Private Clouds are increasingly important to the efficient operations of your business. The System Center 2012 products provide everything you need to build, secure, maintain and manage your Private Cloud. You can get all of the latest Betas, Release Candidates and Evaluations by clicking one button!
Thank you to everyone that stuck around for the presentation Private Clouds that I delivered to MCT’s last Thursday. Mother Nature was not very kind to us that day and is continuing to cause problems in my area. The power outage I suffered at my house lasted the remainder of the day and my wife and I ended up staying at a hotel the next two nights because we had no heat.
I mentioned on the presentation that I would record some demos to post here to my blog. I had hoped to have those ready for this week, but I will not be able to get anything posted until next week. With the power down and the cleanup here on my property, I have not been able to record the demos yet. I will get the demos recorded this next weekend and have them posted within a few days.
To give you an idea of what happened at my house, here are a few photos.
This is a picture I took a two days before the webcast.
Almost the same angle but with a tree down across the hot tub
That was one of four large trees that actually came down across my property. This one also broke a gas line on my property. In all, we are removing more than a dozen trees that were severely damaged by the heavy ice and snow. This next pic is of the large tree that came down in our backyard.
Finally, I have received the feedback and comments from the session and I appreciate the understanding many of you showed in the comments. However, I would like to address one comment that was made.
“Presenter wasn't prepared for connection loss. Also reflects poorly on the ability of MS infrastructure solutions to stay up when needed”
This was not a Microsoft infrastructure issue. This was a regional power outage that impacted many 10’s of thousands of people. Some of which were without power for 5 days. Since I was essentially snowed in, it was not even an option for me to go to the Microsoft campus to deliver the webcast that day. I do sincerely apologize for the issues that arose but I hope people understand that when it comes to dealing with mother nature, we are at the mercy of what mood she is in that day.
Cheers!
As you may have heard, there have been some big announcements regarding System Center 2012. All of these announcements are directly related to the Private Cloud conversations I have been having with IT Pro’s for the last year. Before I dig into the specific announcement information, let me summarize the importance of Private Clouds.
In many of my presentations on Private Cloud, I use a time warp scenario to drive home the changes in IT that Private Cloud offer us.
15 years ago - Developers in your company have a project that needs dedicated resources
A Domain Controller (user accounts, authorization, security, rights and roles) A Database Server (data storage for the apps be developed, reporting data, inventory, sales, etc) A Mail Server (notifications, collaboration) 1-3 Client machines for testing Time/Labor to make it all happen
A Domain Controller (user accounts, authorization, security, rights and roles)
A Database Server (data storage for the apps be developed, reporting data, inventory, sales, etc)
A Mail Server (notifications, collaboration)
1-3 Client machines for testing
Time/Labor to make it all happen
In 1997, this meant identifying hardware requirements, ordering the hardware, provisioning the hardware, then delivering to the developers. The amount of time between the request for resources and delivery of the resources could be weeks or even months. Not to mention that the development staff is limited on what they can do until the resources arrive. Not very efficient or productive.
Present Day - Developers in your company have a project that needs dedicated resources
Same Resources requested for same purpose
In 2012, the IT staff can deliver these resources “on-demand” by selecting capable resources, much of which is virtualized, from a pool or library, and provision those to the needs of the developers. Thus reducing the time between request and delivery to a matter of days or even hours. Furthermore, resources can be generalized and stored in a library along with scripts to customize the resources. The library can be securely exposed to requestors through a self-service portal. With requesters can be assigned roles that allow a requestor to search through resources or select a canned environment along with customization scripts to create the environment they need – without direct interaction of the IT staff. You can have as much or as little automation as required for your own needs.
From months to hours, it is pretty clear that Private Clouds offer an opportunity to streamline and create agility in IT operations. IT as a Service is a reality now!
And now back to the announcements!
We have an on-demand webcast available that solidifies the Microsoft Private Cloud story using Windows Servers, Hyper-V virtualization, and the System Center 2012 Suite. Microsoft’s Server & Tools Business division leaders participated in a webcast, “Transforming IT with Microsoft Private Cloud” where they announced the release candidate of System Center 2012 and simplified Microsoft’s private cloud management products.
