It’s been 5 days since my last of these updates – events, meetings and travel take their toll!
Below you will see an announcement on how to deploy DPM in Azure to backup stuff from within Azure VMs (not a host level backup). Please note that this is licensed using on-premises SysCtr SML licenses and cloud management licensing is not the same as on-premises licensing. A SysCtr Datacenter SML covers 8 VMs in the cloud, so you might need lots more SysCtr licensing to manage Azure.
Microsoft has also launched a Migration Accelerator for Azure based on the InMage acquisition. Right now, the preview is limited to the USA. That’s pretty dumb; anyone who knows MSFT virtualization knows that Europe is the place to be.
Oh – the MSFT versus FBI Irish data centre case rumbles on. It’s clear that the motivations of the US government were not speed (the Irish government would have been quick to help) but are more along the lines of “Mine! MINE! MINE!!!! MY PRECIOUSSSSS!”.
Windows Server
- What is Hyper-Convergence? A post by me on Petri.com
- 5 Reasons Why You Should Upgrade To Windows Server 2012 R2: A post by me on Petri.com
SCVMM
- Support Tip – Updating DHCP agents after applying VMM 2012 R2 Update Rollup 3: With the release System Center 2012 R2 Virtual Machine Manager Update Rollup 3 (VMM 2012 R2 UR3) the DHCP agent was updated. The most important fix in this agent is the mitigation of an issue that can cause delays of up to 45 seconds in acquiring an IP address when using private networks.
Azure
- Modernizing Your Infrastructure with Hybrid Cloud – Step-by-Step: Building Microsoft Azure Virtual Networks (Part 14): A video on managing deploying networks in Azure.
- XenDesktop 7.5 Windows Azure Pack Gallery Image Tech Preview: The Citrix XenDesktop 7.5 Windows Azure Pack Gallery Image enables rapid and repeatable XenDesktop deployments. The automation capabilities of Windows Azure Pack are leveraged to greatly reduce administrator involvement with XenDesktop configurations.
- Azure IaaS workload protection using Data Protection Manager: Deploy DPM in Azure to protect your Azure VMs, and if you want, stream that data to Azure online backup.
- Introducing Microsoft Migration Accelerator: Spawned from the technology of our InMage acquisition the MA is designed to seamlessly migrate physical, VMware, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Hyper-V workloads into Azure.
- Azure Automation: Reliable, Fault-Tolerant Runbook Execution Using Checkpoints: As an Azure Automation runbook author you want to create runbooks that execute reliably in the face of unexpected issues like errors, exceptions, network issues, and crashes. Azure Automation helps you with this.
- Networking Infrastructure Setup for Microsoft Azure as a Disaster Recovery Site: This post explains how to setup the required networking infrastructure with the help of an example.
- MSFT certification (70-533): Implementing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions (IaaS)
- Study Guide for 70-533 Implementing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions: Curated by Marius Sandbu.
Office 365
- Microsoft Promo Provides Support for Office 365 Migrations: Microsoft has kicked off a limited-time Office 356 promotional offer this month, but it’s just for new customers. The deal extends from Sept. 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015 for new customers only that purchase 150 "seats," or more, of various Office 365 licenses.
- Toshiba to bring €139 Windows 8.1 tablet to market in Q4: This includes Office 365 Personal with 1 TB One Drive and offers license for 1 Tablet + 1 PC/Mac for 1 year. And other stuff. As was joked in the office today: buy Office 365 and get a tablet.
- Questions to ask your cloud provider: According to Microsoft
Hardware
- Intel releases first Core M processors for business-class convertible PCs: Broadwell means thinner, lighter devices with no moving parts (fans). Devices could be as thin as 9mm!
Legal
- (Irish) Government’s ‘serious concern’ over US order on Microsoft: The Irish Government has expressed serious concern about a US court order for Microsoft to hand over emails held on servers in Ireland to US prosecutors, saying it would create significant legal uncertainty about data protection in Europe.