Active Directory, Cluster and other fun stuff... : General

Microsoft Certified Master registration...

justintu — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:35:00 GMT

Hi Everybody!

Have you heard about the new certification from Microsoft? In the grand scheme of things (as far as MSFT certification goes) it is the next level above the MCITP. (MCITP is what many consider to be the replacement for the old MCSE)

Check out the pic for a better description:

Public registration for the new Master certification is finally open. Full details about the program are available here.

Quick overview:

Cert requirements:
-Mandatory three week training session
-in-class written and lab-based exams
-Pass qualification lab exam

It seems that they haven't updated the registration link yet. Here is the direct ~~link~~.

They've updated it now. Here is the registration page.

Steps to apply:

Fill out application here ($125) IMPORTANT: If the pre-requisite exams don't show up on your MCP transcript then you forfeit the application fee. (70-219 or 70-297, MCSE 2000 or MCSE 2003 or IT Pro: Enterprise Admin (MCITP: EA))
Upload resume (if you are eligible)
Register: Pay (and choose class dates)

Training will be in Redmond only in FY09. Dates for the first training session: (at half the price)

Exchange Server 2007: October 6-25, 2008
SQL Server 2008: October 13 – November 1, 2008
Windows Server 2008: November 3-22, 2008

Pre-recorded Live meeting session linked to from Trika's blog here.

Windows Server 2K8 Reviewers Guide

justintu — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 06:32:00 GMT

Hi Everybody!

This one comes at the request of several customers. Many of you out there are trying to determine which version of Server 2008 you will deploy. For most it comes down to deciding between two of the five major versions: Server 2008 Standard edition and Server 2008 Enterprise edition. Given the amount of features included in the OS and all of the different versions we shipped, trying to determine what version includes what feature can be confusing.

Fortunately we have released a very detailed treatise on this very subject in the form of a 247 page document appropriately titled, Windows Server 2008 Reviewers Guide.

Inside you will find a pretty thorough support matrix and technical nuggets like:

In Standard Edition you are limited to one standalone DFS Namespace. (DFS Root) This limit does not apply to domain-based DFS implementations.
Cross-File Replication for DFS-R is not available in the Standard or Web editions.
Server Core is available in all editions except for Itanium.
Hyper-V is included in Enterprise, Datacenter and Standard editions as long as you don't buy the version that say "without Hyper-V"
TS Licensing in Windows Server 2008 now allows you to track per-user CALs
Still no support for Cluster (failover) in Standard Edition, but you can now have 16 nodes with the Enterprise and Datacenter editions (8 with Itanium)

Here are some screen snags taken right from the guide:

Enjoy!

Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 and Home Server RC

justintu — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 14:10:20 GMT

Hi Everybody!

This is just an update to let you all know about two software releases:

We just released Virtual Server R2 SP1 on Monday.

You can download it for free from here.

Some of the updates:

Support for hardware-assisted virtualization
Supports up to 256 GB of physical memory, and up to 512 virtual machines
Quick Migration

Today we released the Release Candidate of Windows Home Server.

From the Home Server site:

"With Windows Home Server, you can store your music, photos, and other files on a central hub-like hard drive, accessible from every PC in your house. Protect your files and your PCs with automatic backup and a simple restore process—even gain access to files on your PCs from anywhere with an Internet connection through secure Web access."

You can sign up to get it here. (also free, but not RTM code)

Thanks!

Justin

Quick Tips

justintu — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 09:01:11 GMT

I've added a new tag called "Quick Tips." These are going to be smaller posts where I offer some time-saving tip, or some other similar type of goodie.

Look out for the first one soon!

Happy New Year!

justintu — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 08:56:00 GMT

Hi Everybody!

I just wanted to drop a quick note wishing you all a happy new year, and to let you know that I haven't given this up yet. :-)

I just got back into the office from vacation, and plan to have a technical post up here by the end of the week.

I didn't really make any resolutions this year other than to post a photo a week to my photography blog. I started something like this last year---posting a picture a day. (lasted till end of Feb)

Up next: Active Directory Forest Recovery!

Hi Everybody!

justintu — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 09:16:45 GMT

Welcome to my blog. I am a Support Escalation Engineer on the Platforms After-Hours Support team. I primarily support Windows server issues dealing with the following specialties: Setup, Cluster, Directory Services, Networking, and Performance. Due to the odd hours that I work, almost all issues are critical and therefore 'server down' type issues. A large majority of the problems that I see at night and am most familiar with are Active Directory, Setup, and Cluster (MSCS) issues, so my posts will most likely come from these areas. On a given night, I will work anything from a blue screen issue to Active Directory replication failures.

I have been working here as an FTE for a little over five years now.

My plans for this blog are to provide an outlet and insight of some of our more common disaster recovery scenarios. The majority of my posts will be covering some of the more interesting issues that I come across in my troubleshooting endeavors. From time to time I may include something from some of my personal interests as well.

Check back for my first technical post soon: Active Directory user and group membership restore.