As you well know, Microsoft has built global scale public cloud platforms with Windows Azure and a variety of consumer cloud products (Live Mail, XBox Live, Office 365 and more!). The System Center 2012 announcements bring us closer to the final release of the SC2012 suite and closing the loop by adding a complete Private Cloud solution. We offer customers the flexibility to choose how/where they want to run their cloud applications. Microsoft’s private cloud solutions benefit from the feedback loop of delivering our cloud services at massive scale and applying those learning's to our on-premises products.
Brad Anderson published a blog post that describes how public and private clouds come together.
-----------------------------------------------------------
You can start working with Microsoft Private Cloud solutions now. Better yet, you can do it for FREE!
Download the System Center 2012 Suite (all of it is select only what you are interested in)
I would also encourage you to check out these additional resources for more information on Private Clouds and System Center 2012 -
The Official Microsoft Blog - System Center 2012: Where Public and Private Clouds Meet System Center 2012 – Licensing Datasheet (PDF) System Center 2012 – Licensing FAQ (PDF)
The Official Microsoft Blog - System Center 2012: Where Public and Private Clouds Meet
System Center 2012 – Licensing Datasheet (PDF)
System Center 2012 – Licensing FAQ (PDF)
If you are a Microsoft Partner, please check out the value proposition documents on the Microsoft Partner Site -
Microsoft Partner Site – What is the Value of Private Cloud?
Today we’re talking Virtualization with Microsoft Director of Cloud and Virtualization Strategy, Edwin Yuen. Tune in as Edwin lays the foundation for what it is, how VMware stacks up to Microsoft Virtualization technologies as well as how you can personally benefit from learning more about the topic. Also be sure to watch for Sr. IT Pro Evangelist Chris Avis, as he discusses various ways Virtualization can impact consumers, educators and businesses.
Download this Segment
Video: WMV | MP4 | WMV (ZIP) | PSP Audio: WMA | MP3
Click here to learn more about Microsoft Virtualization Certification
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:
Blogs:
Videos:
My buddy Dan Stolts is delivering a webcast on January 18th -
Please Register https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032501883&Culture=en-US
About this TechNet webcast:
The "cloud" is simply the next level of virtualization. For those that do not have virtualization experience, this webcast describes the fundamentals of Hyper-V while giving you a jump start to your virtualization or cloud career. Then, we dive deep into the Microsoft hypervisor-based server virtualization technology. Professional Hyper-V and VMware administrators can learn how their existing virtualization knowledge can be leveraged to quickly move to the next layer of virtualization, the private cloud. So, have your cup of caffeine, and buckle up to take a very fast and eventful ride from where you are now to where you need to be to advance your career.
Some of the things we will discuss..
Steve Ballmer will be keynoting at the Consumer Electronics Show this evening at 6:30pm Pacific. I really wish I was able to be at the show to watch it live and see all the great stuff being showcased there. Since I have other stuff going on this week, I plan on watching the keynote LIVE online.
Facebook will be streaming the keynote live here – Facebook Microsoft/Steve Ballmer CES Keynote Stream
You can also watch it live via the Microsoft News Center – Microsoft New Center CES Keynote Stream
Starting today, I have picked up two areas of coverage on the west coast. I will be covering IT Pro Evangelism activities in the San Francisco Bay area (this includes Oakland, Mountain View, San Jose, etc) as well as Sacramento. I am working through my schedule to make adjustments and plan for some additional travel. This will be in addition to the area I already cover in the Northwest so it looks like I will be maintaining my Flight and Hotel status easily this year!
If you are a part of a user group or other IT Pro related activities in the Bay Area or Sacramento, please feel free to reach out to me. I will be working this week to identify activities I need to get involved with, but I would love to hear directly from you!
Kind of a weird title for a tech blog post…..
I spoke at my Windows Networking User Group this past Wednesday evening on Building Private Clouds using Microsoft Technologies. The presentation went well and seemed to be well received. From my position in front of the group, there seemed to be nothing amiss at all.
