Backing up your environment to Azure Storage using DPM

Providing reliable backup’s is part of every ITPRO’s daily workload. Some companies have quite complex media cycles that are time consuming to manage. Customers also have the issue of getting tapes offsite for DR and compliance reasons. What if there was another alternative ?

What if I could store my backups in the cloud ?

In this blog post I will cover configuring Data Protection Manager 2012 SP1 to backup and restore with Microsoft’s Azure Cloud. For a overview of all of the features please see the following link

http://blogs.technet.com/b/server-cloud/archive/2012/09/07/windows-azure-online-backup.aspx

So what do I need to get Started ?

• DPM 2012 SP1 running on Windows Server 2012
• An Azure Storage Subscription (details on how to register below)

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831761.aspx

How do I know if DPM 2012 SP1 is already installed ?

In the DPM console choose the About DPM Icon.

Once you have registered for the Azure Storage Subscription you will be able to download and install the Azure Storage Agent from the Azure Storage portal.

To use the Agent we have to supply a user Account to connect with. This can be done with the Azure Active Directory portal.

Click the + icon to add a new user and fill out the details

Add the newly created user to the Global Administrators role

Go back to your DPM 2012 SP1 console and from the Management section click on the Register icon.

Provide the account details you have just registered

If you use a Proxy Server to connect to the internet configure it here

On this screen we can configure bandwidth throttling. We can configure different bandwidth settings for Work Hours and out of hours.

In this screen we will be configuring the Recovery Folder. This will be used as a staging space during Recovery.

Next we supply a 16 character Passphrase used to encrypt the data onsite prior to storing in the Azure cloud.

It is imperative that this password is kept safe. If the DPM server has to be rebuilt or there is a disaster, this Passphrase must be re-entered to get access to your backup data. Microsoft staff will not be able to help you recover this data if this Passphrase is lost.

You should now be finished configuring the Online Backup Agent.

Back in the DPM console you can create a new protection group for Azure Online protection or as in this example I will be adding it to an existing protection group.

Choose the protection group and click on Add online protection.

Specify the objects you would like to protect online.

Specify your online protection goals

Once complete review the changes and choose update group.

Your protection group will now backup to Azure Cloud storage Services based on your Protection Goals.

Or: How you can use Powershell to create virtual machines! 

With a few keystroke you can create a virtual machine and attach an existing VHD(X) file to it! I usually look for the fastest and easiest way to get things done. Always manually rebuilding my lab was tiresome and demotivating so I started to look at different possible solutions. The first possible solution for me was experimenting with the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, which was brilliant! But it still took to long to install a VM and still too much effort (I'm lazy :))! So the second step for me was to create a number of VHDX files and use those to deploy the virtual machines resulting in the code in the script below.

The script uses powershell to ask you what kind of OS you want to deploy, creates a directory, the virtual machine and attaches the VHDX which is sitting pretty having received a sysprep after installation (and updates :)). To use the code below you will have to have your execution policy set to unrestricted (set-executionpolicy unrestricted) and preferably change the variables to point at your VHD(X) files.

More scripts can be found at the script library!

Code:

function Run-As

{

# Use Check Switch to check if admin

param([Switch]$Check)

$IsAdmin = ([Security.Principal.WindowsPrincipal]
[Security.Principal.WindowsIdentity]::GetCurrent()`

).IsInRole([Security.Principal.WindowsBuiltInRole] "Administrator")

if ($Check) { return $IsAdmin }

if ($MyInvocation.ScriptName -ne "")

{

if (-not $IsAdmin)

{

try

{

$arg = "-file `"$($MyInvocation.ScriptName)`""

Start-Process "$psHome\powershell.exe" -Verb Runas -ArgumentList $arg
-ErrorAction 'stop'

}

catch

{

Write-Warning "Error - Failed to restart script with runas"

break

}

exit # Quit this session of powershell

}

}

else

{

Write-Warning "Error - Script must be saved as a .ps1 file first"

break

}

write-host "Script Running As Administrator" -foregroundcolor red

Write-host ""

}

#Defining Variables. Change these patch to your own!

$2008R2STD = "D:\Base VHD\2k8R2std.vhdx"

$2008R2ENT = "D:\Base VHD\2k8R2ent.vhdx"

$2008R2DC = "D:\Base VHD\2k8r2dc.vhdx"

$2012STD = "D:\Base VHD\2012std.vhdx"

$2012ENT = "D:\Base VHD\2012ent.vhdx"

#Launching run-as function

Run-as

#Cleaning screen

cls

# Offer choice in which OS to deploy

Do {

Write-host

Write-host "Wich operating system would you like to deploy?" -foregroundcolor
Green

