Kevin Remde's IT Pro Weblog
Today, my vacationing friend Matt Hester is the author of part 16 in our “31 Days of Servers in the Cloud” series.
“Vacationing?”
Yep. How’s that for dedication?
“Oh.. he probably wrote it before he left, and scheduled it to go live today.”
Something like that.
Anyway, today he gives us even more very good reasons why you should consider using Windows Azure as an extension of your datacenter.
READ HIS ARTICLE HERE
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“Yeah, Kevin… Tell me something more about Windows Azure.”
How about today, in part 6 of our “31 Days of Servers in the Cloud” I leave that job to my friend Yung Chou. His article today outlines the current state-of-the-art that is Windows Azure; not just for running virtual machines, but for all that it can do. This is probably the best summary of features you’re going to find anywhere.
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.
READ HIS EXCELLENT ARTICLE HERE
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.
I’m almost at the big THREE DIGITS in the number of people who “LIKE” my “Kevin Remde is Full of I.T.” Facebook page.
Go there, “like” the page, and push it over the top!
“Gee Kevin.. that was a bit gratuitous.”
Really? Do ya think so? Forgive me. I’m in a silly mood.
Our FREE “Microsoft IaaS Virtual Machine Bootcamp” events are happening around the central part of the U.S. We’re delivering these for IT Professionals and Developers who are interested specifically in learning more about Windows Azure, as a globally scalable application platform, as an infrastructure for virtual machines, and as an extension of your datacenter into “the cloud”.
“Sounds really great, Kevin. But why are you pointing your virtual finger at Saint Louis? What did he ever do to you?”
(sigh) I mean the city of Saint Louis, Missouri, and the surrounding area. And I’m mad at them, because, although registration at the events in the other cities has been strong, Saint Louis apparently doesn’t care. (We’re not sure, but perhaps they’re confusing this event with the IT Camps that we’re also delivering.)
So I thought I should blog/tweet/facebook all about it to make sure that you folks in Saint Louis also register for the event happening on March 19.
In case you’re wondering more about what it’s about, here is some of the text from the event registration page…
Whether you build apps or support the infrastructure that runs the apps, the cloud can be a really big place. For some, it’s a natural evolution for their application and infrastructure to embrace the power and scale of the cloud. For others, it’s a journey that has to begin with a single step. Windows Azure provides that first step with a scalable, flexible platform for deploying your applications your way. With our Infrastructure as a Service platform (IaaS) called Windows Azure Virtual Machines, you get the flexibility to choose between Windows and Linux with full control over the operating system configuration and installed software, matched with the portability of Hyper-V disk images. Windows Azure Virtual Machines provide the perfect environment for meeting all of your Infrastructure-as-a-Service needs. To learn more about our Infrastructure as a Service platform, we invite all Developers and IT Professionals to join local Microsoft cloud experts as they introduce you to the Microsoft Cloud Platform, dive deep into Windows Azure Virtual Machines, and help walk you through a hands-on demonstration of the power of IaaS on the Windows Azure platform.
Whether you build apps or support the infrastructure that runs the apps, the cloud can be a really big place. For some, it’s a natural evolution for their application and infrastructure to embrace the power and scale of the cloud. For others, it’s a journey that has to begin with a single step.
Windows Azure provides that first step with a scalable, flexible platform for deploying your applications your way. With our Infrastructure as a Service platform (IaaS) called Windows Azure Virtual Machines, you get the flexibility to choose between Windows and Linux with full control over the operating system configuration and installed software, matched with the portability of Hyper-V disk images. Windows Azure Virtual Machines provide the perfect environment for meeting all of your Infrastructure-as-a-Service needs.
To learn more about our Infrastructure as a Service platform, we invite all Developers and IT Professionals to join local Microsoft cloud experts as they introduce you to the Microsoft Cloud Platform, dive deep into Windows Azure Virtual Machines, and help walk you through a hands-on demonstration of the power of IaaS on the Windows Azure platform.
