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!
Cloud this and cloud that…..is it private, public, or hybrid…….what do I need cloud computing for? I live in Seattle! Don’t I have all the cloud I will ever need??
Cloud computing can be confusing to some. In fact, with all of the development and change in “cloud computing” that is taking place I the industry right now, even seasoned IT Pros may scratch their heads from time to time when it comes to figuring out what is what in the cloud. This is where the Microsoft Virtual Academy can help.
The MVA offer no-cost, easy access training for IT Pros that are trying to get ahead of the curve with cloud computing. You can manage your training at your own pace and along the technologies that are most relevant to you. In addition, this training will give you an edge on the Cloud Services Certifications that we are going to be offering in the future!
Want to know more about the MVA? Check out the FAQ!!
Cheers!
Good Day Folks!
By now you should have noticed that the focus of the posting to my blog has been directed towards products in the System Center suite and Windows InTune. I have had systems management as a technical focus area (TFA) for about a year now and this will continue to be my TFA for the foreseeable future. This has actually been a stretch for me and a great learning experience as I had very little experience with any of these products and technologies a year ago.
One of the things that I think would help myself as well as those who perform systems management is having a local community to meet with occasionally to talk about these technologies and how we use them. I have been unable to find any management user groups in the Seattle and Portland areas, although it appears there have been attempts to get them going in the past (see the User Groups tab at SystemCenterCentral.com). It doesn’t appear that either group is currently active so I am reaching out to see if there is any interest in rekindling these groups or starting new ones. I obviously want to focus on the Microsoft side of systems management technologies, but I am interested in learning about other products out there as well.
If you work with any of the following Microsoft products, and you would like to see a formal user group put together, please let me know and I will be happy to get the ball rolling for this. Additionally, if you are interested in leading a group in the Seattle or Portland areas *or* you know of a meeting space that could be used on a regular basis, I would enjoy hearing from you.
System Center Operations Manager System Center Configuration Manager System Center Virtual Machine Manager System Center Orchestrator System Center Essentials System Center Service Manager System Center Data Protection Manager Windows Automated Installation Kit Windows Deployment toolkit PowerShell
System Center Operations Manager
System Center Configuration Manager
System Center Virtual Machine Manager
System Center Orchestrator
System Center Essentials
System Center Service Manager
System Center Data Protection Manager
Windows Automated Installation Kit
Windows Deployment toolkit
PowerShell
I recently posted about the System Center Orchestrator CEP program here. Well, it is has now moved to being a public beta so you can download it and start getting your hands dirty. As with all Beta programs, I encourage you to give feedback to the product team so they can improve the product before final release. You will be able to find that contact information in the README file that is a part of the product download.
Download System Center Orchestrator Beta Here
You can also get deeper technical information on Orchestrator at the TechNet System Center TechCenter.
You can now download a pre-configured VHD of the latest beta of SCCM 2012. This VHD is an exported Hyper-V VM and configured for a single site. Site roles have not been configured so you have something to work with.
You can grab the VHD here.
System Center Orchestrator is the rebranding and updating of our acquisition of Opalis. Orchestrator gives your enterprise a full process automation, trouble ticket generation/tracking (a helpdesk), and complete lifecycle management for your datacenter. In combination with the other System Center family of products, we can provide all of the management needs you could possibly think of for your network. Using the built in workflow generation tools, Orchestrator can share data with Active Directory, System Center Operations Manager, System Center Configuration Manager, System Center Service Manager, Virtual Machine Manager, and even 3rd party tools. As issues are identified, the workflow can fire off automated tasks to resolve issues while also recording the steps made in a trouble ticket. This creates a consistent, repeatable workflow with documentation, while reducing the risk of human error and latency.
If you would like to get to know more about Opalis/Orchestrator and what it can do, there is a series of short, 8 minute videos demoing Opalis in action (these were all recorded prior to the official rebranding to System Center Orchestrator). You can view the videos at the Microsoft Showcase site.
If you would like to get involved with testing the latest version of System Center Orchestrator, we are currently taking applications for the System Center Orchestrator Community Evaluation program. You can get all the details and the link for applying at the System Center Blog.
Get More Info and apply for the System Center Orchestrator CEP
The computing industry is embracing cloud computing with astounding speed. For any company to remain relevant, they must develop tools that work in and with the cloud computing eco-system. We (Microsoft) are no different. If you have not seen the following System Center products that are in development, I encourage you…..no…..I implore you to check them out and provide us feedback.
System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012 Beta
This is not a simple re-skin of VMM with the word “cloud” sprinkled around it. I installed the beta yesterday and there is a lot that has changed and a lot to learn. If you do anything with virtualization, particularly the current shipping version of VMM, you will want to download and play with the beta. One of the more exciting features is the even deeper support for working with VMWare virtualization and now, Citrix XenServer!
Get More Info and download SCVMM 2012 Beta
System Center Configuration Manager 2012 Beta 2
You may have heard the term “the consumerization of IT”, but what does that really mean? It means that more and more people are bring their consumer devices into the work place and expecting those devices to work at work, for work. Consumers are driving adoption of new devices, particularly mobile computing platforms, at an astounding rate. What that means for IT Pros is there are more devices of a wider variety connecting to our networks that have to be managed and secured. This is where the next generation of Configuration Manager comes in.
Get More Info and download SCCM 2012 Beta 2
System Center Operations Manager 2012 Beta CEP
The next version of SCOM is in beta and we are looking for some very direct, focused feedback on feature sets. We are currently offering a CEP – Community Evaluation Program (I like to call it a Customer Excitement Program!) to a limited number of applicants. Through this program you will have direct access to Subject Matter Experts, including MVP’s, to discuss ne features and provide feedback.
Get more Info and apply for the SCOM 2012 Beta CEP
***Note – as of this posting, the link in the above post to http://msft.it/CEP is dead. We are aware of this. ***
Additional Resources:
Official System Center Blog
System Center on Technet