Matt Hester's WebLog

Podcast: Episode 1 of The Triathlete and the Fat Guy: Our Story

My good friend Brian and I will sharing with you tips and tricks on how we have changing our lives for a healthier lifestyle.  In this episode we talk about our story, what motivates us.

The Magic of Virtualization

When I work with virtualization technologies and the ability to do testing, screen casts and heck even my job to work with new software, I am always reminded of my favorite quote:

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

         Arthur C. Clarke in 1961

It amazes me how applicable that quote is still today, and virtualization technology is going to keep that quote alive for me many years to come.

Think about virtualization for just second, you can create an entire server environment(Active Directory, Exchange, SQL, IIS…etc) with some RAM and hard drive space.  How great is that.  Yeah I know there are all kinds of other components that go into making virtualization happening.  There are so many other virtualization workloads to consider, from VDI, Application Virtualization, Remote Desktop Services….etc.  There is a nice article written by Michael Otey of Windows IT Pro  Magazine which talks about the many Microsoft virtualization offerings, check it out here:

Understanding Microsoft’s Virtualization Technologies 

So what is the next wave of magic for me?  It is cloud computing.  What makes cloud computing on platforms like Azure fantastic?  For me and from an IT perspective, it is the sheer scalability power the cloud can deliver.  More importantly, the cloud is rooted in virtualization technologies.  The ability to have 10 or 10,000 servers as an IT Pro is simply amazing and that is delivered via virtualization.  So how does it all work, in the diagram you can see and example of the physical implementation of Azure.

1. Hardware actually at first does a PXE boot that loads and boots WinPE in order to then download the base OS which is actually being deployed as a VHD. (Boot to VHD)
2. OS in the VHD is the Windows Server 2008 “Parent Partition” running Hyper-V. (actually a modified version of Hyper-V tuned just for the specific hardware we’re running)
3. And now when you want to run an application. It adds a base .vhd and runs a guest partition with Windows Server 2008 running on each.

That’s your application! You have an affinity to your own processor. Azure makes sure that your server will not be sharing processor core with any other applications from other Azure customers, in order to guarantee more reliable and consistent performance.  So Azure offers a truly remarkable platform for your applications and could be a nice compliment to your infrastructure.

When you dig deeper under the hood of Azure, how does it help seamlessly spread the workload of your application across multiple virtual machines?  The answers lies in the flux capacitor (sorry could not resist love the 80’s) for Azure called the Fabric Controller.  The Fabric Controllers is the “Brains” behind it all. Essentially it is the “Kernel” behind Azure and by the way happens to be just another application running on Azure.   So how does the Fabric Controller work:

After you load your application which contains two files the service package and model configuration:

1. The Fabric Controller reads the model configuration which describes how to deploy our service. Let’s say that in this case we are deploying our service to 3 machines.
2. The Fabric Controller determines which 3 machines to deploy to, copies the service package to the 3 machines, and fires up the services.
3. The Fabric Controller then configures the DNS so you have an endpoint exposed for your services for the outside world to communicate with your services.
4. From there, it configures the load balancers and routers.

That’s it. It’s completely automated.  Amazing! As you can see we have some magical computing in our future!

If you want to come out and hear more about Azure and Virtualization, my teammates and myself are delivering live events across the country.  These are free events and you can come out and learn more about Azure and Virtualization, check out www.technetevents.com for more information and to register.

Also one of my teammates, Dan Stolts  is doing a dedicated event on virtualization on Friday, February 12, 2010, to learn more check out his post here:

Virtualization Event Coming Soon to EVERYWHERE!

This was a fun posted, I posted on the Windows BEIB blog, but wanted to share it here as well, comment and let me know what you think.

Feedback requested: TN2.0 is going live

There is really one huge change that will impact us all as IT Pros. We are launching TechNet 2.0, and one of friends Keith Combs just recently blogged about it, including two 14 minute podcasts located here:

1. TechNet 2.0 – Episode 1 – Core Scenarios and Branding
2. TechNet 2.0 – Episode 2 – The New TechCenters

Keith plans on published several episodes in the coming weeks, and I will keep you updated as well keep checking on Keith’s blahg. 