When I got home around 9pm, my wife and I were standing in the kitchen catching up on each other’s days when she just started laughing. I had not said anything particularly humorous so I was a little perplexed. It also turned out to be one of those laughs where you can’t really talk because you are laughing so hard and can’t catch your breathe right to get an intelligible sentence out. When she finally stopped laughing she asked me how my presentation went and then “Why didn’t you pull it off when they told you????”. I had absolutely no idea what she was even talking about and this sent her into another blubbering fit of laughter.
Then she pointed under my arm…..
So……to those of you who gleefully sat through an hour and a half of me presenting to you – AND SAID NOTHING AT ALL - (and I KNOW you saw that tag)……be forewarned…..
APRIL 1ST IS COMING!
Wow! All kinds of great news today! I just found out about a discount promotion on Technet Subscriptions. From now until February 29th, 2012, you can get a 15% Discount on NEW TechNet Professional Subscriptions. The official terms state you must be a TechNet Flash subscriber so before you go clicking the other links, sign up for the TechNet Flash!
Make sure you use TNFLA12 as the discount code when purchasing the TechNet subscription to get your 15% discount!
I literally just heard about this upcoming webcast a few minutes through my co-worker, John Weston. This looks to be a very interesting discussion on Private Cloud coming directly from Microsoft Executives as well as some real life Senior IT Professionals.
Here is the abstract information --
Transforming IT with Microsoft Private Cloud
The definition and the virtue of “the cloud” have been hotly debated in recent months. Many agree that both the public and private cloud can accelerate innovation, reduce costs, and increase business agility in the market. While there are lofty expectations over the next few years for this technology, many professionals in IT are already reaping the benefits of cloud computing to drive their organizational goals.
Join us for an interactive virtual event featuring both Microsoft executives and fellow CIOs:
· Be among the first to hear the latest private cloud news from Microsoft · Learn from other senior professionals in IT about how cloud computing is helping drive greater results · Evaluate Microsoft’s cloud offerings, including a deep dive into the private, public and hybrid cloud models · Learn how to leverage the cloud to gain maximum competitive advantage at minimal risk · Experience a scenario-based demonstration of Microsoft's private cloud computing solutions
· Be among the first to hear the latest private cloud news from Microsoft
· Learn from other senior professionals in IT about how cloud computing is helping drive greater results
· Evaluate Microsoft’s cloud offerings, including a deep dive into the private, public and hybrid cloud models
· Learn how to leverage the cloud to gain maximum competitive advantage at minimal risk
· Experience a scenario-based demonstration of Microsoft's private cloud computing solutions
Microsoft Executive Panelists:
Satya Nadella, President, Server and Tools Business, Microsoft Brad Anderson, Corporate Vice President, Management and Security Division, Microsoft Jacky Wright,Vice President, IT Strategic Services, Microsoft IT
Satya Nadella, President, Server and Tools Business, Microsoft
Brad Anderson, Corporate Vice President, Management and Security Division, Microsoft
Jacky Wright,Vice President, IT Strategic Services, Microsoft IT
8:30AM PST | 16:30 UTC -- Private cloud discussion with Microsoft executives: Insights and news
• Satya Nadella, President, Server and Tools Business, Microsoft • Brad Anderson, Corporate Vice President, Management and Security Division, Microsoft
• Satya Nadella, President, Server and Tools Business, Microsoft
• Brad Anderson, Corporate Vice President, Management and Security Division, Microsoft
9:00AM PST | 17:00 UTC -- Executive panel and Q&A: Guidance and best practices
• Brad Anderson, Corporate Vice President, Management and Security Division, Microsoft • Jacky Wright, Vice President, IT Strategic Services, Microsoft IT • Rand Morimoto, Chief Executive Officer, Convergent Computing
• Jacky Wright, Vice President, IT Strategic Services, Microsoft IT
• Rand Morimoto, Chief Executive Officer, Convergent Computing
9:30AM PST | 17:30 UTC -- Envisioning Your Private Cloud: A scenario based demonstration from the Microsoft Technology Center in Redmond, WA.
You can Register for this virtual event here - Transforming IT with Microsoft Private Cloud
We are having our monthly Windows Networking User Group meeting this evening in Bellevue at the Microsoft Lincoln Square office. We meet from 6p-8p.