“But what if I’m not fortunate enough to live in Saint Louis? What other cities are these events coming to, Kevin?”
I’m glad you asked. Here is the schedule, with registration page links (by State and then by City):
“Are you going to be presenting any of the ones in your area, Kevin?”
Sadly, I won’t be able to be in Saint Louis. (Hmm.. maybe that’s why registration is so low.. <heh>) My very capable and skilled counterpart Clint Edmonson will be delivering that event. I will, however, be co-delivering the event in Minneapolis (Edina) with my friend Adam Grocholski.
Yes, you read that subject right. You can build servers and construct a pretty decent lab environment without having to purchase hardware.
Do it virtually.
“In the cloud?”
Bingo. Today’s 2nd installment of our “31 Days of Servers in the Cloud” series is delivered by my teammate out of Atlanta, GA: Tommy Patterson. In this article, Tommy walks you through the process of creating a virtual machine using your Windows Azure account.
(Don’t have one of those? Try it for free for 90 days!)
Here is Tommy’s excellent article: 31 Days of Servers in the Cloud – Building Free Lab VMs in the Microsoft Cloud (Part 2 of 31)
Have you tried building VMs in Windows Azure yet? We have an exciting schedule of topics coming up in our series. Let me know if you have any questions or comments in the.. um… comments.
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?
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!
In today’s article in our “31 Days of Servers in the Cloud” series, my friend Brian Lewis gives us a simple method of setting up management of Windows Azure.
“But Kevin.. don’t I just use the Windows Azure portal?”
Sure.. you can do a lot with that. But if you need to use other tools such as System Center, or even use Windows PowerShell to connect to, configure, and manage your Azure-based resources, you need to establish an authenticated relationship between your local workstation and your Windows Azure subscription. That’s what we did in my Part 5 article prior to uploading your local virtual hard disk into your cloud storage. Brian gives you an easy-to-use summary of setting up that management.
Today’s installment of our “Build Your Private Cloud in a Month” series is the fourth of a 5-part mini-series we’re calling “Deploying Private Cloud Workloads”. This week we (Tommy Patterson, Blain Barton and I) are going to detail and demonstrate some of the key areas in System Center 2012 SP1 Virtual Machine Manager that support the foundational concepts and objects in your Private Cloud arsenal:
To follow along, make sure you have installed a test lab with Windows Server 2012 and the Virtual Machine Manager component of System Center 2012 SP1. (Click the links and download the evaluations, please.)
Today’s article, written by my friend and ATL-based coworker Tommy Patterson, goes into detail about Virtual Machine (VM) Templates, and gives us detailed a step-by-step on how they are created and used in System Center 2012 SP1 Virtual Machine Manager.
CHECK OUT HIS ARTICLE HERE
Have you found our series useful? I hope so! Let me know in the comments if you have any questions, concerns, clarifications, or cheap shots at me or Microsoft. (Hit me with your best shot! I can take it! )
Welcome to another main installment of our “20 Key Scenarios with Windows Azure Infrastructure Services”. For those of you who are just now starting to follow along, make sure to start your FREE TRIAL of Windows Azure, so that you can follow along.
Those of you who are familiar with System Center 2012, and in particular the Configuration Manager component, are already familiar with the concept of Distribution Points. But for those of you who are new to it, here is a very brief definition that will make it all clear: Ahem… : A Distribution Point is a point from which things are distributed.
“Oh yeah, crystal-clear, Kevin.”
You’re welcome.
It’s really not complicated (or at least, the idea isn’t complicated). In a large organization, with centralized IT Management, and perhaps with many locations around the globe, it’s important to be able to define locations from which those far-flung users are getting their software or updates from. So System Center 2012 Configuration Manager has
But consider this: What if I were able to use Windows Azure – a cloud-based, highly available and globally scalable service - to act as my distribution points?
“You mean, give immediate, secured, authenticated global reach to your organization’s operating system deployments and software distributions? That would be amazing, Kevin.”
