something like the following: It...

During the TechEd North America Keynote yesterday, Microsoft unveiled Windows Server 2012 R2. These products are slated for release by the end of the year, with a Preview version coming before the end of June. At the heart of the Microsoft Cloud OS vision, Windows Server 2012 R2 brings Microsoft’s experience delivering global-scale cloud services into our customers’ infrastructure. Windows Server 2012...

Today was an exciting morning for IT Professionals attending TechEd 2013 North America as details around changes benefiting Windows Azure IaaS were made public today. Now, more than ever, would be a great time for any organization to take advantage of what Azure has to offer. >> Sign up for a 3 month free trial of Windows Azure IaaS. Changes announced today include: IaaS Services...

In System Center Configuration Manager 2007 (SCCM 2007) collections were used to determine any installation prerequisites. If different architecture versions of the same application needed to be distributed, two separate collections would need to be maintained as targets for the advertisements. System Center 2012 Configuration Manager makes this process simpler by including the concept of requirement...

Well folks, it looks like my dance card for the rest of FY13 (Microsoft’s fiscal year ends June 30th) is nearly full; I am excited to announce FIVE more events in THREE cities that I will be delivering between now and the end of that time… and I am really looking forward to each one! (Well, to be fair, one of those events in one city is not yet confirmed…) HALIFAX June 11: The...

For those companies that are using legacy Exchange and looking to get people migrated to Office 365, a cut over migration might be what’s needed. The best part of the cutover migration is that it takes advantage of your existing setup. There is no need for a hybrid server. As the name implies, it’s a cutover from one service to another. Microsoft limits this to fewer than 1000 mailboxes...

Here is a little that IT Planners/Designers and especially administrator will be interested in.  It’s something that, in all my years managing\designing\deploying AD environments, I've been asked over and over.  Sometimes for the wrong reason….  To follow along: Download the evaluation of Windows Servers 2012 Use the info in this  post to setup your own lab   What do fine-grained...

Ever since Microsoft bought Skype I have been getting questions about where it fits. We got our first indication earlier this year when we all got notifications that Live Messenger was merging into Skype . Obviously there was no need for two different services that did essentially the same thing… but Lync was a different story. Unlike Skype, which is a completely cloud-based service, Lync...

Yesterday I told you how you can use Differencing Disks in courseware, for lab development, for Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, for software development, and for any number of other uses.  They really are a very handy technology once you get to know them.  But how do you do that? Although usually I would show my Hyper-V demos on a Server, for today’s fun I want to remind you that you can...

One of the features of Hyper-V that has made courseware development and delivery easier for me is the ability to create Parent (or Base) and Differencing disks. It allowed me to reduce the ‘reset’ time at the end of a course (to prepare for the next delivery) from two hours per machine to one minute per machine . If anyone wants to argue their value with me personally then that is the ratio...

As you may know, Active Directory provides authentication and authorization mechanisms as well as framework from within other related services that can be deployed. As an LDAP compliant database, it contains most commonly used objects such as users, computers, and groups which can be organized into organizational units or OUs by any number of logical or business needs. Group Policy Objects or GPOs...

Hello folks, Windows has been reimagined to be all about you and your style of working.  That means that you can “personalize” your experience.  Here is my start screen. I have all the apps I use everyday at the right side to give me really quick access to them.  that is just one of the things I do to make my experience better. No matter what you want to do, you can get it done quickly...

I've always been a great fan of Group Policy Objects.  They are a fantastic way to retain control of your environment.  With Windows Server 2012 the good things keep coming.  Today we will look at some of what’s new in Group Policy in Windows Server 2012. more specifically we will discuss the following: Remote Group Policy Update Group Policy infrastructure status Local Group Policy...

Over the past few months we have made a big deal about the storage features of Windows Server 2012, including how the built-in iSCSI Software Target allows you to build a low-cost software-SAN (storage area network) for small environments, and how that lets you create a Hyper-V Failover Cluster without the expense of an actual SAN appliance. We have also made a huge deal about building a Private Cloud...

Hello Folks, Today we will look at some of the new features and enhancements in Active directory with Windows Server 2012. As usual, I suggest you download the evaluation of Windows Servers 2012 and use the info in this post to setup your own lab and start exploring what’s new in Active directory. Let’s get going… Here are the points , In my own opinion, that are the most impactful enhancements of...

Many of you know that used to do a lot of VMware training… primarily for a company called VMTraining.  So I was thrilled when they reached out to me recently and asked if I was willing to do a webinar on Hyper-V for their customers… and for anyone else who was interested.  While it is not in response to it, the webinar does follow a similar one done recently by one of their senior instructors...