Why is this important for you? Simply put now is the time to get your feedback into the TechNet team on how the website can best serve you.

• What does do well today?
• What can it do better?
• What needs to be added or removed?

If you want to see changes, comment on Keith’s post! Here is a brief overview of TechNet 2.0:

Launch TechNet 2.0

TechNet is Microsoft’s site for IT professionals, here to make you successful with Microsoft products and as a technical professional by providing the best technical content, essential tools for the job, and connections to Microsoft product groups and the technical community.

What are we trying to do with TechNet?

We are on a mission.  We want to make TechNet the best possible online experience for IT Professionals. As you can see, our mission goes beyond just providing product documentation and whitepapers. Sure, we still want to provide the essential architecture and planning guidance for our products and technologies, but we also want to connect you to people inside and outside Microsoft and enable you to actually participate in the TechNet experience. 

And, in order to do that, we focus on five key scenarios.

1. Help Me! - Help me find technical content and solve technical problems, quickly
2. Keep me Smart - Provide me with content and resources to increase my technical skills and stay up-to-date with the latest developments in my area
3. Connect me with the product - Show me your future plans and let me provide feedback
4. Connect me with people - Help me find and engage smart people at Microsoft and in the community
5. Downloads - Make it easy for me to find and download the bits, tools, and resources I need to do my job

Across all five scenarios, we invest in:

1. Content quality, relevance, and timeliness
2. Ease of discoverability
3. Opportunities for community participation and contribution

John does a great job in the podcast of describing each and what we think they mean.  Is he correct?  Feel free to comment below.

What is TechNet 2.0 ?

TechNet 2.0 is a broad initiative kicking off this month to increase your success with the core scenarios above. We especially want to make sure to improve the way you discover information. 

This of course includes site navigation but as you’ll see in other parts of this series, we have a few tricks up our sleeve I think you’ll like, that go beyond just navigating the site. 

TechNet 2.0 project goals also include better content quality and timeliness, and new opportunities for you to participate in the site.  I am not going to steal the thunder from all of those key areas right now. We’ll describe those more fully in future episodes of this blog series.

To learn more Check out Keith’s Post here:

1. TechNet 2.0 – Episode 1 – Core Scenarios and Branding
2. TechNet 2.0 – Episode 2 – The New TechCenters

Sign up Now: Great Valentine Gift for your favorite IT Pro a new TechNet Subscription use code TNITE06

Open the key to your favorite IT Pro’s heart with a new TechNet subscription and save 28%!!!!!  I am sure it is the gift your favorite IT Pro wants for valentines day!

Just Use TNITE06 when ordering your new subscription.

Click here to get your TechNet Subscription:

Purchase a TechNet Subscription

Then just enter the Promotion Code:  TNITE06

If you have not checked out what you get with a TechNet Subscription here are a few of the benefits:

• Full-version software licensed for evaluation purposes; includes Microsoft operating systems, servers, and Office System software as well as Beta software: pre-release versions of Microsoft software to keep up to date on the latest technologies.
• Two (2) complimentary technical support incidents and a 20% discount on additional phone support incidents you purchase.

And of course you still get the TechNet Library containing the Microsoft Knowledge Base, security updates, service packs resource kits, utilities, technical training, and product documentation to keep your systems and IT skills up to date!!!!

Some details about the offer:

This promo code is only for new subscriptions, you can use the code for renewals as well, however you are already saving 33% on renewals (but if you use my code it makes me look like I am doing my job :-)  Again we are having a bit of a contest so please use my code: TNITE06. 

So go get your TechNet Subscription today, and remember use the promotion code: TNITE06 to save 28%!!!!!!!!

****This offer is only for TechNet Plus Direct NEW orders only and is only valid for redemption in US.  This offer is valid from 01/18/10 to 03/31/10, subject to change

Matt Gets Better: Recap 5 bold NFL Predictions

As we draw closer to Super Bowl 44, I have to go back and take a look at my 5 bold predictions for 2009.  I actually got better, and I look forward to having an even better next year.  So how did I do:

2 out of 5  NOT BAD, considering last year!