Write-host "1. 2008 R2 Standard" -foregroundcolor Yellow

Write-host "2. 2008 R2 Enterprise" -foregroundcolor Yellow

Write-host "3. 2008 R2 Datacenter" -foregroundcolor Yellow

Write-host "4. 2012 Standard" -foregroundcolor Yellow

Write-host "5. 2012 Enterprise" -foregroundcolor Yellow

$deploy = Read-host "Please select an operating system"

if ($deploy -eq "") {write-host "error:Please select and operating system"
-foregroundcolor Red}; if ($deploy -eq $NULL) {write-host "error: Please select
an operating system" -foregroundcolor Red}

write-host

} while ($deploy -eq "" -or $deploy -eq $NULL)

#What should the VM be called

$Name = Read-Host "Enter the Virtual Machine name (Press [Enter] to choose
Srv01)"

if ($Name -eq ""){$Name="Srv01"} ; if ($Name -eq $NULL){$Name="Srv01"}

#how much memory needs to be assigned (static only at this point)

$Memory = Read-Host "Enter the size of the Virtual Machine Memory (Press
[Enter] to choose 2048MB)"

if ($Memory -eq ""){$Memory=2048MB} ; if ($Memory -eq $NULL){$Memory=2048MB}

#Where should the VM be stored

$Location = Read-Host "Enter the location of the Virtual Machine file (Press
[Enter] to choose D:\Virtual Machines)"

if ($Location -eq ""){$Location="D:\Virtual Machines"} ; if ($Location -eq
$NULL){$Location="D:\Virtual Machines"}

#Listing Networks on the host

Write-host

get-vmswitch |select Name, SwitchType

write-host

#Which network should be used

$Network = Read-Host "Enter the name of the Virtual Machine Network (Press
[Enter] to choose External)"

if ($Network -eq ""){$Network="External"} ; if ($Network -eq
$NULL){$Network="External"}

#VM creation starts here

new-vm $Name -path $Location

Switch ($deploy)

{

1 {Copy-Item $2008R2STD $Location\$Name ; add-vmharddiskdrive -vmname $Name
-path $Location\$NaAme\2K8R2std.vhdx}

2 {Copy-Item $2008R2ENT $Location\$Name ; add-vmharddiskdrive -vmname $Name
-path $Location\$Name\2K8R2ent.vhdx}

3 {Copy-Item $2008R2DC $Location\$Name ; add-vmharddiskdrive -vmname $Name
-path $Location\$Name\2K8R2dc.vhdx}

4 {Copy-Item $2012STD $Location\$Name ; add-vmharddiskdrive -vmname $Name
-path $Location\$Name\2012STD.vhdx}

5 {Copy-Item $2012ENT $Location\$Name ; add-vmharddiskdrive -vmname $Name
-path $Location\$Name\2012ENT.vhdx}

}

get-vm $Name | add-vmdvddrive -controllernumber 1

get-vm $Name | set-vmmemory -startupbytes $Memory

get-vm $Name | add-vmnetworkadapter -switchname $Network

# Start the VM.

start-vm $Name

cls

#Success message.

Switch ($deploy)

{

1 {Write-host "Windows 2008 R2 Standard Deployed!" -foregroundcolor Green}

2 {Write-host "Windows 2008 R2 Enterprise Deployed!" -foregroundcolor Green}

3 {Write-host "Windows 2008 R2 Datacenter Deployed!" -foregroundcolor Green}

4 {Write-host "Windows 2012 Standard Deployed!" -foregroundcolor Green}

5 {Write-host "Windows 2012 Enterprise Deployed!" -foregroundcolor Green}

}

What are the new Office 2013 editions, who are they targeted at and what do you get?

Lots of great detail on the new Office line-up here: http://office.microsoft.com/en-ie/

This is a great overview:

I suggest you all try Office 365 Home Premium for a month (for free).

Feature by feature comparisons of Hyper-V in both Windows Server 2008 R2 and 2012

I just went looking for a decent comparison of Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2012.  I obviously found this excellent document on download.microsoft.com – but couldn’t find these high-level bullets anywhere.

Hence this post:

Processor and Memory Support

Network

Storage

Manageability

Hyper-V is available as both the FREE Hyper-V Server 2012 and as a role in Windows Server 2012.

If you are virtualising Windows Server workloads (and have licensed them correctly), Hyper-V is completely “free” – so save yourself a lot of money by NOT purchasing an additional virtualisation solution.

Microsoft Jump Start Series: Virtualisation, Hyper-V & Intune.

These events run from 8:00am – 5:00pm PST (16:00 – 01:00 GMT).

January 24, 2013, 8:00am-5:00pm PST

Introduction to Hyper-V Jump Start

Instructor Team: Symon Perriman and Jeff Woolsey
This is the first of a three course series and is designed for IT Pros experienced in virtualization (i.e., VMware) but in need of learning how to leverage Hyper-V to perform essential tasks in the Windows Server 2012 platform.

