Windows Server

Storage Automation, Self-Service and Provisioning for a Microsoft Private Cloud

Jul

24

2013

The annual Microsoft Management Summit has become a key source of information and training for IT professionals building private clouds based on Windows Server® and System Center. One of the top rated sessions at this year’s event was presented by NetApp and focused on storage automation, self-service and provisioning. Highlights of the presentation are covered below, and a video of ...

The Microsoft Hyper-V snapshot explained

Jul

13

2013

Snapshots are an important part of a Hyper-V administrator’s toolkit. A Hyper-V snapshot allows an admin to roll back to a previous state, undoing changes and potentially saving recovery time. However, if you don’t know how to use them properly, you could be setting yourself up for disaster and inadvertently slowing VM performance. Before you ...

Microsoft Hyper-V Quick Migration

Jul

13

2013

Hyper-V Quick Migration is a feature that allows users to move running virtual machines (VMs) from one host to another with minimal downtime. Live Migration replaced Quick Migration in Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V R2 and has been part of every subsequent release. The amount of time it takes to start a virtual machine on another ...

Five Exchange 2013 migration gotchas to watch for

Jul

13

2013

Exchange Server 2013 is a bigger, more complex platform that leaves behind some of the legacy Exchange features in favor of new ones along with better overall reliability. Before upgrading to the latest version, it’s important that you’re aware of a few factors that will help ensure a successful migration. Exchange 2013 migration gotcha #1: ...

Oracle databases now supported on Windows Azure cloud, Hyper-V

Jul

13

2013

The partnership agreement between Microsoft and Oracle this week could give large companies an incentive to move their cloud computing strategies forward, particularly those who plan to use public clouds. The agreement between the two computing giants sets the stage for users now able to deploy key Oracle Corp. software, including Oracle databases, Java and Oracle Linux, ...

Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview: Your cloud on-ramp is under construction

Jul

13

2013

Big improvements in virtualization and ease of setup—but mind the gaps. Enlarge / The first major update to Windows Server 2012 adds a lot under the hood, as well as some features that will make Windows 8 look a lot more enterprise-friendly. Sean Gallagher It’s been just under a year since Microsoft released Windows Server 2012. Touted ...

An introduction to Exchange 2013 load balancing

Jul

7

2013

Ever since Exchange 2010, load balancing has become an essential part of highly available Exchange Server infrastructures. While the new Exchange 2013 architecture allows for other, perhaps easier, ways to support load balancing requirements, there are still various options to choose from. In part one of this two-part series, we’ll explore the basics and a ...

Guide: Troubleshooting Exchange Server 2010

Jul

7

2013

Though a rock-solid release, Exchange Server 2010 is not without its problems. Learn how to troubleshoot Exchange 2010 issues ranging from the mundane to the complex. After three years on the market without any significant problems reported, it is now safe to say that Exchange Server 2010 has proven to be a technically sound product. ...

Microsoft Hyper-V Integration Services

Jul

7

2013

Hyper-V Integration Services is a suite of utilities in Microsoft Hyper-V, designed to enhance the performance of a virtual machine’s guest operating system. Hyper-V Integration Services optimizes the drivers of the virtual environments to provide end users with the best possible user experience. The suite improves virtual machine management by replacing generic operating system driver files for the mouse, keyboard, ...

A better environment management tool: Hyper-V Best Practices Analyzer

Jul

7

2013

Hyper-V Manager and System Center Virtual Machine Manager have long been go-to tools for managing hosted virtual machines. Neither tool, however, directly indicates whether your Hyper-V configuration adheres to Microsoft’s recommended best practices. To learn that information, you must turn to the Hyper-V Best Practices Analyzer. The first steps Figure A: Access the Best Practices ...