Kevin Remde's IT Pro Weblog
It’s the end of February, and the end of what I hope you will agree was a very satisfying series of 19 “Migration and Deployment” articles by my teammates and me – the U.S. based IT Pro Technology Evangelists.
“So what’s the last topic?”
I’m glad you asked. Now that you know (or have the resources to further learn) everything there is to know about deploying operating systems (client and server), deploying virtual machines and services, and deploying applications, you might finally wonder what kind of control you have over these applications you’ve deployed.
“Yeah.. didn’t Microsoft have software restriction policies that could enforce limits on what can be installed or run?”
Exactly. The most recent version was technology called AppLocker. In Windows Vista and Windows 7 it allowed you to set those kinds of restrictions through Group Policy. But what about the new Windows 8 applications?
“Yeah! What about those?!”
Well, that’s what my friend Matt Hester writes about in this last, part 19, article in our series.
READ HIS ARTICLE HERE
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Did you enjoy the series? Did you know that we have another series starting immediately? Yep. In March, you’re all going to become Microsoft Virtualization (and Hyper-V) experts. …or at least well on your way there.
In this episode I welcome back Sr. Technical Product Manager Martin Booth for Part 2 of our System Center 2012 SP1 for Windows 8 series. We discuss device support improvements made in Configuration Manager as well as improvements to support user mobility.
Enjoy!
Download the Windows 8 Enterprise Evaluation today and test your applications, hardware and deployment strategies with Windows 8.
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“Hey Kevin, I’m responsible for applying company policies around applications. If we deploy an internal Windows 8 app, or use a purchased App from the Store, how do I apply updates or roll out upgrades for the new style applications?”
That’s an excellent question. And it’s one that my friend Chris Avis answers for us in Part 18 of our 19-part “Migration and Deployment” series.
Did you know, with the right policy and certificate in place, that you can deploy Windows 8 applications very easily? In fact, once the pieces are in place, it’s as easy as running a script or launching an install from a file share.
“Basically as easy as most all older Windows applications, without the store?”
Exactly. This is a process known as “side loading” Windows 8 applications. Your organization can deploy trusted (and that’s an important word. I’ll say it again: trusted) applications to your users without requiring them to get them from the public windows app store.
In part 17 of our 19-part “Migration and Deployment” series, Tommy Patterson describes how to configure policy, verify certificates, and deploy a Windows 8 app directly to a Windows 8 machine.
We’re in the home stretch! It’s the last week in February, and we only have a few more days of our “Migration and Deployment” series of articles left. And wrapping out our final four, we’re going to tackle the topic of Windows 8 applications. What options do we have, and what infrastructure choices (or changes) might we have to make when configuring, managing, deploying, and securing Windows 8 applications for our users; even beyond (in addition to, or even in place of) the Windows Store?
In part 16, Keith Mayer delivers a very detailed step-by-step guide on how to use System Center 2012 SP1 Configuration Manager to manage and deploy Windows 8 applications.
READ HIS EXCELLENT ARTICLE HERE
I’m pretty sure that if you have been following my (or any of my teammates) blogs recently, you know a little something about Windows Azure. You probably also know that you can get a free 90-day trial of Windows Azure very easily, with no obligation. The benefit of that is that it becomes very easy to use hosted resources to build networking and virtual machines in an environment that can be used for testing and training, without actually requiring any additional local hardware.
“Build it in the cloud?”
Build it in the cloud!
In part 15 of our “Migration and Deployment” series, my friend Brian Lewis describes some of his experiences in doing just that. In fact, he takes it a step further in describing a way to build, configure, and then store virtual machine hard disks in Windows Azure Storage, and then grant the ability copy those into many student accounts for use as pre-built lab machines.
“Hey! You guys could use that for your Hands-on-Labs at your IT Camps, couldn’t you?”
Stay tuned. And in the meantime, READ BRIAN’S EXCELLENT ARTICLE HERE
Are you building a highly virtualized datacenter?
“Yep.”
Are you calling it a private cloud?
“Of course. Isn’t it?”
No. Well, at least not if virtualization is ALL you’re doing. Part of the definition that Microsoft uses for a “cloud’ (which is based on the NIST definition found here) is that it support self-service. Application and/or service owners need to be able to configure, deploy, monitor, and update their own resources being hosted in the cloud your datacenter is providing. And to do that, you need the right tools.
