http://blogs.msdn.com/b/microsoft_press/archive/2012/03/05/from-the-mvps-one-more-report-from-the-mvp-global-summit.aspx

I ate (during the day at work) like crap – too much of bad foods (I blame Audrey, but she didn’t actually force-feed me the muffin or the pizza, she just made them readily available (as well as the only things).  She also put out all sorts of cookies for the afternoon snack, and my willpower faltered – I had three lady fingers.  To compensate – although I did not set out with this goal – I skipped dinner.  I got off the train from Toronto and drove straight to Taekwondo, where everything got back on track.

I had been really disheartened Monday and Tuesday about my prospects for testing for actually being ready for my test on June 2nd, and I decided that yesterday (Wednesday) was the day that I would make my final decision.  While I know all of my patterns (poomsaes) I had not learned the knife-defense ‘one-step-sparring’ that I need as a requirement.  That is, nine separate (and numbered, in order) methods of repelling a knife-wielding attacker.  While that is something I am pretty good at, I would usually revert to Krav Maga, so learning the Taekwondo (actually Hapkido) methods were a challenge.

vector version of Black belt 2st dan.png (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Miss Kelly (one of the senior instructors, who is testing for her 5th Dan Black Belt the day that I test for my 2nd Dan) and I had arranged to spend time on Wednesday going over the methods, and she agreed to allow me to record our session so that I could study the moves while on the road next week.  She is an excellent teacher whom I have always liked and respected (she was Aaron’s favorite instructor when he was in TKD), and really knows her stuff. 

One of the reasons I prefer working one-on-one with instructors, rather than working in a large class, is not simply the individual attention.  I find that in most modern martial arts classes the focus is on teaching moves rather than teaching why we do the moves and analyzing them.  As a Colour Belt suppose I had to cope, because as GrandMaster H.C. Kim once wrote ‘The study of martial arts really begins once you have achieved Black Belt Excellence.’  Until you have a strong knowledge of the basics it is impossible to start analyzing the advanced.  However as a Black Belt I appreciate that when I learn a move in a one-on-one setting I can analyze, discuss, and really understand what it is that I am doing, as well as how likely I might successfully execute a particular move in either sparring or real-life situations.  I find that by breaking down a move in this way it is easier for me to learn and absorb patterns and self-defense.

Working with Miss Kelly last night was such an opportunity, and while I came into the lesson with a slight knowledge of two or three of the moves, by the end of the evening I was much more confident that I knew what I was doing… even if I might not use most of those moves in real-life knife attacks.  While I was able to execute all of the moves by the end of the evening, I am glad that I recorded them so that I can review them today and every day until I will never forget them.  I will be watching them often, breaking them down in my head, and I  predict that on my flight to Victoria next week I will be doing them over and over again in my head.

With regard to the diet, I decided this morning that I would start a two-day cleanse… which essentially means I am fasting, save for vitamin supplements.  My weight has been fluctuating only slightly over the past few weeks, but it is still about 5lbs up from my low-point.  I have lost (since January) 43lbs, and I have really been stuck there since mid-April.  Every time I have done a two-day cleanse I have lost at least 5lbs, so it is entirely possible that I could test fifteen pounds lighter than I am today.  That is a good goal, but I will settle for 10lbs.  I say this knowing that Saturday evening I am taking the family to a Brazilian steakhouse – not a very good place to diet – but that is essentially the last hoorah before my final two-week push.  Despite my travels (which, between now and the test will take me to Buffalo, Victoria, Vancouver, and Montreal) I am going to succeed, and do my absolute best on June 2nd.

More later.

Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On Monday I announced in this space that thanks to my friends at TekSource Corporate Learning (www.teksource.ca) I had nine (9) exam vouchers to give away for the Microsoft exam 70-659 (TS: Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization).  The response was incredible, and I want to thank everyone who entered the draw!

I want to congratulate the winners:

• Gregory Longere
• Darrell Hutchinson
• Bruce Richardson
• Sumeeth Evans
• Mike Ruicci
• Victor Nichols
• Tyler Coan
• David Clark
• Jordan Samulaitis

Remember… by passing the exam you are a winner, but just by trying you are one too!

Now you all have an obligation to me to take the exam before the deadline – May 31st, 2012! I would love to hear how you did, and if you are proud of your success, or you felt that this contest prompted you to get out there and do it now instead of later, write it up… I’d love to publish your story! (Bonus points for anyone who scans their score report… you have to be REALLY proud of it for that!)

Black belt, 2nd dan (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My journey to the Second Dan Black Belt test in Taekwondo continues.  Today is going to be a key day in my journey to my Second Dan Black Belt.  Of all of the requirements for the test I am solid on most of my patterns (the last one just requires more practice), I know what I have to practice and prepare to get ready to smash the concrete blocks, and I know that if I am going to spar I am reasonably ready for that too.I have to continue to work on my focus – I might be testing alongside other candidates who may do the patterns slightly differently than I do – either slight variations on the moves, but more likely at a different pace.  I cannot be thrown off my game by them – whether they are better or worse than me doesn’t matter, any variation can be a distraction.

To combat this, and to make sure I really know the moves, I am planning on running through all of the patterns blindfolded later in the week.  I will record them and make sure I am doing them to my satisfaction.  Working blindfolded forces me to concentrate on my moves, and not my surroundings.  I actually once did the patterns for my test with my eyes closed, but the GrandMaster called attention to it so I won’t do that again.

This evening I am working with one of the 4th Dan Instructors at the club.  She is one of the experts on the knife defense techniques that I have to memorize, and I am looking forward to that.  I know how to disarm armed attackers, but for the test I have to learn and memorize nine specific methods, and I am only confident that I know four of them.  However they are all still basic Hapkido/Grav Maga, so once I work with Miss Kelly for an hour I will have the rest down pat.  I state this after having already worked with the GrandMaster for 30 minutes the other night, so I am about halfway ready.  Nine complex moves are a lot to learn and memorize in a single night though… I am sure I could do each of them now… but not in order.

