(NOTE 3/11/14: clarification on billing with “spending limits feature” has been added. See italicized text in bullet points for additions) No seriously – where do I get it? Do I have to get some sales guy to come and sell it to me? Do I contact a software reseller to sell me a copy? Do…
Author: Rick
“Server Huggers” guide to Windows Azure–new series
As you may or may not know – I am a Server Hugger – heck I even have a pin to prove it. But – as I like to take on challenges, I thought I would transition my expertise out of on-premise server architecture and infrastructure and walk on the wild side for a while….
What to do in Houston for TechEd 2014
I can’t believe I still get the “TechEd is in Houston? Awww, what am I going to do in Houston during TechEd?”. I was kind of in that boat, since I had never been to Houston except once for an overnight and all I saw was the airport hotel and a training center. Let me…
Hyper-v Extensible Switch in Windows Server 2012 R2
http://video.ch9.ms/ch9/6a41/9456d129-867c-4e06-830b-51c0d41f6a41/BobCombsHyperVSwitchWS2012R2_mid.mp4 A while back, when Windows Server 2012 was codenamed “Windows Server 8”, I sat down and talked with Bob Combs, a Sr. Program Manager on the Windows Core Networking Team about the newly released “Hyper-V Extensible Switch”. Well, now that Windows Server 2012 R2 has been released and planning has already begun for whatever…
Digging up Resources for Technical Communities
Those of you who know me from my previous job as a Technology Evangelist in Canada know that there is one thing I STONGLY believe in… User Communities of all shapes and sizes. I remember when I first started my job – one of the things we tried to do was gather people of similar…
Need a quick lab/sandbox to try out MSFT technologies?
One of the best parts of my job is talking with IT Professionals / SysAdmins / Students from all over. It doesn’t matter if they are independent IT consultants, staffers / lifers at “company x” or someone just getting started in the IT field – they all at some point ask me about “spinning up…
How To: Delete windows.old from Windows Server 2012 R2
I’ve been updating my various environments from Windows Server 2012 RTM or Preview releases (build 9431) of Windows Server 2012 R2 to the final bits. On some boxes I just use my scortched earth policy of leveling the partitions and starting from scratch – others I will do an install and use the same partition….
Re-Attach Virtual Disks automatically from StoragePools
I’ve been rebuilding some of my lab and demo machines running WS2012 R2 preview with RTM bits. As they are Cluster-In-A-Box systems, they have shared disk between them and an already configured Storage Pool. Once I did a clean install one node of the CiB with Windows Server 2012 R2 RTM bits – it sees…
How To: Fix SysPrep 3.14 error for Windows 8.1 Enterprise
NOTE: This error does not manifest itself in 8.1 RTM. It only affects “Preview” and “Preview Apps”. See comment below for a simpler fix. I’m in the middle of a project where I am tasked to create a standardized Virtual Machine image for developers based on Windows 8.1 Enterprise “Release Preview”. This image will be…
Interview with Brad Anderson – behind the scenes of PCIT
I get to talk to some very cool people in my role at Microsoft. I managed to get some time with Vice President of Windows Server and System Center – Brad Anderson. I learned about the concept of how Microsoft goes about planning out it’s releases of software with the concept of Pillars made up…