Shielded VMs in Windows Server 2016 Hyper-V for 4Sysops

This post covers what a shielded VM is in Windows Server 2016 Hyper-V for 4Sysops, based on the information presented at Ignite 2015 in the US. I look at how it works, what you need to use them and scenarios where Shielded VMs would make sense. Read it here.

Enjoy! And thanks for reading.

Storage Spaces Direct in Windows Server 2016 TP2 for 4Sysops

Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) is a very interesting technology, coming in the next version of Windows Server. Pooling the internal storage (SAS, SATA and NVMe) in each storage node together for performance and resiliency, this is another option for storage for Hyper-V (and presumably SQL Server). Read it here.

Enjoy! And thanks for reading.

Azure for 4Sysops – Resource Manager

In the continuing series on Azure for 4sysops my latest post is now online. This time I look at Azure Resource Manager (ARM), an underlying technology in Azure which is going to become required learning for IT Professionals, just like DNS or AD. Read it here.

Enjoy! And thanks for reading.

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What’s new in Hyper-V in Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview 2 for 4Sysops

After looking at Nano server for 4Sysops my article on what’s new in Windows Server TP2 for Hyper-V has just been published. This one covers only what’s new since TP1, including virtual TPM, shielded VMs, resiliency in clusters and PowerShell Direct. Read it here.

Enjoy! And thanks for reading.

Real-Life Azure, Part 2: Virtual Branch Office Setup for virtualizationreview.com

Following on from my first part on virtualizationreview.com last month, the second part has just been published. This time I’m looking at how the fictional company JABB Systems International start setting up VMs in Azure IaaS, set up a Domain Controller in Azure, migrate LOB systems and backup. Read it here.

Enjoy! And thanks for reading.

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Nano Server – some technical insight for 4Sysops

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Looking further into what was revealed at the Build and Ignite conferences last month Nano Server is starting to take more of a concrete shape. This tiny foot print Windows Server OS will be good as a Hyper-V and Scale Out File server infrastructure OS. My post on Nano is up on 4Sysops, read it here.

Enjoy! And thanks for reading.

Real-Life Azure, Part 1: Setting Up the Environment for virtualizationreview.com

I’ve done a couple of in-depth technical article looking at Azure for virtualizationreview.com. These are available here, here, here and here.

Recently published is part 1 of a new series that looks at Azure (with all the changes since those first articles were written incorporated) from a “real world” perspective. I take a fictitious company on their journey to a hybrid cloud, applying the technologies to their business problems. Part 1 covers setting up a virtual network, linking it to on-premises, how to think about administrative delegation and so forth. Read it here.

Enjoy! And thanks for reading.

Azure Active Directory and Cloud App Discovery for 4Sysops

Continuing my long running series on Azure at 4sysops, this time I look at Azure Active Directory, synchronising it with your on-premises Active Directory and the benefits it offers, as well as the Azure service Cloud App Discovery. This service (CAD?) inventories the cloud services in use in your network (commonly called Shadow IT) to help IT departments to actually know what’s happening instead of guessing. Read it here.

Enjoy! And thanks for reading. 

Azure for 4Sysops – The VM Agent

Continuing my series on Azure technologies at 4sysops, this article looks at the VM agent for IaaS VMs in Azure. It brings a lot of different functionality to the table that it’s important to take into consideration when planning the deployment of production VMs in Azure. Read it here.

Enjoy! And thanks for reading.

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