I also have to record everything tonight, so I have charged the battery in my video camera so that I can have it all.  I will be spending a lot of nights in hotels and on the road over the next seventeen days, and having them on video to watch will be helpful.

The diet is not going as well as I would like – I am essentially stalled, and that is because I have sort of lost my focus this month.  On Saturday I am taking my family for a very special dinner, and that will be my last ‘cheat’ until the test.  I will then have thirteen days of focused weight loss – I would love to lose another 13lbs between now and the test, and with the right focus and discipline I am not sure that is unreasonable.

I have decided to cut the planned last city before the test out of my travels.  I was supposed to be in Montreal on the 30th and then Ottawa the evening of May 31st, to drive home Friday.  Instead I will drive home from Montreal so that I can spend June 1st in the gym, practicing, meditating, and focusing.  I will not take any meetings that day (I was supposed to be on the road so none are currently scheduled), it will be a day for a long jog, a lot of practice and reflection, and the last opportunity to tweak anything that needs to be tweaked for the next day.

It is getting real… After tonight’s workout I am going to give my Master my final decision that I am testing… or that I am not.  I expect that I am 90% certain that I will though, so as long as nothing interferes I am ready to enter the home stretch.

I hope you are with me!

Nobody that I know debates that governments function more efficiently with technology than they did without it. Unfortunately it is difficult to convince them that investing in newer technology – such as replacing five year old servers running Windows Server 2003 with new servers that run Windows Server 2008 R2, and implement integrated private cloud solutions based on System Center 2012 versus continuing with legacy System Center (or 3rd party) management tools – is not simply an expenditure, it is an investment in their infrastructure that will pay dividends in licensing, service, training, and maintenance cost-savings, as well as allowing them to leverage the benefits of newer, green technological advancements such as server virtualization and advanced power management capabilities of modern servers.

So what is the problem? It is as simple as it is complicated, and as easy to solve as it is impossible.

Here’s my take on the problem:

Corporations think (and invest) for the long term. So do the people who work there, because although I always discuss the death of corporate loyalty in our modern world, most employees – certainly not the strategists – plan for the future because businesses understand the need for long term vision. Unless your name is Leo or Scott, CEOs do not see their positions as transient and disposable. They have learned that vitamins are cheaper than medicine, and that maintaining a healthy IT infrastructure will save them a lot of money in costly downtime down the road.

In the free world governments are made up of transients. In a parliamentary democracy such as Canada everyone who works for the government ultimately answers to Parliament. Members of Parliament are elected for a maximum term of five years, and each has to constantly remember the direction given them by the voters, especially considering that their real full-time job (for most of them) is preparing to get re-elected.

Cabinet Members – the Justice Minister for example – are in charge of their departments. The Justice Minister is ultimately responsible for everything within his (or her) portfolio, which of course will include in this case matters pertaining to the police, criminal, and civil courts, but also the mundane issues such as the ministry’s IT department (of which with few exceptions none of them will likely know anything about). While the Cabinet Ministers have the same maximum term of five years before needing to be reelected, that is not a guarantee that they will remain in their cabinet portfolio for the duration of their term, or even in the cabinet at all. Therefore they have to make sure that their ministries run smoothly, and if possible under budget (and if not then they should only go over budget under the public radar).

Somewhere beneath the ministers we then have the career public servants.  These are not political appointments, they are professionals who keep the actual nuts and bolts of the ministry working including (but certainly not limited to) the IT.  In order for the ministry to make substantial investments in the infrastructure it would need approval from the minister.  Because the minister is ultimately responsible for his ministry’s budget, and because (as stated) most often they do not understand the implications of making infrastructure changes to IT and the short- and long-term cost benefits to same, there is a good chance that they would say no.  In order to convince them (and of course I am oversimplifying the process somewhat) the IT department would have to make a really good case for the changes. 

If we want to make a case for IT changes we cannot do it by talking cool.  Technology people are great at ‘talking cool technology.’  Unfortunately most heads of companies – whether they are CxOs of corporations or Cabinet Ministers – are not impressed by (and do not make decisions based on) ‘cool,’ they are impressed by dollars and cents, as well as sense.  They have to be convinced that a) the project is necessary, b) the project is affordable, and c) they understand that the project discussed is beneficial overall to their department.

One of the statements I have made a thousand times to audiences – whether they be classes or user groups or business groups – is that the best way to convince the CxO of a company to do anything is to use the following equation: ROI ↑ TCO ↓.  If you can demonstrate increased return on investment and a decreased total cost of ownership, then the cool factor doesn’t matter… in truth it doesn’t matter anyways.  Most IT professionals know how to speak technology; to succeed in today’s world we have to learn to speak business because outside of our field nobody really cares about the rest, save for a possible fleeting fascination with it.

This formula has very little to do with capital expenditures (capex).  Most capex costs are one-time costs that may either shock or impress the uninformed, but it is the operational expenditures (opex) that really makes the difference to most companies – the ongoing operational costs of their systems, which include tangibles such as real estate, power consumption, air conditioning, battery backups and generators, staff, and more but also have to include intangibles such as security, incidence response & manageability, end-user (employee) satisfaction, comfort, and training… as well as the environmental impact of the purchases (which may include the cost of retiring and disposing of old equipment). 

Here’s an example: An IT desktop administrator believes that his company needs to upgrade the existing client workstations that are five years old and run Windows XP and Office 2003.

The wrong approach would be to focus on the new technology.  Even most of the new features of the new technologies are of little interest to the CxOs, because the end users have been able to perform their duties satisfactorily with the old systems.

The right approach would be to create a report that cites industry studies that show the client workstation bell curve (the TCO of workstations starts to increase dramatically after three years).  Show the cost of repairs and service to the workstations over the five years, highlighting the increased cost associated with out-of-warranty repairs, as well as end-user loss of productivity due to non-functioning hardware.  They could add in the electricity costs, and show comparisons of power consumption of old CRT monitors compared to newer LCD flat screens, as well as those of older computers versus newer ones.  Additionally they should call out that a planned and phased cycling of the systems coupled with training of end-users in the newer technology would cost X, and would result in higher end-user satisfaction that leads to increased employee productivity.

