So here we are, telling you that you should be getting with the program; download and install System Center 2012 SP1, it will transform your life! Unfortunately that’s where we have left you… with a list of incredible capabilities, and no real understanding of where to start. So let’s start with the installation process for … Continue reading Step-by-Step: Installing System Center Operations Manager 2012 SP1
Hello Halifax IT Professionals! You are invited to the following event: An Introduction to Microsoft Virtualization and the Private Cloud with System Center 2012 and Hyper-V The event will be held on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 from 5:30 PM to 9:00 PM (ADT) WHERE: Nova Scotia Community College Institute of IT Campus 5685 Leeds … Continue reading Hey Halifax! Here I come!
Let’s face it: System Center 2012 is BIG. Microsoft literally took seven completely separate products – three of which were HUGE on their own, and combined them into a single product. It’s no wonder so many IT Pros and hopefuls are so intimidated by it. I am not going to guide you through the actual … Continue reading Getting Started with System Center 2012: OpsMgr & VMM
Over the past few months I have written extensively on Windows Server 2012. I am a big fan of Microsoft’s newest server OS and the benefits that it offers. However I feel that I have only been offering part of the story. Starting tomorrow and for the next few months I will be posting several … Continue reading System Center 2012
Over the past few months we have made a big deal about the storage features of Windows Server 2012, including how the built-in iSCSI Software Target allows you to build a low-cost software-SAN (storage area network) for small environments, and how that lets you create a Hyper-V Failover Cluster without the expense of an actual … Continue reading Step-by-Step: Configuring the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target as a Storage Device for System Center VMM
I have been talking about rebuilding the domain for my company for several months, and finally sat down to do it this week-end. Because I was essentially destroying the old domain there were a few steps I needed to perform before going ahead. I performed a Backup of all of my data. Nobody in their … Continue reading Rebuilding SWMI… Not the company, just the infrastructure
Last month I had the opportunity to sit down with Robert Crane, the host of the Need to Know Podcast, about Windows Intune. These podcasts are great for keeping IT professionals up to date on technologies that they may not know a great deal about, and Windows Intune is certainly one of those. Dubbed by … Continue reading The Benefits of Windows Intune
Everyone runs Windows… okay, that is not entirely true, but by 2012 it is the rare datacentre that does not have any Windows running. I have been crisscrossing the country and indeed traversing the globe telling people how wonderful Hyper-V and Microsoft’s virtualization story is as good as or better than it’s competition, whether that … Continue reading Installing Oracle Linux 6 U3 on Hyper-V 2012 with LIS 3.4
Even before joining Microsoft Canada’s DPE team as a Virtual Evangelist (the Virtual part means I am a contractor in case you were curious, but I also specialize in Virtualization so it works in my favour!) I have had the opportunity to crisscross our great nation talking to audiences of all sorts and sizes – … Continue reading Calgary Here I Come!
Microsoft has released a poster diagramming virtual networking in Hyper-V 2012. Much of it revolves around Virtual Machine Manager, and is actually branded System Center 2012 SP1. If you are building or managing datacenters – even smaller ones – you should download this document and review it. We all have something to learn from it! … Continue reading Virtual Networking in Hyper-V 2012
In a recent article I posted a list of hypervisors that are supported by System Center 2012 (See https://garvis.ca/2013/01/28/system-center-vmm-supported-hosts/). I have since been informed that although this list of hosts may work, the only supported hosts are indeed as listed in the TechNet article. ESXi 5.0 is not supported, nor is ESX or ESXi 4.0. … Continue reading Supported Hosts Revisited
When I was asked in class recently what type of virtualization hosts are supported by System Center 2012 though Virtual Machine Manager I readily answered off the top of my head. Unfortunately one of my students went on-line to search for confirmation of this, and came up with a TechNet article that gave a conflicting … Continue reading System Center VMM Supported Hosts
I have heard a lot of comments, groans, and snide remarks about all of the 2012 products not working together – specifically Windows Server 2012, System Center 2012, and SQL Server 2012. While I share your pain, it is important to know a few things. Each of these products is developed by different product teams, … Continue reading Microsoft’s 2012 Products: Why can’t they all just work together?
This post was originally published on the Canadian IT Pros Connection.. Think the release of Windows 8 means there’s toil and trouble brewing for desktop deployment specialists and IT project managers? Not so! It’s really not that spooky and here are 3 reasons why: There’s lots to like about Windows 8 for organizations. From AppLocker … Continue reading The Least Spooky Thing to Come Out This October
For the sake of full disclosure, in case you did not know, I am not only a Microsoft MVP, I am also a Virtual Partner Technology Advisor for Microsoft Canada, and work very closely with that company’s Evangelism Team. I hold most major IT-Pro focused certifications from Microsoft Learning that come close to pertaining to … Continue reading A Response to VMware’s ‘Get the Facts’ page comparing vSphere to Hyper-V & System Center