I knew you’d like it. This capability is new in System Center 2012 SP1, and was first announced on the System Center Configuration Manager Team Blog here : New Distribution Points in Configuration Manager SP1.
It is further documented at TechNet here: Install Cloud-Based Distribution Points in Windows Azure. NOTE: The cloud-based distribution point is going to be used deployments other than Microsoft updates. Updates are already available “in the cloud” through Microsoft Update, and it’s just as easy to configure your company’s devices to use Microsoft for operating system and application updates.
For the rest of this article, I’ll break the task of installing and testing this into these steps:
Install System Center 2012 SP1 Configuration Manager
To test creating a cloud-based distribution point, I installed the evaluation of System Center 2012 SP1 Configuration Manager on a local virtual machine in my test domain. My installation was a new Configuration Manager standalone primary site:
(Prior to this installation I had installed the evaluation of SQL Server 2012 on the same machine, but I could have used the “typical installation” option to also install SQL Express to use as the local database. For a good write-up on installing a test machine like this as a Windows Azure Virtual Machine, read THIS EXCELLENT ARTICLE by Keith Mayer.)
After installing and configuring the prerequisites, I also just took the defaults from that point on.
Certificates
Of course to make an authenticated, secured (SSL) connection between your Configuration Manager installation and your Windows Azure subscription, you’re going to need to generate use a management certificate. And like most situations where we’re just trying new capabilities out that require certificates, there is a simple way, and there is a recommended-for-production way. The recommended-for-production way is to use a PKI, and use the templates and certificate types for Server and Client authentication as described in this document: PKI Certificate Requirements for Configuration Manager
For my purposes, just to get the distribution point created and the trust established between my local Configuration Manager site server and the Azure subscription, I exported both a .CER and a .PFX file from the local machine certificate that was created for my SCCM server and its relationship with SQL Server. It was already of the proper type (from the proper template), so worked fine for my test. Here’s how I did that…
Open MMC (On the start screen, type MMC and run MMC.EXE).
On the File Menu, choose Add/Remove Snap-in… then in the left-hand list, select Certificates, and click Add.
When prompted for what your want to manage certificates for, select Computer Account, click Next, and then click Finish. Click OK to close the Add/Remove Snap-ins form.
Now, in the MMC, navigate to Certificates (Local Computer) –> Personal –> Certificates. You should find a Server Authentication certificate there with the name of your server in the Issued To column.
We’re going to do two export operations on this certificate; one to get a .cer file that we’ll upload to Windows Azure, and the other to create a password-protected .pfx file that we’ll use to configure the connection from our local Configuration Manager to create the cloud-based distribution point.
First we’ll export a .cer file:
Now we’ll export a .pfx file:
Upload the .cer file to our Windows Azure subscription. (If you don’t have one, it’s easy to START A FREE TRIAL HERE.):
And there you go. The certificate for our test is in place. Now we’re ready to create and connect Configuration Manager to a new cloud-based distribution point.
Create the Distribution Point
And now you’ll see your new Cloud Distribution Point listed in the main part of the page, that will have a status of Provisioning. Eventually that status will change to Ready.
Go back to your browser and to your Windows Azure administration page. Navigate to the Cloud Services section on the left. It will take several minutes but eventually you will see a new cloud service with a long-and-ugly name show up.
Note toward the right that you have a value in the URL column. That value (which is essentially <your service name>.cloudapp.net) is the DNS name that your clients will use for connecting to the distribution point and getting their software.
Below Cloud Services, find and click on Storage. Here you’ll see that a new storage account has been created with the same ugly name that the new cloud service has.
As I’m sure you’ve guessed, this is the storage account that will hold all software and other items that you’ve deployed to your distribution point.
And now you’re ready to distribute some software to your new distribution point in the clouds. Try it out by distributing the Configuration Manager Client Package up to the your distribution point.
Now let’s see if that package is being distributed.
Another way to show that you’ve succeeded is to go back to your Windows Azure administration page, click on Storage, click on the your storage account, and select the Containers tab. You’ll see new containers being created that you can drill-down into and actually see the files and their URLs.
