Category: Windows Server 2012
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Step-by-Step: Configuring the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target as a Storage Device for System Center VMM
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…
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Rebuilding SWMI… Not the company, just the infrastructure
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…
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Hyper-V Tips of the Day
Hey folks! I know it is Friday afternoon, it is mid-May, and most of the country is hip-deep in the NHL playoffs, so I figure I will give you a lighter post… something that will stick in your mind, but with no ‘gotta test it, action items attacked’ sort of thing. Hyper-V has come a…
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Two new books on Hyper-V: Networking & Storage!
I love promoting IT Pros and Microsoft, but when one of the champions is a Canadian it is even better for me. Mitch Tulloch is an IT Pro author from Winnipeg, and is one of the guys I really look up to. I have a bunch of his books, and every time a new one…
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Windows Server 2012: Roles & Features
A colleague asked me earlier today if I knew off the top of my head how many roles and features there are in Windows Server 2012, and I had to admit that I did not know. As Albert Einstein once said, why memorize what you can reference. However as a quick exercise I decided to…
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Windows Server 2012: More than Virtualization!
Since it was in pre-release I have been evangelizing Windows Server 2012. I have gone from sea to shining sea talking about it at Launch events, at Partner showcases, in IT Camps, at user groups talking about how much better it is than Windows Server 2008, but more importantly I chiefly discuss the improvements to…
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If He Can Do It YOU Can Too!
I have been saying for the past couple of years that Microsoft’s Hyper-V is much simpler than vSphere, but I never imagined that I would see this: Caleb, a 5th grader, shows us how to create a virtual machine, install an OS, and even create a virtual switch. Not only was I impressed with how…
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What not to Learn… Revisited for 2013!
In October, 2011 I posted an article called vPTA: What NOT to take away from my 1-day virtualization training! It was only partly tongue-in-cheek on the environment that I have been using for several years to demonstrate server virtualization from a pair of laptops. A few months later Damir Bersinic took that list and made…
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Converting VHDs to VHDX and other questions…
Many of the articles I write for both The World According to Mitch and the Canadian IT Pro Connection come directly from people I meet through my travels. They send me questions about technology by e-mail and rather than simply replying to them, if I feel the questions are relevant, I write them up as…
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Failover Clustering: Let’s spread the Hyper-V love across hosts!
This article was originally published on the Canadian IT Pro Connection. Some veteran IT Pros hear the term ‘Microsoft Clustering’ and their hearts start racing. That’s because once upon a time Microsoft Cluster Services was very difficult and complicated. In Windows Server 2008 it became much easier, and in Windows Server 2012 it is now…
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iSCSI Storage in Windows Server 2012
Storage is one of the most important aspects of our IT infrastructure. In this day and age of virtualization it is even more important because our entire server infrastructure may be stored on a limited set of devices. Of course that is a lot easier said than done, especially for smaller companies with limited IT…
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Microsoft’s 2012 Products: Why can’t they all just work together?
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,…
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Installing NetFx3 on Windows Server 2012
Okay… I am installing SQL Server 2012 on a Windows Server 2012 box, there shouldn’t be any problems. Everything is proceeding normally until I get this message: Error while enabling Windows feature : NetFx3, Error Code : –2146498298 , Please try enabling Windows Feature : NetFx3 from Windows management tools and then run setup again.…
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Getting Started With Hyper-V in Server 2012 and Windows 8
You all know by now that I am a huge Hyper-V fan… I have been using it since 2008, but with the latest release I am unabashedly loving Microsoft’s Layer 1 hypervisor. The fact that it has been included in Windows 8 – as in, no different from the virtualization platform I use in my…
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