January 30, 2013, 8:00am-5:00pm PST

Virtualization for VMware Professionals Jump Start

Instructor Team: Symon Perriman and Matt McSpirit (both VMware VCPs)
This is the second of a three course series and is tailored for VMware professionals looking to get up-to-speed on how Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V and System Center 2012 SP1 compares with VMware vSphere 5.1 and VMware’s Private Cloud, respectively.

January 31, 2013, 9:00am-5:00pm PST

Windows Intune for IT Professionals Jump Start

Instructor Team: David Tesar and Richard Harrison
Learn how your IT organization can manage and secure PCs, tablets (Surface, iPad, etc.) and mobile devices (Windows Phone, Android, iPhone) in the cloud.

Enjoy (your late night)

If you’re based in Ireland (North or South) – write this down!

Licensing is always called out as one of the most “negative” attributes of Microsoft during our Satisfaction Surveys.

And we’ve had a solution to it for ages!  So this turns out to be one of Microsoft Ireland’s best kept secrets:

The Ask-Partner Team offer Non-Technical Pre-Sales (Basic functionality, Product Recommendation etc) and License Advisory services covering the FPP, OEM, Online Services, and VL channels to Microsoft Partners & Resellers

· Tel: +353 (0)1 706 5353 or +44 (0) 844 800 6006 (option 3)

· Email: askpartner@microsoft-contact.co.uk

The Ask-Business Team offer the exact same service to Business customers

· Tel: +353 (0)1 450 2113 or +44 (0) 844 800 2400 (Option 3 + 3)

· Email: askbusiness@microsoft-contact.co.uk

Please give this service a try & let me know how you get on.

Save the Date: 23rd – 26th April 2013 and fill out the poll below.

This April we are joining up with Microsoft UK and taking part in their online version of TechDays.

Details are still in the making, but we’ve been asked to get our asks in.

If you’re interested in attending a fantastic, online event this coming April, then now’s your chance to get involved in the process of choosing the topics, speakers and content so that you get the most out of your time with us.

Please take a couple of minutes and complete this short poll: http://blogs.technet.com/b/uktechnet/archive/2013/01/11/poll-techdays-online-2013-suggest-topics-speakers-amp-content.aspx

Thanks

8GB USB Memory Stick

Before you all say “Me” – there’s a catch or two:

• Firstly you have to have an Irish (North or South) postal address – for me to send it to you.
• Secondly you have to be willing to spend ten minutes of your time doing something for me.

I have accidentally ordered too many memory sticks – and now they need a home to go to!

I do have a finite number (more than three) – so I’ll give them away on a first come – first served basis.

Email me if you’re interested & I’ll let you know what I need in return.

New Horizons in Dublin are running the following FREE training sessions:

What are Tech Showcase Events?

Microsoft Tech Showcase Events are a fantastic way to get a hands-on, instructor-led look at the latest technologies including Windows Server 2012, Windows 8, Exchange 2013, SharePoint 2013 and SQL Server 2012. 

Running in conjunction with New Horizons, they’re also a perfect opportunity to talk to someone about the recent updates to Microsoft certification (including major changes to MCSA, MCSD and MCSE programs), limited time Second Shot exam offer how to get training to help you and your company maintain your certification and competencies.

Current schedule and registration

Courses currently scheduled in Ireland between December-March are shown below.  Registrations for these events fill up quickly so get your IT Pros and Developers registered using the links below as soon as possible.  Any additional courses that end up being scheduled over the coming months will also be listed here.

Windows Server 2012

Hands On Lab: Windows Server 2012 – 11/12/2012 and 17/01/2013

Windows 8

Hands On Lab: Windows 8 for IT Professionals - 18/12/2012

Hands On Lab: Introduction to Windows 8 Development - C# - 19/12/2012 and 07/02/2013

SQL 2012

First Look Clinic: Microsoft SQL Server 2012 - 14/02/2013

Exchange 2013

Exchange 2013 Hands on Lab - 21/02/2013

SharePoint Server 2013

First Look Clinic: What’s New for IT Professionals in Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013 - 21/03/2013

Enjoy,

Altaro, developers of Altaro Hyper-V Backup, are giving something back this holiday season and are giving every Microsoft Hyper-V admin 50 licenses of their desktop backup software, that’s up to $2,000 worth of software.

There’s no catch! All you need to do is send them a screenshot of Hyper-V that proves that you use Hyper-V and they will send you the licenses which you can use on your own machines or give out to friends, family or colleagues, to use at work or home.

The giveaway ends on Dec 24th 2012.

To claim your 50 licenses check out www.altaro.com/.../50-free-pc-backup-licenses-for-all-hyper-v-admins

To check out their Hyper-V portal check out http://www.altaro.com/hyper-v/

For more info about Altaro Hyper-V Backup check out www.altaro.com/hyper-v-backup

Enjoy.