Of course these opex cost benefits might be offset in the first year or two by the required up-front capex costs, but over time the cost savings would be tremendous.

In business, this just makes sense.

Unfortunately in government we run into that maximum five-year job expectancy of a minister, coupled with the fact that all of his ministry’s expenses are available for public (and especially) media scrutiny.  Short term cost for long term benefits usually does nothing for the incumbent and would actually benefit the successor’s image.  There is no political benefit to that ergo there is little chance it is going to happen.

Now let’s extrapolate this attitude across the tenure of the career IT manager, who has come to terms with the fact that the vast majority of projects that would make his life (and the life of his team) better do not get approved by the minister, and that over the course of that career he may have seen the ‘same old same old’ from several – as many as a dozen – ministers.  When the staffers’ feel that the environment is always ‘Meet the new boss… same as the old boss’ they eventually become dejected and resigned to simply doing their jobs and going home at the end of the day – and it does not take long at all for the once upbeat, excited, and passionate IT Professional to become ‘one of them…’ a cog in the wheel who knows that the nails who pop their heads out get hammered.  Now we have an environment in which not only do new projects seldom get proposed, the existing infrastructure is seldom even improved upon.

While my sampling is by no means comprehensive, I have also encountered a great many government IT workers who like to tinker with their systems, and eventually find themselves with a system that is, against all published and logical best practices, the IT equivalent of a custom motorcycle that nobody but them really knows all of the intricate details of his system.  In environments like these the there are a number of problems, not the least of which is that despite any built-in redundancies, the single-point-of-failure becomes the individual who so often have not properly documented their tweaks, so when they are approached about modernizing the systems they tend to get protective of ‘their jobs,’ and the costs of upgrading are severely increased due to the inherent complexities of a custom system coupled with the often stubborn pushback from the staff.

We end up with a government running the IT equivalent of 1982 Buicks that were purchased new in 1986 – they may have been the best cars on the market in their time, but after years of consideration and review they were four years old when they were new, and that was a long time ago.  Even with constant maintenance (which is seldom done to factory spec) they require more of it than they did new, and nobody wants to pay for that.  Also the drivers are itching for newfangled features such as air conditioning, bucket seats, and electric windows… that would simply be impossible to retrofit into the old cars.

Infrastructure projects such as private cloud based on new servers are even harder for an IT department to justify because the vast majority of the improvements and benefits are to the back-end that are never seen by anyone… they may look pretty in their racks, but the reality is an end user checking his (or her) e-mail does not care if the mail server is running Exchange Server 5.5 or Exchange 2010, nor if that server is physical or virtualized.  The mail comes in and goes out, that is enough for them.  The proposal, therefore, must be made strictly based on numbers, and although most IT people are pretty good at math most of them do not have a background in (nor a strong understanding of) accounting principles or how to prepare a business proposal.

So with all of this working against us as an industry, how do we begin to try to solve it?  Where do we start?

Attitudes.  It is as important for us to change attitudes, from the top down and from the ground up.  It is as important to show the politicians the value of a modern IT infrastructure within their organization as it is to teach the IT professionals the skills to deliver compelling proposals in business-speak.  All levels have to understand the benefits – the positive, such as long-term cost benefits, green solutions, and heightened security capabilities, as well as the potential negative impact and costs of maintaining older systems that are out of warranty, harder to secure, and often more costly to program.

Drive. It is incumbent upon us to reengage with the IT Pros and remind them of the passion that drew them into their field in the first place, reignite the fires they once had.  Very little has ever been accomplished by those lacking passion.

Education. Often enough the people who want to drive new projects lack the full understanding of the actual benefits of the projects that could actually tip the balance from no to yes.  Explaining that end users will be happier with Windows 7 and that it will be easier to manage and support may be part of their argument, but being able to show the cost benefit prediction model might tip the balance.

These are three very simple answers to a not-so-simple problem.  There are so many other factors to consider, not the least of which are privacy requirements in the government and the fear of scandal (remember the eHealth boondoggle).  Again, the nail who sticks his head up…

Most people (the voters) also don’t understand the benefits of modern IT, and would rather see ministries spend their money only when absolutely necessary, and then only on the least expensive solution.  This attitude when it comes to IT is a dangerous one, but the average voter does not understand anything about IT, and unlike the minister is limited to possibly hearing a one minute news broadcast, or three column inches of reporting of facts, followed by hours of talk show hosts who usually don’t understand IT any better than the listeners, but who understand that taxpayer dollars are being spent on something that nobody is going to see and few are going to use.  That is a good way to ensure that the minister in question turns the plan down and looks for less expensive alternatives… that usually cost much more in the long run.

There are so many factors on the table that make it a daunting task for the leaders of the IT industry in Canada – people who really know and understand the benefits of implementing modern technology – to make inroads in government agencies, ministries, and departments.  I don’t have the whole solution, but I hope that in this article I have sufficiently outlined the major pain points so that others can tackle the problem and start fixing it.

Of course, if you have lived in Canada or North America you likely know that since 1976, when Quebec elected its first separatist government (the Parti Quebecois, led by Réné Levesque) there have been multiple referendums within Quebec on the issue of whether Quebec should separate from Canada. Each time the separatists lost (despite having rigged the 1995 referendum), but the question continues.

The rest of Canada, for its part, has done so much to appease the Quebec population, as well as the numerous governments of the province. Many Canadians feel that these concessions – most of which are financial, but also include language laws that make it mandatory to label products in French in every province.

As a native-born Quebecer (I was born in Montreal, and lived there for thirty years) I have always looked at the issue from the standpoint of a scared Canadian within the province who might be forced to move should Quebec separate. I have always loved Canada, am proud to be Canadian, and would never renounce that. So when I moved to Ontario in 2007 I was surprised and even offended to hear talk radio hosts talk the way they did about my native province. I was sure that they were the minority, and of course trying to rile people up for ratings. I have since realized that I was the one who was wrong.