Good stuff!
Considerations for Client Access
“So.. is that it?”
Almost, but not quite. The Planning for Content Management in Configuration Manager document has an important section describing how and when clients will access your cloud based distribution points: Client to Cloud-Based Distribution Point Communication. Make sure you read and understand the points made there.
Summary
System Center 2012 SP1 Configuration Manager adds the ability to configure and use a Windows Azure-base service to hose a Distribution Point as what is now known as a “Cloud-Based Distribution Point”. Once certificates are in place, the actual creation of the distribution point in your Windows Azure subscription is fairly straight-forward, and for distributing content, it becomes just another option when choosing where to distribute your deployed applications and packages.
What do you think? Are the wheels turning as you’re now envisioning all of the flexibility that this new capability will give you? If not, you’d better read this article again.
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 contains a relatively new component that I don’t think many of you are familiar with. At least not yet. But if you saw my Part 12 and Part 13 articles in our “31 Days of Servers in the Cloud” series, you know already know how to connect App Controller to your Windows Azure account, and then use App Controller to create a virtual machine.
In part 25 of the series, my friend on the east coast Yung Chou is taking it to the next level. He shows you how System Center 2012 and App Controller can copy a VM to your Windows Azure cloud.
“I get it. You use App Controller to control apps.”
You’re so smart.
If you haven’t had a chance to install and evaluate System Center 2012 w/SP1, you can download the evaluation HERE.
And if you haven’t already started your evaluation of Windows Azure, CLICK HERE for your 90 Day FREE Trial.
READ YUNG’S ARTICLE HERE
“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.
Did you know that virtual machines can also be clustered?
“Really?”
Yep. We call it “guest clustering”, where a cluster of application-hosting computers, sharing storage, are actually virtual machines. In this way we provide a “whole ‘nuther level of high availability” in the fact that if an application can benefit from and take advantage of being cluster-aware, then we can support that availability even while the application is running on virtual machines.
In part 14 of our “20+ Days of Server Virtualization” series, Keith Mayer describes the benefits and operations of virtual machine guest clustering in great detail, as well as some of the improvements to Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012 that make it even more powerful.
CHECK OUT HIS EXCELLENT ARTICLE HERE
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.
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.
Today’s installment of our “Build Your Private Cloud in a Month” series is the last of our 5-part mini-series we’re calling “Deploying Private Cloud Workloads”. This week we (Tommy Patterson, Blain Barton and I) gave you the details and demonstrated some of the key areas in System Center 2012 SP1 Virtual Machine Manager that support the foundational concepts and objects in your Private Cloud arsenal:
Today my “Floridated” friend Blain Barton delivers our article on creating and using Service Templates in System Center 2012 SP1 Virtual Machine Manager. He shows you a very useful step-by-step, and leaves you with some very useful resources for further learning.
READ HIS ARTICLE HERE.
If you’re considering extending your datacenter by running some (all?) of your servers “in the cloud” in Windows Azure, you might be asking, “What operating systems does Windows Azure support?”
“What operating systems does Windows Azure support?”
Yeah. Like that.
The answer is found in todays installment of our “31 Days of Servers in the Cloud” series, written again by Tommy Patterson.
READ HIS ARTICLE, HERE.
“Hey Kevin.. when are you going to be writing one of these?”
I’m up in two days. In Saturday’s Part 5 of our series, I’m going to show you how to upload your own pre-built virtual machine’s hard disk into Windows Azure storage, and then create that as a virtual machine “in the cloud”.
If you’ve been following along with our “31 Days of Servers in the Cloud” series, you have already seen that it’s very simple to create servers in Windows Azure. But what you might not realize is just how easy it is to get those computers to see each other. Networking can be configured manually, but in today’s article in our series, Matt Hester shows you how easy it is to let Windows Azure do the work of networking your computers.
Have you been following along and creating your virtual machines in Windows Azure? Give me your questions or feedback in the comments. And check back tomorrow for my first article in the series, where I show you how to easily move your own locally created virtual machine into Windows Azure.