I will be talking about how to use System Center 2012 to build private clouds. here is the official abstract --
You have heard a lot about Microsoft Private Cloud solution in the last 12 months. You have probably started hearing even more about Private Cloud with the release of the System Center 2012 Beta and Release Candidate Software. System Center 2012 brings the Microsoft Private Cloud solution full circle. With new products like Orchestrator and Service Manager along with integrating cloud deployment directly into Virtual Machine Manager, the Private Cloud story is about to get very exciting! Join us for this meeting where we will briefly explain where all of the System Center 2012 components fit into private clouds and do live demonstrations on deploying a private cloud.
If you plan on attending, please RSVP at the WNUG registration site!
Group Policy MVP, Jeremy Moskowitz is delivering a FREE Webinar on Group Policy TOMORROW!!!
-------------------------
LIVE WEBINAR - Leveraging the Power of Group Policy By Jeremy Moskowitz - Group Policy MVP
Group Policy is a "big place." It feels like there's a "billion settings" you can set with it. While not quite true, it does enable administrators to do a lot with their systems.
In this webinar, Group Policy MVP Jeremy Moskowitz will examine the wide variety of item types you can control using Group Policy. From Policy, to Preference, to Security Settings, and even some "off the beaten path" items.
So come to this informative, LIVE webinar and learn from Jeremy Moskowitz, Group Policy MVP how to leverage the power of Group Policy.
Wednesday, 4th January 2012
11am to 12 EST (4pm - 5pm GMT)
http://pages.avecto.com/JeremyMoskowitz_Register.html
Jeremy Moskowitz is a Group Policy MVP and Chief Propeller-Head for Moskowitz, inc. and GPanswers.com. GPanswers.com was ranked as one of "The 20 most useful Microsoft sites for IT professionals" by ComputerWorld magazine. He is one of less than a dozen Microsoft MVPs in Group Policy and has performed Active Directory and Group Policy planning and implementations for some of the nation's largest organizations. His latest book is Group Policy Fundamentals, Security, and the Managed Desktop (WILEY, 2010).
If you want o learn a little more about Jeremy, check out the video interviews I did with him in November of last year at the Windows Connections Conference -
TechNet Video: (Part 1) Interview with Jeremy Moskowitz – Overview of the PolicyPak Application
TechNet Video: (Part 2) Interview with Jeremy Moskowitz – Cool Technology
The New Year is here! And I am back from a much appreciated vacation. I think that was the most unplugged from work that I have been in 15 years. I have a ton of email to go through, a bunch of blog post ideas, and a ton of new stuff to talk about. I am still focused on Private Cloud so you will continue to see me posting about System Center 2012 and Windows Server.
if there are other technologies you are interested in, please let me know and I will do my best to address those topics as well.
Jeremy Moskowitz is a long time Group Policy MVP and runs the GPAnswers.com web site. I caught up with Jeremy at the Windows Connection conference in Las Vegas where we sat down to talk about cool technology trends. In this short 10 minute interview, tune in to hear what things Jeremy thinks about current technology trends!
Download WMV Download | WMA | MP3
TechNet Video: (Part 1) Interview with Jeremy Moskowitz – Overview of the PolicyPak application
Jeremy Moskowitz is long time Group Policy MVP and runs the GPAnswers.com web site. I caught up with Jeremy at the Windows Connection conference in Las Vegas where he showed me the PolicyPak application. This tool allows Group Policy administrators to manage application that do not have pre-built Group Policy Admin Templates. The tool allows Administrators unprecedented control over application functions via Group Policy. Jeremy talks about and demos the application for us in the video.
Good Day Folks!
I just learned that we have some brand new virtual labs on the Microsoft Technet site. With most of the System Center 2012 products in Beta or RC status now, it is a great opportunity to start working with products that should be feature complete. The Technet Virtual Labs let you get your hands dirty in a safe, structured online lab.
Here are links to all of the System Center 2012 Virtual Labs --
Introduction to System Center Configuration Manager 2012
After completing this lab, you will be better able to understand the Configuration Manager 2012 Console terminology, navigate around the Configuration Manager 2012 Console, use the search and filter capabilities of the Configuration Manager 2012 Console, and use the Configuration Manager 2012 features in the beta 2 release.