Enter System Center 2012 SP1., and the App Controller component. As my friend Yung Chou wrote in part 13 of our “Migration and Deployment” series, App Controller in System Center is a tool that allows common management of private and public cloud resources. And today in part 14, Yung expands on that idea and writes how App Controller can be used as a self-service tool.
In February of 2013, the US-based IT Pro Technology Evangelists wrote up 20 articles in our 19-part series, “Migration and Deployment”.
“Huh? 20 of 19?”
Well.. I provided a series introduction in part 0. (Don’t computer people always start counting at zero?) But as it was just an intro, I didn’t think it needed to be counted.
Here are some additional resources referred to during the series:
And here then, is our full list of articles:
We sincerely hope you have found this series useful, and that you’ll enjoy the coming months of additional IT Pro goodness coming from me and my teammates.
System Center 2012 App Controller is a component and part of the self-service portal solution in System Center 2012 SP1. By connecting to System Center 2012 Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) servers, Windows Azure subscriptions, and 3rd-party host services, App Controller offers a vehicle that enables an authorized user to administer resources deployed to private cloud, public cloud, and those in between without the need to understand the underlined fabric and physical complexities.
In part 13 of our 19 part “Migration and Deployment” series, my friend from the east, Yung Chou (and by “from the east”, I mean east coast of the US) brings us a primer on using App Controller to manage all of your clouds, and step-by-step instructions for making those connections.
As you may remember, last month my team blogged an entire month on using Windows Azure as Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS – pronounced “EYE-yazz”) in our “31 Days of Servers in the Cloud” series.
As part 12 of our 19-part "Migration and Deployment” Series, Tommy Patterson returns to this topic with a good summary and links to resources for working with Windows Azure as an extension of your private cloud.
Waaay back in April of 2011 (remember my "Cloudy April" series?) I blogged about what Windows Azure could do for you as a Platform-as-a-Service (or PaaS – pronounced “PaaS”. Not affiliated or to be confused with this popular Easter Egg Coloring company.)
A lot has happened to Windows Azure since then – and it’s all good stuff! In part 11 of our 19-part “Migration and Deployment” series of articles, my phriend from Phoenix, Harold Wong, brings us up-to-speed with what Windows Azure does and how it supports a Platform for your scalable, dynamic, flexible, pay-as-you-go cloud-hosted applications, with a host of new and powerful features.
Have you started your free 90-day trial of Windows Azure yet? If not, why not?
One of the issues some of you will have to address when moving from Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 will be the migration of your virtualized machines onto the newer Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012.
The good news is that you won’t have to re-build or recreate machine configurations. In fact, it’s a fairly straightforward import at worst.
In Part 10 of our “Migration and Deployment” series, my friend (and newest member of our team) Tommy Patterson provides an article describing just how it’s done.
Have you done this migration yet? Have you even bothered to try out Windows Server 2012? What about the free Microsoft Hyper-V Server? What do you think?
In today’s episode, I welcome Sr. Technical Product Manager Martin Booth to the show. We discuss enterprise management and how System Center 2012 SP1 Configuration Manager can help deploy, work with, manage and secure Windows 8. In Part 1 of this discussion, Martin and I chat about the latest improvements made to System Center 2012 and how it relates to Windows 8.
How fast?
“Yeah? How fast is it?”
Before I answer that question, I need to briefly define what the SMB (Server Message Block) protocol is, for those might be unfamiliar with it.
SMB is the old reliable networked file system protocol. It is the protocol in use when you access file shares and folders on computers that provide storage. Version 3.0 is the newest version of SMB - included with Windows Server 2012.
So to answer your question, I think it’s more important to consider what faster, more efficient file access could allow. Let me ask you this question: On Server 2008 R2 or older, would you ever run a virtual machine based on hard disks that reside across the network on a Windows Server file share?
“No way! That’s machine won’t run very well!”
And what about a SQL Server running against a database file that is on some network file share?
“Absolutely not!”
Ah.. but with SMB 3.0, those are actually supported scenarios! You can do just that! And that’s how fast it is.
SMB 3.0 gives you some pretty interesting (and amazing) options now that weren’t available before. Instead of some expensive NAS or SAN, you can use file shares supported on JBOD arrays. Your virtual machines could be running on “shared storage” that really is just a file share, as you’re live-migrating virtual machines between clustered (or even non-clustered with the newest Hyper-V) virtualization hosts. And that’s just the beginning.
In Part 9 of our 19-part “Migration and Deployment” Series, my east coast friend Bob Hunt discusses SMB 3.0 in greater detail, and provides you some very useful resource.