This is the most inspiring thing I’ve seen all year (so far). Way back when, someone very wise told me, “Kevin, you should seriously think about getting into computers.” I had been hacking around with a music sequencing program on my Dad’s Apple ][+, and from them minute he said that to me, it stuck in the back of my mind; and ultimately determined the course of my professional life.
This video (put out by Code.org) absolutely hits the nail on the head. I hope that many kids, and really anyone looking for an inspiration to their next professional career direction, will see this and consider investigating software development.
What about you? Are you inspired? Or do the feelings expressed in the video match what you’ve experienced like I have?
Sure, we know that Windows Azure is Microsoft’s cloud solution for Platform-as-a-Service (Paas) and now Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), becoming not only a platform for globally scalable applications, but also a foundation and an extension of your IT infrastructure. But…
“What is this going to cost me, Kevin?”
That’s a good question. And fortunately for you and me, my east coast friend and coworker Dan Stolts is going to take on that question today in part 15 of our “31 Days of Servers in the Cloud” series.
You may ask, “How easy is it to set up a cluster of virtualization hosts for Hyper-V virtual machine high availability?”
“How easy is it to set up a cluster of virtualization hosts for Hyper-V virtual machine high availability?”
I’m glad you asked.
Short answer: Very
Longer answer: Let’s let my friend Matt Hester show you in our 13th installment of “20+ Days of Server Virtualization”.
Sometimes useful resources show up in the most interesting way, and it would be foolish not to take advantage of them.
Today, for example (and in about 12 minutes, actually) I’m helping to support the live Q&A for a live Springboard Series Roundtable Discussion on Windows 8.
And in the meeting invite for the “backchannel” chat for the moderators, we received the following text:
Hi all, During the VRT on Friday, if you are helping with moderation, please use this meeting so we can all have a chat window open (no need for audio) so we can communicate about specific moderation issues that are taking place in the live VRT chat window. Here are some common public links that you can use if posters ask about specific resources: The Springboard Series on TechNet: http://technet.microsoft.com/springboard Windows 8 on the Springboard Series on TechNet: http://technet.microsoft.com/windows/hh771457 The Windows 8 Enterprise Evaluation: http://aka.ms/win8client Application Compatibility on the Springboard Series on TechNet: http://technet.microsoft.com/windows/aa905066 What’s New in Windows 8: http://technet.microsoft.com/library/hh832028 The Windows 8 Jump Start: http://technet.microsoft.com/windows/jj687764 Windows 8 Demonstrations from the Springboard Series on TechNet: http://technet.microsoft.com/windows/jj152913 Windows 8 FAQ on the Springboard Site on TechNet: http://technet.microsoft.com/windows/jj721676
Hi all,
During the VRT on Friday, if you are helping with moderation, please use this meeting so we can all have a chat window open (no need for audio) so we can communicate about specific moderation issues that are taking place in the live VRT chat window. Here are some common public links that you can use if posters ask about specific resources:
The Springboard Series on TechNet:
http://technet.microsoft.com/springboard
Windows 8 on the Springboard Series on TechNet:
http://technet.microsoft.com/windows/hh771457
The Windows 8 Enterprise Evaluation:
http://aka.ms/win8client
Application Compatibility on the Springboard Series on TechNet:
http://technet.microsoft.com/windows/aa905066
What’s New in Windows 8:
http://technet.microsoft.com/library/hh832028
The Windows 8 Jump Start:
http://technet.microsoft.com/windows/jj687764
Windows 8 Demonstrations from the Springboard Series on TechNet:
http://technet.microsoft.com/windows/jj152913
Windows 8 FAQ on the Springboard Site on TechNet:
http://technet.microsoft.com/windows/jj721676
Useful, don’t you agree?
Oh.. and if you’re seeing this right now.. the webcast starts at 11:00am CST on March 1, 2013, and goes for 1 hour. http://t.co/GLsVrsGSdq