I have asked people across the country their thoughts on this over the last five years, and a lot of them feel the same way… they would be just as happy to be rid of Quebec. They of course do not have the divided loyalties that I do, caring so much for both and knowing that the situation could improve with time, especially as the generation of young radicals who kept the separatist movement alive for so many years grew up and began to understand the economic ramifications of independence.

Sadly, I was wrong. A new generation of radical Quebec separatists took their place, and so many of the older ones did not change their feelings when they learned the economics. Separatism in Quebec may well be as strong today as it was in 1980, and that scares me. However if you couple that with the other attitudes of Quebecers – note the Black Bloc, the Student Protests, and Stanley Cup (and other hockey) riots – who seem to have no respect for anyone and have grown up with the entitlement attitude born likely of the fact that Canadian governments dating back to P.E. Trudeau have paid a king’s ransom to appease them and their parents, then you have a problem that Canadians not born in Quebec may not want to put up with for much longer.

When I read the responses to the poll yesterday I was not so shocked by the animosity that so many Canadians feel toward my native province as I once would have been… and I realized that they have a real good point. Quebec has, since my childhood, been the spoiled child of Canada, constantly threatening to take their ball and leave the field if everyone doesn’t do what they want. As a native-born Montrealer I would hate to see Quebec leave Canada, but it is time for Quebecers to realize that they are not the only ones with a say in this matter, and if they don’t work hard to change their attitudes – and the attitudes of the extremely spoiled drivers of the separatist movement – then they will find themselves put out of Canada like Fred Flinstone by his pet sabre-tooth. If Canada were to evict Quebec it would be too late to bang on the door screaming for Wilma to let him back in, it would be a permanent schism that would destroy a country – and likely not simply in two.

If it is time to rewrite Canada, then I do not know if it will be as peaceful and easy a rewrite as some may think – Alberta and British Colombia both have made noises about leaving Confederation, and I’m not sure if it would make sense for the Maritimes and Ontario to be a single country separated by a land mass larger than most of Europe.

I cannot fathom the fallout, but I do know that I think the easiest solution would be for Quebec to come to terms with remaining in Canada, but as an equal… pulling its own weight and paying its own share.  Enough with national laws that force cans of tuna sold in Calgary to be written in French, enough of having to sing the national anthem in two languages at hockey games.  I hope that Quebec learns to play nice, because if they don’t… the sum of the shattered parts of this great land will not nearly add up to the whole.

Black belt, 2nd dan (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It is difficult to imagine, but I am now inside the three week mark.  In nineteen days – June 2nd, 2012 – I will be testing for my Second Dan Black Belt in Taekwondo.  I have not been blogging as much as I should, so I am going to take this opportunity to review the goals I set down in an article in this space on February 16 (Planning for Success: A fat man’s plan to test for his Second Dan Black Belt).

1. Weight Loss. At the time I had lost a few pounds, but as of this morning I have lost 45lbs.  It is not quite my goal of 65lbs, but I realized something important (which I knew but did not take into account when I set that goal): Muscle weighs more than fat.  In the past three weeks I have not lost a pound… but my clothes are fitting differently now than they did then.  Also people who saw me then are telling me that I look like I have lost more weight, even though I haven’t.  I suppose all of the other work that I have been doing really has been paying off!  That does not mean I can afford to stop dieting – certainly not now, but not in three weeks either.  I have had the occasional cheat day (I had one cheat week too) but that is the exception, and I want to lose all the weight before I am through.
2. Strength Training. I have not done as much of this as I would have like to, but I have done some.  I will make no excuses though; when I test one of two things will happen: I will break through the concrete slabs… or I will (again!) break my hand trying.  There is no alternative for me, I WILL break them.
3. Pattern Training: I never thought I would do it, but I have learned all five new patterns that are requirements to test for my Second Degree Black Belt.  Last night my Master came over and I expressed some doubt about the level of proficiency that I have achieved, he had me perform the patterns… in a chair, without moving.  I had to describe to him every step, every move.  It took me an hour to do the hardest of them (the other four I have long since ‘mastered’) but I got through it… Pal Ban Moo 1-2-3.  Tonight I will do them through and through in the Dojang, and I hope to be as confident as he is.
4. Endurance Training.  I told myself (and my wife) that when I reached a certain weight I would start jogging again.  I have not hit that weight yet, but I broke my word and started jogging last month.  I simply made a statement to Theresa that I was going to go for a five mile jog that afternoon, and she told me that I should set realistic goals so as to not disappoint myself.  That afternoon I only jogged about 4 miles… but I have done it most days since, and yesterday (Sunday) I jogged 10.5 miles.  It took me 2.75 hours so I am not breaking any land-speed records, but I am doing much better than I thought… I even considered running a half marathon earlier in the month, but Theresa (rightly) talked me out of it.  That IS still a goal… but after my test.
5. Weapons Training: I was planning on performing Nunchuk patterns for the test, but have been told that weapons are not a requirement until the next test, and I have only enough cycles to do what I can.  I have not stopped working with them, but I am not planning on including them in my test.
6. Sparring: I am not looking forward to sparring, and have not worked on it at all this time around.  I do know however that I was pretty good at sparring two years ago, and I know that in my much slimmer condition I am moving a LOT better than I was.  If I am asked to spar, I will, and I will win.
7. Self-Defense Training: This is the one area that is a requirement that I have not focused on.  I know what I need to know, I just haven’t learned the actual moves yet.  They are all permutations of things I have known and used for years, and have an appointment with one of the senior instructors to spend an evening learning them this week.  I am not worried about that.
8. Stretch Training: While I have not done as much of this as I would have liked, I am pleased with my progress, which again is more a result of the weight loss and endurance training than anything else.  My kicks are better and higher than they have been in years, and while I will never be doing high side- or roundhouse kicks, I have no problem with high axe- and front- kicks… and my back kick is still lethal!
9. Choreography: While I am not saying it cannot happen, I doubt that this will get done, simply because of the three of us who planned to do this together, one is NOT testing, and the other (and I) are going to spend what time is left preparing our actual requirements… when we are in town, because we are both road warriors and will both be on the road for much of the next 2.5 weeks.
10. Meditation, Mindset, and Balance: My Master looked at me last night and told me I was ready.  He was not simply referring to my patterns.  He knows what I have put into this test, both mentally and physically.  I am balanced and focused, and ready… in all aspects.  I am ready to shut out the distractions, clear the mechanism, and do my best.  I can’t do anything more… but I can make sure my best is REALLY my best.