1. Chris ‘Beanie’ Wells will win Rookie of the Year.  Now my crystal ball is a little hazy, and might be a little OSU biased, so it may just be Offensive Rookie of the Year.  I go to see a couple of the replays on the games and if he stays healthy could help Arizona a bunch this year!
   
   Result: .25 While he had a solid year, leading the cardinals in rushing yards, and had a good playoff game.  With 176 carries with 793 yards (4.5/carry) with 7 TD’s.  Although he was hurt and had fumbling problems early, still a solid year considering he split time with Tim Hightower.  Not too mention Arizona did make the playoffs again, and he was solid.  However, Percy Harvin was the run away winner, although I think Michael Oher was just as deserving. 
   
2. NFC North in the Super Bowl, probably the Vikings (Sorry honey).  I think a team from the NFC North will be in the Super Bowl, with one exception the Lions, sorry!  When you look at Minnesota and Green Bay, they both have great running games although with AP and ole #4  in Minnesota the Vikings have the edge.  You also cannot count out the Bears either, Cutler will be a difference maker.
   
   Result: .75  I was SOOOOO close on this one, and I even had 2 of the playoff teams in the NFC.
   
3. By game 6 QB Trent Edwards will regret having a certain receiver from the cowboys on the team.  The bills will not even make the playoffs and I am certain someone will not be happy and may even move to Canada, sorry Rodney.  :-)
   
   Result: 1.25  I think he actually started being himself around game 3 and just recently he came out and said he would be as good as Jerry Rice if he had the quarterbacks he had.  Correct me if I am wrong, didn’t he play with Jerry Rice and one of those QB’s? That is why I get the extra bonus.
   
4. Oakland Raiders will not win 4 games.  I would not be surprised to even if this team goes winless, however they do play the Bengals so that is at least 1 win.  :-)  This team has no chemistry and loads of unproven speed and talent, just I do not see them restoring the silver and black attack.
   
   Result: .75  Okay I was off by 1 game the Raiders went 5-11.  Still good prediction.
   
5. Browns are going to win the Super Bowl!   Yeah I know I made this prediction last year and we finished last in the division and we had a 4-6 record.  Again I think we the stars can align and miracles have been known to happen in Cleveland!  I feel Brady Quinn will have a lot to prove and will do so.  I think we are poised to have a much better year.  Heck, I will even settle for beating the Steelers at least once this year.  GO BROWNS!
   
   Result: –1
   

Go Browns!

Download Trial Software Today.

If you have been looking for a place to download trial software to build out your test environment, check out the following links:

• Windows 7 Enterprise 90-day Trial       
  http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9701662
• Download the Windows Server 2008 R2 Trial Software
  http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9701666
• Evaluate Forefront Server Security Management Console today
  http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9701670
• Download Microsoft System Center Essentials 2010 Beta Today
  http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9701674
• Evaluate System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 today
  http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9701678
• Evaluate Windows HPC Server 2008
  http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9701682

Book of the Month For February 2010: Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Administration Instant Reference

I know it is a couple of days before February, and it has been a while since I have written a post for book of the month.  However, this months book, is of special interest for myself and my great friends Chris Henley and Harold Wong (our fantastic Technical Editor)

The book: Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Administration Instant Reference is the book Chris and I both had the pleasure writing. 

A few months ago I was contacted by Sybex to write the book as I talked about in this post:

Writing with Mongo: Mongo gets asked to write a book 

Well it is official and the book is out now!