System Center Operations Manager 2012: Infrastructure and Application Performance Monitoring
Deploying the infrastructure for a private cloud is just the first step. Once it’s in place, IT administrators have to monitor those resources to ensure that the infrastructure SLAs are met, quickly find the causes for any problems, and plan for future growth.
System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012: Building Your Cloud Infrastructure
In preparing for private cloud deployments, you have to think about the best ways to use your existing infrastructure fabric resources. For example, do you have needs that will require resources like bare-metal operating system deployments and servers running Microsoft Hyper-V? Do you have different types of storage? Will you be able to properly discover, classify, and allocate the right resources to different virtualized environments? Can you simplify the complexity of your complex networking environment to pull all these elements together, create clusters, and streamline the deployment of private clouds? Virtual Machine Manager for Microsoft System Center 2012 helps this process by streamlining how network and storage resources are allocated for virtual machines, and by making it easier to create new Hyper-V hosts and host clusters.
System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012: Building a Service Template
Today’s IT environments are typically a complex mix of hardware, applications, and even different platforms. Introducing cloud technology into the mix makes everyday IT jobs even tougher. The Microsoft approach to Infrastructure as a Service is to streamline cloud deployments for IT pros. Microsoft does this by taking disparate resources and logically abstracting them to the cloud, using the same methods to deploy different hypervisors, and delegating cloud access and control. Microsoft also provides cloud-based delegation of resources, and quota controls over resource usage. The result is that the underlying infrastructure fabric of networking, storage, and computers—including different hypervisors—can be configured as resources in private clouds. These clouds can be delegated to individual users with distinct quotas. The goal of this demo is to show IT pros how to delegate private cloud access to users and administrators. After creating the roles needed, users will create a new private cloud, a virtual machine, and service templates before deploying a service to the cloud.
Here are some of the new features made available in the new service pack
Exchange 2010 Service Pack 2 Download
Some other Useful Downloads…..
Exchange 2010 Service Pack 2 Unified Message Language Packs
These downloads contain pre-recorded prompts, grammar files, text to speech data, Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) files, and Voice Mail Preview capabilities for a specific language that is supported by Exchange 2010 SP2 Unified Messaging (UM). Warning: This UM language pack must only be installed as an add-in to Exchange Server 2010 SP2 Unified Messaging.
Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 2 Web Service SDK
This release of the Exchange 2010 Service Pack 2 (SP2) Web Services Software Development Kit (SDK) provides new and updated documentation and samples for building applications that use Web services in Exchange 2010 SP2. Use this SDK to help you develop collaborative Web services–based enterprise applications.
Good Morning Folks!
I am ramping back up after lots of travel and the holidays to get some great new information on the blog. For this entry, I would like to introduce you to the Microsoft Private Cloud Solution Hub. This is THE landing page for all things Private Cloud related for our solutions.
As you know, Hyper-V for Virtualization and the System Center Suite for management, deployment, monitoring, reporting and more, make up a very robust solution for deploying Private Clouds on Microsoft Platform. You can download and test these solutions at no charge from these links --
Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1 Trial – If you Need a full operation system for management plus addition networking features, choose this trial download. Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 – If you want a hypervisor only virtualization solution, choose this download. System Center 2012 – This download link allows you to download all or just some of the System Center components for evaluation.
Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1 Trial – If you Need a full operation system for management plus addition networking features, choose this trial download.
Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 – If you want a hypervisor only virtualization solution, choose this download.
System Center 2012 – This download link allows you to download all or just some of the System Center components for evaluation.
The Private Cloud Solution Hub provides guidance, white papers and other useful information on how to get started with Private Cloud using Microsoft technologies. You can find links to growing private cloud communities, training for VMWare professionals who want to learn Hyper-V virtualization, and much, much more.
Hiya Folks! Somehow I managed to talk the Microsoft Learning and Certification team into letting me do a small 5 minute blurb at the end of their current Technet Radio Series. I am not sure how long the series will be running, but I know there are several in the works to talk about the value or certification and the changes that are being made to the certification program.
You can find my clip at the end of each segment. Usually about 5 mins long tops.