Conclusion:

It’s been a long road and it’s not over… but I am confident that while I have slipped along the way I have for the most part stayed the course.  When I saw my family physician last week he did a double-take when he looked at my weight loss, and insisted I get back on the scale to confirm.  My BP is back to what it was in the army, and I am focused and ready… and on June 2nd when I wreck those two slabs of concrete I will know that it was all worth it!

Now, there are some pre-conditions:

1. First priority is going to go to members of the IT Pro Toronto Virtual Study Group (or any other affiliated study group from across the country).  They have done the work, and many were under the impression that we had promised them vouchers.
2. Second priority will go to people who have attended any session that I have led or participated in.  That means a user group event, IT Pro Boot Camp, Tae Kwon Do class, Summit, anything… as long as I was there and recognized as a presenter or proctor.
3. Third priority goes to Canadian IT Pros.  I know I support the community worldwide, but my first priority for this program has to go to Canada.  They are not geo-locked, but I will be checking!
4. You have to schedule and take the exam before May 31, 2012.

So with that being said, if you want a voucher I need for you to do two things:

1. Comment on this blog article to the effect of ‘I want a voucher! I want to get certified!’
2. If you are a member of one of the study groups, send me an e-mail letting me know which one, who the leader is, and when it ended (or is scheduled to end).  That will of course put you to the front of the line.
3. If you are not a member of one of the study groups let me know which session you attended.
4. If you did not attend one of my sessions let me know where in Canada you live… and work or study!
5. Check your e-mail!  If you don’t get an e-mail then I am sorry, you didn’t get it.

That’s it folks.  I will ask one more thing though… Commit to writing the exam before May 31.  If for any reason you cannot I do not want to see any of these vouchers (value: $150 US Dollars!) wasted.  Also please let me know how you did!  I am always very interested in the success of my students and readers!

Good luck… both with the contest and the exam!

10747A: Administering System Center 2012 Configuration Manager: June 29, 2012 (currently in Beta)

10748A: Deploying System Center 2012 Configuration Manager: June 29, 2012 (currently in Beta)

10750A: Monitoring and Operating a Private Cloud with System Center 2012: July 30, 2012 (currently in Beta)

10751A: Configuring and Deploying a Private Cloud with System Center 2012: July 30, 2012 (currently in Beta)

I hope this helps!

So to celebrate, I am again going to give out five (5) licensed copies of WinX DVD Ripper (Platinum) v6.8.5** – the latest and greatest – to people who comment on my blog.  It can be anything – let me know that you like an article, or just comment ‘Hey I’d like to win!’ – as long as your e-mail address is connected to your comment (it will be hidden).

So the guidelines are simple… comment, make sure I can get in touch with you.  On any day (starting today) that this blog hits 150 hits I will give away a prize to someone who comments.  Want to win?  Tell me!

Good luck, and happy Spring/50,000th hit!

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**Software giveaways will not be hard copies, but will be fully licensed software codes already in the possession of the writer.  These copies are given away freely with the permission and endorsement of the software vendor.  They are distributed by The World According to Mitch, and not by any company or corporate entity that the writer may work for or contract for.  Odds of winning are directly related to the number of valid entries received.  The winners will be chosen at random according to the terms stated in the contest, however the selection process will be at the discretion of the writer, and his decisions are final and not subject to any audit process.  There are five licenses of the software to be given away beginning on Wednesday May 10th, 2012.

47.636151 -122.133633

One of the highlights of every TechEd I have been to has been connecting with a lot of my fellow Canadian IT Pros (yes, for this context I include Devs in the same group).  In fact for the last couple of years, the DPE (Evangelism) team at Microsoft has coordinated a ‘soiree’ for us where we all got together, had drinks, shared stories, and got to know one another.  Last year we were in Atlanta, and they held the event in a bar atop one of the hotels, and it was a lot of fun.  I got to meet all sorts of people from across the country whom I would likely never have met.

I found out the other day that none of the Canadian DPE team are going to be with us in Orlando this year.  On the one hand it is too bad that they will not be able to connect with a lot of you from across the country, but in truth I have felt that this year they have done such a great job of getting out across the country and seeing so many of you at events, user groups, and IT Camps that it is hard to fault them for it.

With that being said, we got together and decided that we did not want the tradition to end.  So although there will be nothing ‘official’ on the agenda, we are going to get together and drink a toast to the DPE team.  The plans are not firmed up yet, but if you are a Canadian going to TechEd 2012 and are interested in getting together for a drink (and appetizers?) with the rest of the Canadian contingent, I am going to make sure that happens.

What you need to do:

1. Send me an e-mail at the following address: TechEd2012@swmi.ca.  NOTE: If you have any other e-mail address for me, do NOT use it for this.  I am using a special group so that I can easily sort requests!  Let me know that you are interested in joining the Canadian Community Get Together at TechEd.
2. Keep your eyes peeled for further details.  I will be sending out an e-mail most likely the week of June 4th with details about time and date.  The place will most likely be a bar in one of the hotels (I tend to favour the ones that I stay at, but will make sure it is convenient to all).
3. If you misspell COLOUR, FLAVOUR, FAVOUR, SAVOUR, CENTRE, SERGEANT or any other word that Canadians spell properly and that Americans do not, please brush up!! There may be a quiz before you are entitled to drinks! (On the same vein, brush up on hockey, curling, and make sure you know who really won the War of 1812! Hint: It was NOT a draw!)

That’s about it… As always, this will be an informal get together, so come as you are… I promise that I will!