It was just released this last week, and as you can tell from the picture it is very exciting!  It is also a bit surreal.  When I set out to write the book, I never realized how much fun it was going to be. Chris and I tried to focus the book on real world administrative tasks to save you time while introducing you to Windows Server 2008 R2.  It is designed to help you the IT administrators!  Here is the blurb from the book sites about the book:

Get up to speed on the new features of Windows Server 2008 R2 with this indispensable guide. Designed for busy IT professionals, it's the perfect go-to resource for quick answers and real-world solutions as you administer the new server OS. You'll find easy-to-read lists, quick-reference tables, helpful thumb tabs, and much more in a handy, compact format that puts the information you need at your fingertips. The book is designed for anyone who administers a Windows server environment. It is for experienced and new administrators alike. The book is also for administrators looking to learn how to use many of the new enhancements Windows Server 2008 R2 can bring to their existing networks. The book will also show administrators how to improve many of the day-to-day tasks of server administration. The book will provide guidance for many common ser ver tasks, such as setting up Group Policy and backing up and recovering your server and will also show you many of the new and features built in to Windows Server 2008 R2 to help you improve server administration and management.

Topics include:

• Getting started and adding roles and functionality
• Automating tasks
• Managing users, groups, directories, and the centralized desktop
• Handling folder security, disk management, storage, backup, and recovery
• Monitoring and maintaining web servers
• Troubleshooting IP and managing remote access
• Doing performance tuning and maintaining virtual servers

Hopefully by now, you want to get the book, you can get the book here :

• Amazon: Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Administration Instant Reference 
• Barnes and Noble: Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Administration Instant Reference 
• Borders.com: Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Administration Instant Reference

If you have bought the book, please comment and let me know what you think.  If you happen to run into Chris or I while we are out and about, the answer is yes, we would love to sign your copy!  BTW, we are still waiting for Oprah to call, and hoping that Jack Bauer will do our voice over for the audio book.  :-)

Lastly, and most importantly, writing a book takes a lot of work, and I could not have done it without the support of my family!  Thanks Deb, Nicole, Mitchell and Caitlin!

Are you ready for Season 6 of Lost

Season 6 starts on Feb 2nd.  at 9est on ABC.  If you need a recap here is a great video: Last Five Seasons in 5 minutes

Enter now only a couple of weeks left to win an HP Envy? Enter the Toolbox.com Windows @ Work Contest & for a Chance!!!!

Sign up to join the Toolbox.com IT Windows 7 Community so you can enter the Windows @ Work contest, discuss issues that arise during the implementation, configuration, administration or daily use of Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system.

Be a part of the Toolbox.com Windows 7 Community!

Here is a great quote from some folks using toolbox:

Toolbox for IT has become a place I turn to in order to get those hard-to-find answers to my technical questions. If you cannot find an answer via a search, you can easily post your question for a response and utilize the vast knowledge within the community.

Cynthia Reynolds
Sr. UNIX/Linux Systems Engineer/Consultant
Member Since: 9/2/2004

Link: Join the Toolbox Community Today!

Posted by Matt-MS | 0 Comments [Edit]

RTW: FastCGI Extension 1.5 for IIS 5.1 and IIS 6.0

The FastCGI module v1.5 has been released for IIS 6 and IIS 5.1.

Take a look at at a full post here: http://blogs.iis.net/ruslany/archive/2010/01/18/fastcgi-extension-1-5-for-iis-5-1-and-iis-6-0-rtw.aspx

Some fast features:

• Monitor changes to a file (php.ini as an example). Will recycle FastCGI processes for the process pool.
• Real-time tuning of MaxInstances setting. Set by default now.
• STDERR stream handling.
• Sending a termination signal to FastCGI processes for cleaner shutdowns.
• _FCGI_X_PIPE_ environment variable for communication between the extension and FastCGI process.
• Relaxed enforcement of response headers syntax.
• Per-application FastCGI process pools. Allows for two different PHP version used for different applications within the same web site.
• Using UTF-8 encoding for server variable values.
• More descriptive error messages
• Changes in default values for configuration settings.

If you have any technical questions checkout the Fast CGI Forum: http://forums.iis.net/t/1164235.aspx

Announcement, new event in Cincinnati talking about the power of online marketing

LET Your Mouse Do the Marketing!

Join us for this exclusive event for Microsoft Partners! Meet Jeremy Epstein, founder of Never Stop Marketing,
as he shares survival strategies to grow your business in today’s online marketing environment.

This event is FREE and there will be great giveaways, great food, and a Great Speaker!