About This Video
Today, we welcome the folks from Microsoft Learning as they kick-off their new series “Cert Talk” with host J Seymour. Tune in as J welcomes Liberty Munson, Sr. Program Manager and resident pyschometrician for the team, as they discuss how exams are created, scored, maintained and protected, as well how new Microsoft Certification exams will look like over the next few months. Also be sure to watch for Sr. IT Pro Evangelist Chris Avis, as he gives some tips on Private Cloud certification exams you can take.
Click here to read the article “How Microsoft Ensures the Integrity of its Certification Program”
Last Deck! We also had some special guests in to deliver a brief session on Cloud Computing, Identity Management, and where Microsoft Forefront Identity Manager (FIM) fits in.
Here are the slides from the second session I delivered in Bellevue on November 14th. Again, a lot more slides than what you saw. I also included some slides on storage given the questions that came up during the live session.
For additional information on Virtualization, please look at the Microsoft Virtualization site. This site includes information from all of the topics we discussed:
Operating System Virtualization using Hyper-V Application Virtualization Enterprise Desktop Virtualization Presentation Virtualization ….and much more.
Operating System Virtualization using Hyper-V
Application Virtualization
Enterprise Desktop Virtualization
Presentation Virtualization
….and much more.
Mark Minasi, of Minasi Research and Development, is a well-known speaker and instructor on Windows Client and Server technologies. He has over 20 years of experience in the industry and has spoken at hundreds of conferences and events. He also teaches courses around the country on a wide variety of technologies.
I had the pleasure of interviewing mark at the 2011 Windows Connections Conference in Las Vegas a few weeks ago where he keynoted and delivered several sessions. In our interview, I asked Mark “Tell me about 3 technologies that really get you excited right now”. Anyone who knows Mark, knows that he is going to talk about way more than three things!
In Part 2 of our interview, Mark talks about iPads and the tablet computing revolution, Cloud Computing, The Big Bet by Microsoft on Windows 8 Client, and some technical features of Windows 8 (Driver Coalescence, and Battery Life improvement). Mark also goes out on a limb with a few Windows 8 Predictions.
You can view Part 1 here.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Mark at the 2011 Windows Connections Conference in Las Vegas where he keynoted and delivered several sessions. In our interview, I ask Mark - “Tell me about 3 technologies that really get you excited right now”. Anyone who knows Mark, knows that he is going to talk about way more than three things!
In Part 1 of our interview, Mark talks about Windows Server 8, Windows PowerShell, Active Directory, Claims Based Authentication and much more!
Way back in August, I wrote a blog entry entitled – The New Wave of Industry and Microsoft Certifications. I made a few key points in that post -
1) Certifications are valued by employers 2) Certifications are valuable for employees 2) Cloud Computing will require a refresh in skill sets and demand new certifications
1) Certifications are valued by employers
2) Certifications are valuable for employees
2) Cloud Computing will require a refresh in skill sets and demand new certifications
You are going to see more and more from Microsoft about new certifications and how they apply to the changes coming in the industry. In fact, we just posted some information to the Microsoft News Center about how we are taking steps to fight brain dump sites, eliminate certification mills, and protect the integrity of the Microsoft certification process.
Here is an excerpt -
REDMOND, Wash. — Nov. 10, 2011 — Certification, as an industry-recognized validation of skills, is a proven differentiator — whether the individual is a seasoned professional looking to demonstrate his or her value to the organization or someone hoping to break into the industry for the first time. Over the past 19 years, Microsoft has invested heavily in training and certifying individuals on Microsoft technologies so they can differentiate themselves from others.
By earning a certification from Microsoft, individuals demonstrate that they possess relevant skills that are in demand from employers. For example, Business Insider recently highlighted a high-tech job board that had over 10,000 job opportunities for candidates with Microsoft developer skills. Earning a certification also provides the opportunity to connect with a global community of over 6 million other Microsoft Certified Professionals (MCPs) and access valuable career-building tools and training to help individuals realize their full potential and obtain meaningful employment that is so important in today’s economic climate.
You can read the full article here -
Microsoft Ensures Integrity of Its Certification Program
Slides from my Windows Connections Session on Hyper-V and Dynamic Memory