Mitch

I was invited by Microsoft Canada to man the OEM Hardware Wall, and had a great time doing it.  The surprise that waited for me in Building 33 in Redmond was that not only would we be sharing the OEM wall space with Jabra, we would also be showcasing their products.  Okay, not a problem… I would just have to… learn all about them really quickly so that is sounds like I have been using them my entire life.  Ben Sept – the Territory Sales Manager for Jabra – gave me a crash course, and did a really good job of two things: first, he prepared me to present the products to the attendees.  More importantly, he got me interested in the products.

Let me explain… I started using Bluetooth earpieces seven years ago or more, and was always ‘plugged in.’ I wore my Jawbone everywhere and always, and put up with the plethora of smart-alec comments from people saying I looked like I was plugged into the Borg.  When I got my first car that was Bluetooth-capable I paired my phone with it, and decided that when I wasn’t driving I didn’t really need hands-free.  I haven’t worn the earpiece since I married Theresa and besides, I am so seldom in my office so why would I need a desktop unit for the local phone?

Oh wait… sometimes I need to record audio into an on-line system, such as was the case prior to the launch of Windows 7, when I recorded something like fifteen hours of on-line training into a Live Meeting session.  I went out and bought a Plantronics headset which worked pretty well, as long as I was on an analog phone.  I used it for a little while, but spend very little time on analog calls (especially not for extended periods).  that device is somewhere in my ‘Device Graveyard’ which is replete with devices that are good… just not quite good enough.

So when Ben showed me the Jabra GO 6470, I figured it was just another one of those… ‘not quite good enough devices.’  Boy was a I surprised.  However before I gave it my real ‘seal of approval’ I was going to have to test it out… see how the reality compares to the marketing fluff. 

The GO 6470 has a lot of features that are great, but not entirely useful for ME.  However it has a number of HUGE benefits for me, which really proved its use:

1. Its range is far greater than the normal Bluetooth standard of 30’.  The specs claim a maximum distance of 300’, but I am reasonably sure that when I walked from my station in Building 33 to the staff room I was farther than that.  Either way, it did not disappoint.  I remember several occasions leaving my cell phone in the car as I walked away, and lost my call mid-sentence.  I could now easily park the car in the parking lot at Microsoft Canada and go right into the DPE corner on the 3rd floor without losing my call!
2. One earpiece connects to multiple systems… as in, all of them.  My base is connected at my home office to the analog phone, as well as to the USB port of my main laptop’s docking station… so I can be anywhere in the house (or out in the yard or out front in the circle playing with my son) and take calls from Lync, the analog (POTS) phone, or (of course) my cell phone – even if I left it on my desk.
3. Six (6) hours talk time… I am not sure that I spend six hours talking on the phone on any given week, so having more than I need is reassuring… I hated when my earpiece would die and I would have to switch to the handset.
4. Did I mention that all of Jabra’s devices (at least the ones we were showcasing) are optimized for Microsoft Office Lync? Cool!
5. I love both of my cars, but let’s face it, if you have ever spoken with me while I was driving you will agree that the sound quality sucks.  I am sure they have gotten better in the new models, but my 2009 and 2010 cars have lousy speakerphones.  The Jabra earpiece quality is as good as if I was speaking with you in person!

There are more benefits, but these are the ones that mean the most to me.  If I worked in a multi-tenant environment I would appreciate that you can connect multiple earpieces to the same base for shift workers, and several others.  For this road warrior I appreciate that I can wear the earpiece for hours and not realize that I am wearing it… I love the comfort, the responsiveness of the touch controls (which I can also control from the base unit’s high quality touch screen), and the fact that I can press a button on the earpiece while driving and issue any voice command that my smartphone (a Samsung Focus Windows Phone 7.5) accepts – from a simple ‘Redial’ to ‘Call Theresa Garvis Home’ and it just works.

If you want to check out some of the great products that Jabra had me showcasing at the Canadian Leadership Summit, come to one of my upcoming user group sessions in Mississauga, Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, and elsewhere… I have a few left over that Jabra has agreed to let me give away as door prizes!  Thanks Jabra, you guys (and your products) really do rock!

Private Cloud Boot Camp

Do you keep hearing the term Private Cloud wherever you go? Are you curious to understand how you can enable Private Cloud in your organization? Curious to understand how System Center 2012 can be used to enable self-service for you organization while allowing you to maintain control of the environment? Want to understand how to manage all of your virtualization hosts from a single toolset? If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, you need to be at the Private Cloud Boot Camp.

The Private Cloud Boot Camp provides a full-day, hands-on experience where you will learn about these topics and more in a fun and collaborative environment:

• Understand the System Center 2012 offering and Microsoft’s vision for Private Cloud
• Configure System Center 2012 to manage a Private Cloud infrastructure
• Create virtual machine and service templates to support the Private Cloud environment
• Enable self-service allowing users to provision their infrastructure within established policies and service offerings
• Monitor your Private Cloud infrastructure using System Center Operations Manager 2012
• Automatically respond to critical incidents and remediate issues without human intervention
• See how new functionality in Windows Server 2012 will provide additional capabilities to help take your Private Cloud to the next level

Private Cloud Boot Camps are currently scheduled in the cities listed below.  Click on the city or date to register for the event nearest you.

• Mississauga –May 9 or May 10
• Vancouver – May 16 or May 17
• Calgary – June 5
• Edmonton – June 8
• Winnipeg – June 12
• Ottawa – June 19
• Montreal – June 21

I will be at the events in Mississauga, Calgary, Ottawa, and Montreal.  I know, I would have loved to do all of them, but scheduling conflicts prevented it – I am teaching (in Toronto) the week of the Vancouver events, speaking (in New Orleans) the day of the Edmonton event, and will be at TechEd (in Orlando) for the Winnipeg event.  Please know though that I still love your cities, and will be back soon!

Windows Server 2012 Install Camps

Here’s your opportunity to install Windows Server 2012 on your own notebook computer and learn how to take advantage of many of the new features of Windows Server 2012 from Microsoft evangelists, MVPs and experts in your region (and from across the country).  We’ll even provide you with a USB key to help make the install an easy and quick experience!

A Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Install Camp event will show you how to

• build your private cloud, offer private cloud services, or securely connect to public cloud services.
• increase your efficiency, availability, and manageability.
• leverage an open application and web platform for the datacenter and the cloud.

If you are an IT Professional or partner excited about the upcoming release of the Windows Server 2012 technology you need to register and learn about Windows Server 2012 first-hand!

Register now for the Windows Server 2012 Install Camps near you by clicking on the city name and date.  These are evening events in all cities starting at 7pm and going until 9pm.  Arrive starting at 6:30pm to get a good seat and setup your notebook!

• Mississauga – May 10
• Vancouver – May 17
• Ottawa – May 22
• Montreal – May 30
• Calgary – June 6
• Edmonton – June 7
• Winnipeg – June 13

Again, I will be in Mississauga, Montreal, and Calgary for these events… I just couldn’t get to all of these cities this time around.

I am looking forward to seeing you at the events in your city, and remember: space is limited so sign up now! The $25 registration cost goes directly to supporting your local user group, so in a way… you are paying yourself forward!

TechNet Webcast: Everything You Wanted to Know and Ask about Windows Deployment (Part 1)

Registration URL: http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9807963  or  http://bit.ly/JLTQLM

Date/ Time:    Tuesday, May 15, 2012 – 9-10am (Pacific)

Abstract: In this demonstration-rich, question and answer webcast, Windows Product Manager Stephen Rose moderates an open conversation with Microsoft Deployment Toolkit Product Manager Michael Niehaus and deployment guru Johan Arwidmark. They discuss the new Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2012 release as well as tips and tricks from the experts about using the Windows Deployment Toolkit.

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TechNet Webcast: Everything You Wanted to Know and Ask about Windows Deployment (Part 2)

Registration URL: http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9807964   or  http://bit.ly/Kgny8y

Date/ Time:    Thursday, May 17, 2012  – 9-10am (Pacific)

Abstract: In this demonstration-rich, question and answer webcast, Windows Product Manager Stephen Rose moderates an open conversation with Microsoft Deployment Toolkit Product Manager Michael Niehaus and deployment guru Johan Arwidmark. They discuss the new Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2012 release as well as tips and tricks from the experts about using the Windows Deployment Toolkit.

You should never have ONE domain controller.

This rule is not only true in virtualized environments, it is always true.  If you are too small to have a domain that is fine, but if you have a domain you should have two DCs.  If you run Windows Small Business Server that rule is just as true – join a second server to the domain and promote it.  YES IT DOES WORK, please don’t argue it again!

You can absolutely virtualize your domain controllers.

I hear this question from people all of the time… and the reality is that there is nothing wrong with virtualizing your DCs.  If the main concern is the Time Synchronization issue, then there is a simple answer for that.  Your Active Directory domain resources will not be able to authenticate if the time is off by more than 300 seconds (5 minutes).  However that skew is from the domain, and not your wrist watch.  If your radio says it is 3:15pm and your domain says that it is 10:38am, the only thing that matters is that your network resources think that it is between 10:34 and 10:42. 

In simple terms, if one time resource is off it is bad… if ALL of your time resources are off, it’s not.  This theory may fall down with external resources – I have noticed that Twitter (or at least many Twitter clients) are sticklers for time, and if you are off then you will not be able to authenticate.  Lync can also be an issue, and I am sure there are dozens of other externally provided services that will cause issues.  However internally as long as your client and your server have the same wrong time, you’ll be fine.

So with that being said, my tendency is to select one domain controller and configure it to synchronize with an external time server.  I will then create a GPO in my domains to use that server as the authoritative time source for the entire network.  That prevents all manner of things from going wrong if you find the time is off.

Your Domain Controllers should be just that… and not much else!

Your DC should not be a file server, database server, media server, deployment server, update server… there are only three services that my domain controllers generally perform: Active Directory Domain Services, Domain Naming Service (DNS) server, and Distributed Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) servers.  In my networks these three services go together nearly all of the time.  I don’t know of any good reason to put anything else on a domain controller, and every time someone says ‘Well what about…THIS?’ I disagree.

Of course, sometimes you don’t have a choice… Windows Small Business Server is a good example of that, but as you have likely heard me say before, SBS out of the box forces you to break a lot of rules that are simply not meant to be broken.  If you ever hear me discuss it I have said there are ways to make it more palatable… but that does not change the facts.  This is one reason I always tell my classes that it is easier for an enterprise administrator to adapt to small business IT than it is the reverse… the good habits of the enterprise admin will never hurt the SBS (although they may be considered overkill); some of the habits of small business IT Pros can, conversely, do serious damage to the enterprise IT environment.

Don’t P2V your domain controllers.

This rule is not as clear-cut as the others, but calls on some of them.  I do not believe in performing physical to virtual (P2V) migrations of domain controllers.  If an organization does have a physical domain controller that they would like to retire, I feel the following is a much safer and cleaner practice:

1. Before you begin (as much as 10-14 days in advance) I will reconfigure the DHCP scope on the server in question to shorten the address length from whatever is currently in place (by default 8 days) to 1 hour.  This will prevent or at least minimize problems later on.
2. When you are ready, create a new virtual machine and install the operating system.  Make sure you patch it to the most recent service pack, and apply all applicable critical and security patches.
3. Join the new server to the domain, and promote it to domain controller.  Assuming you are on Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (which you should be by now!) you need to install the Active Directory Domain Services role, but the dcpromo.exe command will do that for you.
4. After the server reboots, it will begin to synchronize with the Active Directory.  Remember, since AD is a distributed database, when you add a new server to the mix it will simply (over a period of time directly related to the size of your organization, factoring for network bandwidth issues) receive a complete copy of the AD that will be identical (upon completion) to the original server.  DNS will do the same thing, as long as you a) install the DNS role when you promote the server, and b) your DNS Zones are configured as Active Directory Integrated.
5. Install and configure the DHCP Server role in the new domain controller.  If you have room to grow with your IP addresses I would recommend creating a completely different scope, but if you are tight then creating an overlapping scope will only cause very temporary headaches, most of which will be mitigated by doing this switchover during off-peak hours.  Remember to copy any reservations from the original server, especially when you have devices (such as printers) that require specific addresses.  Also, do not forget to verify that all of your Scope Options are properly configured.
6. Stop the DHCP Server service on the original server (net stop “DHCP Server”).  Again, If your scopes are overlapping be sure to do this during off-peak hours.
7. If the physical box held any of the Flexible Single Master Operations (FSMO) roles then you should transfer them to the new server, or to another domain controller in the organization.  If you forget to do this they can later be seized, but this is the easiest and least intrusive way of doing it.
8. You can leave your source DC on for a week or two, but after a day or so I would usually power it down; don’t reformat it or throw it out just yet, but at this point you are ready to go!