• Date: February 11th, 2009
• Time:    11:00-3:00 PM EST
• Place:    Cincinnati Microsoft Office (4605 Duke Drive, Suite 800)

Register Today!

Walk away with valuable information you can use right away. Learn how to:

• Develop community-driven marketing engines to find and capture Raving Fans
• Create a Touchpoint Customer Assessment to develop great clients from prospects
• Be a success at Word of Mouth marketing using the WOM Slam
• Learn the importance of telling a story to be a Connector

Enjoy refreshments, giveaways, Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007 drawings, and special offers by Microsoft Advertising and Bing!

Important: Critical Out-Of-Band Security Update

This security update resolves seven privately reported vulnerabilities and one publicly disclosed vulnerability in Internet Explorer. The more severe vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted Web page using Internet Explorer. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.

This security update is rated Critical for all supported releases of Internet Explorer: Internet Explorer 5.01, Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1, Internet Explorer 7, and Internet Explorer 8 (except Internet Explorer 6 for supported editions of Windows Server 2003). For Internet Explorer 6 for supported editions of Windows Server 2003 as listed, this update is rated Moderate.

Read the bulletins here :

IT Pro:

• Apply the critical MS10-002 security update for the IE vulnerability
• http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS10-002.mspx

Dev:

• Apply the critical MS10-002 security updates for the IE vulnerability
  This update will address a potential Remote Code Execution vulnerability. http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS10-002.mspx

Happy Friday!

Wanted to share some happiness on this Friday, provided by Coca-Cola. 

This reminded me about filling buckets, take a look at the book I read a few months ago:

Book's of the Month for May 2007: The Present and How Full is Your Bucket.

CodeMash PowerShell Recap and Screencast!

PowerShell is a great tool, and if you have not started to learn, it is never too old to learn this great tool!  You are also not alone, I had the privilege to speak this year at CodeMash.  I know what you are thinking, that sounds like a developer conference and it is!  It is also so much more, it is about gathering as a community, and I hope to some day help promote something similar from an IT side.

Aaron Lerch and myself presented a session on PowerShell, it was geared toward an introduction to get people interested in the tool.  I got to deliver the overview and even talked about syntax as you can see the picture in this post.  Aaron, talked about how PowerShell can be used in the development process.  As Aaron told the crowd, PowerShell is .NET on the command line very fitting.  You can read Aaron’s recap of the session here (and get the code he used in the session):

10 Things You Need to Know About PowerShell at Codemash 

I hope everyone enjoyed the session and I hope to be able to return to CodeMash next year.

In addition to the talk, I recently recorded a screencast on PowerShell V2. Which is not only in Windows Server 2008 R2 , but also available for Windows 7 and for download for your other Servers.  In the screencast I take a look at the new output control called Gridview that gives you a lot of functionally to be able to work with the sometimes complex output that we have inside of PowerShell along with the Windows PowerShell Integrated Scripted Environment feature, and the ability to run remote PowerShell commands on servers that are not in your environment. 

Take a look at the screencast and let me know what you think!

Sign up now! More cities for TechNet Events: Windows Azure, Hyper-V and Windows 7 Deployment

Good morning everyone, I just wanted to post a quick update, last week I posted a quick snapshot of upcoming TechNet and MSDN events.  I just received the registration links and the rest of the cities through march.  Hope to see you.  For me I will be in Detroit (from earlier post), Columbus on 2/25, Mason on 3/2 and Louisville on 3/4.

TechNet Events Presents Windows Azure, Hyper-V and Windows 7 Deployment from 8:30am until noon

IT Pro topics/sessions include:

·         The next wave: Windows Azure

·         Hyper-V: Tools to Build the Ultimate Virtual Test Network

·         Automating Your Windows 7 Deployment with MDT 2010

For session descriptions click on the city below.

MSDN Events Presents - Visual Studio 2010, .NET Framework 4.0 and SharePoint Development from 1:00pm – 4:30pm

MSDN topics/sessions include:

·         What’s New in Visual Studio 2010

·         What’s New in the .NET Framework 4.0

·         SharePoint Development using Visual Studio 2010

For session descriptions click on the city below.