Are you taking advantage of SMB 3.0 yet? In what way? Let’s discuss in the comments!
Part 8 of our 19 part “Migration and Deployment” series is specifically about the Windows Server 2012 Migration Tools.
“Why would I need those?”
Well, as I’m sure you know, it’s not just about a server operating system. It’s about what that server does for your infrastructure and your business. If a role or feature is installed (and more importantly – configured), you don’t want to have to re-create it from scratch just because you installed a new version of the operating system as your platform of choice.
The Migration Tools provide the documentation and the automation for the sake of moving important configurations from the old to the new server.
Matt Hester’s Part 8 article gives us the run-down. READ HIS ARTICLE HERE.
And make sure you evaluate Windows Server 2012 for yourself.
“Can I upgrade to Windows Server 2012?”
Yes. But it depends.
“On what?”
On what you’re upgrading from, and what your hardware supports. But even if you don’t do an upgrade in place, a migration is completely do-able with the right tools.
“Expensive tools?”
FREE tools. (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj134039.aspx)
“And what if I’m upgrading an Active Directory domain controller? What happens then?”
That’s the subject of Part 7 of our “Migration and Deployment” series this month. My floridated friend (my buddy who lives in Florida) Blain Barton gives us all the details and resources.
What have you done to move to Windows Server? Do you have any methods, tips, or tricks that have worked well for you? Any “gotchas” that you’d like to share? Please do!.. in the comments.
As a part of our “Migration and Deployment” series this month, this week we’re discussing these topics in the context of Windows Server 2012. And in Part 6, one of my friends from the East Region – Bob Hunt – is giving us the lowdown on what Windows Server 2012 requires in terms of hardware, as well as what the different versions are and their respective benefits.
Have you had a chance to try out Windows Server 2012 yet? If you come to one of our new series of IT Camps, we’ll help you do just that; in-person, and free.
In part 2 and part 3 of our blog series, “Migration and Deployment”, we discussed and showed you how to use various tools to install a new instance of Windows 8 on new hardware. But that doesn’t take into account what most people will want to do: Migrate their files and their configuration preferences over from the old to to the new installation.
In part 4 today, my friend Dan Stolts covers that very topic, and shows you how to use the Easy Transfer Wizard.
What do you use to upgrade users? I’m sure you automate when there are more than a few people to migrate… and such a tool will be the topic of tomorrow’s article, too!
System Center 2012 SP1 Configuration Manager is a powerful business-class tool for deploying applications, updates, and operating systems. And with SP1, it’s all set to do deployments of Windows 8. So in this Part 3 of our “Migration and Deployment” series, my friend Keith Mayer delivers an excellent step-by-step for using Configuration Manager to deploy Windows 8.
CLICK HERE TO READ HIS EXCELLENT ARTICLE
Are you deploying Windows 8? Or are you going to wait? Or maybe just getting it on new hardware? Let’s chat in the comments.
Today in part 2 of our “Migration and Deployment” series, we discuss the free tools that can make it very easy for you to deploy Windows 8 (and Windows Server 2012, although we’re focusing today on Windows 8) in a small to mid-sized business environment.
There are two toolsets in particular that I want to introduce to you today, and then I’ll show you how easy it is to build a simple network based “Light Touch Installation” (LTI) of Windows 8.
“What are those two tools?”
I was getting to that…
Windows Assessment and Deployment Toolkit (also known as the Windows ADK)
The Windows ADK “contains all of the tools that you need to customize, assess, and deploy Windows operating systems to new computers.” The following excellent description comes from the Windows ADK download page:
“Windows Deployment is for OEMs and IT professionals who customize and automate the large-scale installation of Windows, such as on a factory floor or across an organization. The Windows ADK supports this work with the deployment tools that were previously released as part of the OEM Preinstallation Kit (OPK) and the Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK) and include Windows Preinstallation Environment, Deployment Imaging, Servicing and Management, and Windows System Image Manager.”
So these are a compilation of all of the tools that can, for example, create, capture, manage, customize, and deploy Windows images (using the DISM tool), or perform backup and restoration of user documents and configuration details (using the User State Migration tool ( USMT ) ). The Windows ADK replaces the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK), and adds some additional tools such as the Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) and the Windows Performance Toolkit, as well as tools for customizing the Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE).