One of the rules of P2V Migrations is GIGO: Garbage In, Garbage Out.  In other words, any legacy issues you may have had previously – whether it’s clutter, breaks, bugs, or whatnot – goes with you.  With the distributed database replication model of Active Directory you get to start fresh, with all of your data. 

This method is also a great way of upgrading a DC from Windows Server 2003 to Server 2008 R2 – rather than do an in-place upgrade, you can simply do the side-by-side virtualization dance.  It won’t change your schema or upgrade your Domain (or Forest) Function Level, although if it is the first 2008 R2 domain controller in your domain you will have to run a couple of scripts to prepare the domain by running the following commands:

(On the server that holds the Schema Master FSMO role): adprep /forestprep

(On the server that holds the Infrastructure Operations Master FSMO role): adprep /domainprep /gpprep

That’s about it… as I mentioned, there may be exceptions if your DC is doing something that (according to my guidelines) it is not supposed to be doing, but then again this may be a great opportunity for you to step in line with best practices and separate other roles from the domain controller.

No go forth and virtualize your Active Directory Domain Controllers!

Four Hundred Dollars is not chicken feed… it’s a lot of money to pay to Microsoft every year, and I have had several friends and colleagues ask me if it is worth paying year after year.  The answer is unequivocally YES.

I am thinking about it now because in this morning’s MCT Flash newsletter there was a reminder that current MCTs have only three more days to renew their status.  I have never let mine lapse, but I do remember the paperwork and hassles that were involved in getting the credential the first time, and I do not want to go through it again.  I have spoken with a couple of MCTs who over the years have forgotten and let it lapse, and getting that corrected is never simple.

There was a time when I coveted my MCT above all of my other certifications, although I suppose that is no longer the case; it is not that I value my MCT any less now, but I have a lot of other certifications that I feel better demonstrate my technical knowledge, whereas the MCT really demonstrates my presentation abilities.

With that being said, unless my career takes a very unexpected turn, I will not let my MCT lapse… ever.  It means more than knowledge, it means that if I ever find myself between consulting gigs, rather than sitting dejected at home I can take a contract training at a CPLS… if I want.  It means that if I want to learn the latest technology I can go to the MCT Download Site and download the course and do it on my own.  It means that I have an inside contact to speak with at Microsoft Learning, and it means that people at Microsoft are more willing to listen to my concerns.

At an event I was at recently I overheard a colleague speaking with a mutual acquaintance and encouraging them to become an MCT.  I thought this was a terrible idea, and I told him (my colleague) so.  It is not because it is not a great credential; it was because I knew the person in question, and do not think they are worthy of it.  They do not have the confidence or speaking and presentation skills, not to speak of technical acumen.  If this sounds harsh, it is this simple: when people who do not deserve the credential are given it, they lower the bar for the rest of us, and thus lessens the credibility of the credential to others who may then see ‘Oh, if So-and-so earned it, maybe it’s not as hard as it once was.

There are a lot of loopholes that would let people become MCTs if they knew about them.  I even know of a few who have done so.  I never help anyone with these, because I have sat through too many classes (and heard horror stories from others who have done the same) with MCTs who had trouble stringing sentences together, or had no understanding of the importance of not only knowing the subject matter, but of making it interesting and engaging the students.

So with regard to the acquaintance who I do not feel should be an MCT, my recommendation is to start going to Toast Masters, get a lot of public speaking experience, and work hard on the technical side.  However if you are not comfortable speaking to large (or small) audiences… until that changes, you just shouldn’t be an MCT.

Good luck, and welcome back to all of the renewed Trainers!

1) SkyDrive is a free service… that is not changing.  However if your 7GB (or 25GB) free storage is still constricting, you can now purchase additional space on a yearly basis… and it is really not very expensive – $10 for an extra 20GB, right up to $50 per year for an additional 100GB of free on-line storage.  Now that is impressive, and beyond the requirements of most people that I know.

2) Remember Live Mesh? Well it is now integrated into the Live SkyDrive… or at least the functionality is.  So you can now download the Microsoft SkyDrive app (for Windows, Mac, Windows Phone, iPhone and iPad!) and then synchronize your Live SkyDrive to any device.  As you can see in the screenshot I have a folder within the profile on my primary laptop configured to synchronize… it is by default created at %user%\SkyDrive.  However you can configure it however you like.  This allows me to store all of my files here… and have them automatically backed up into the cloud!

3) I am told that the new file size limit is 2GB… I haven’t tried this out yet, but that is a huge file to store in the cloud, and a great improvement on the previous file size limit of 100MB.

So in short, if you are not yet a SkyDriver, now is the time… have fun, and TO THE CLOUD!!!

A couple of weeks ago when Microsoft Learning announced their new certification model she asked me if I would be willing to give a quote on it for their website, and I did.  That quote is now posted on their new page ‘MCSE: Reinvented for the Cloud’.  Also on the same page is a video overview of the new MCSE: Private Cloud, as well as an FAQ, and links for exam vouchers, the Microsoft Certification Program, and a link to the MCSE: SQL Server 2012.  Check it out!

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/certification/mcse.aspx

So I was just reminded that the quotes will be refreshed every couple of weeks… so I have taken a screen shot to preserve it for posterity