“So, Kevin.. In the past we could choose to directly use the tools in the WAIK, or we could use the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) to build deployments and automate the use of the tools in the WAIK. Is that still true?”
Basically, it is! But instead of the WAIK, you get the Windows ADK and drive those tools with the MDT. (The tools in the Windows ADK are also used by the Operating System Deployment (OSD) features of System Center 2012 Configuration Manager, which will be discussed in a later part of this series.)
Speaking of the MDT…
Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT)
The MDT is a Solution Accelerator for operating system and application deployment. MDT 2012 Update 1 (the current version) supports deployment of Windows 8, Windows 7, Office 2010, Office 365, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Server 2008 R2 in addition to deployment of Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, and even Windows XP.
This tool lets you pick many methods of deployment – from creating a full-blown disk image that can then be burned to DVD or USB device and booted-to/installed-from, to creating a boot and install image that can be installed using a PxE boot and network-based installation (taking advantage of Windows Deployment Services (WDS)). With the MDT alone, you can do a “Light Touch Installation” (LTI) deployment. (Combining the MDT with System Center 2012 Configuration Manager or System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R3 you can do “Zero Touch Installation” (ZTI) or “User Driven Installation” (UDI) deployments, which is a topic for a future article.)
You can also add applications and drivers to your installation. The process lets you define a “task sequence” that is a customizable list of the operations performed. Those operations might also include the automated backup and restore of a users files and settings, in the case where you’re doing a migration from an older to a newer operating system and want to make it as painless for the users as possible.
And if you want to really go crazy – you can use the MDT to install OS, Applications, Drivers, etc. and then automatically capture the result as an redistributable image containing everything you need to deploy.
“This all sounds great, but what does it cost?”
As I mentioned earlier, it’s a Solution Accelerator – so it’s FREE. $0.00. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zip.
Okay.. to wrap up this article, here is a quick video showing off some of the MDT and the areas that can be configured…
(This is better viewed fullscreen)
For a more detailed demonstration of, and even a chance to work with the MDT and other Windows 8 Deployment technologies, make sure you come to one of our live-in-person IT Camps: http://www.technetevents.com/
And finally, here are the related download links and useful resources:
“Hey Kevin – I noticed that the MDT comes in x86 and x64 versions. Which should I get?”
It depends only upon the hardware and OS that it’s going to be installed on. If you’re running 64-bit Windows, then get the x64 version. Either of them can support both 16-bit (x86) and 32-bit (x64) operating system image deployments.
Was this useful? Have any questions? Please enter them in the comments.
Welcome to part 1 of our “Migration and Deployment” series, today delivered by my friend from Arizona, Harold Wong. In his article today, Harold describes what hardware is required for installing Windows 8, and what additional capabilities may be required to support certain functionality. He also breaks down what you actually get – comparing Windows 8 version and their included functionality.
And make sure you check back tomorrow for part 2. It’s MY turn. And I’ll be introducing you to the free tools for doing Windows 8 deployments in small-to-midsized businesses.
Just when you thought the fantastic pace of content on our blogs would slow down a bit after completing our “31 Days of Servers in the Cloud” series, we’re starting our new series for February: “Migration and Deployment”.
“So.. is this a February series, with 28 parts and new stuff every day?”
Well.. okay, maybe not quite the same pace as we did in January. We decided to give you (and selfishly, ourselves) the weekends off. But, this actually lends itself to another interesting way to break up the month into specific topic areas; one topic-area-per-week. And in each week, we’ll discuss issues of migration and deployment for and around the platform in question.
Our 4 weeks of topic areas breaks down like this:
For example, we’ll be covering topics such as installation requirements and issues, methods for upgrading-in-place or the migration of documents and settings, managing policy and permissions, etc.
“Who is ‘we’? Who are the article authors?”
The authors are me and my amazing teammates – the other Microsoft DPE US IT Pro Technology Evangelists in the United States: Chris Avis, Harold Wong, Brian Lewis, Matt Hester, Keith Mayer, Dan Stolts, Bob Hunt, Yung Chou, Tommy Patterson, and Blain Barton. And, as in the past, we will also occasionally call upon an MVP or other subject-matter expert to contribute.
“Are there any resources that I should have at-the-ready for doing exercises or walking through your step-by-step articles?”
GREAT question. Yes!
So.. the series is “Migration and Deployment”. The first article (Part 1) is coming on Monday, February 4. And we sincerely hope you enjoy it and will take advantage of the knowledge that we’re sharing.
Until then - Have a great weekend!