Blain Barton's Blog

ITPalooza at Nova University is tomorrow 12/3 – Not too late to sign up and attend!

Wed, 03 Dec 2014 14:00:20 GMT

ITPalooza is around the corner so if you have not registered for this great IT event you can still do so here - https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2014-3rd-annual-itpalooza-tickets-11999006351

I have 2 sessions going for Microsoft BizSpark as well as one on Cloud Services.

For training from the Microsoft Virtual Academy go to http://aka.ms/go-mva

Also did you know that Application Developers, System Administrators and Web Developers are noted as the Best Jobs for 2015.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careerandeducation/the-10-best-jobs-for-2015/ss-BBeUJoZ#image=4

Join me at this awesome event!

Every Entrepreneur has a story, share yours for a chance to win $20,000.. Read on….

Wed, 26 Nov 2014 16:52:10 GMT

Cindy Bates blog is below,

Join the contest here…

https://www.facebook.com/MicrosoftforWork/app_403834839671843

D-Series VM’s for Microsoft Azure, read more….

Fri, 21 Nov 2014 15:28:59 GMT

I’ve been getting some questions from customers about the D-Series VMs so that I would report this info.

D-Series VM’s provide great performance for applications needing fast, local (ephemeral) storage or a faster CPU; however, it’s important to understand a little about how the system is configured to ensure you’re getting an optimal experience.

For the new D-Series, here are the core counts and RAM assignment, as well as the capacity and performance expectations for local SSD by VM type:

Name	Cores	Memory (GB)	Local SSD Size (GB)	Local SSD Max IOPS	Local SSD Max Read MB/s	Local SSD Max Write MB/s
Standard_D1	1	3.5	50	3,000	48	24
Standard_D2	2	7	100	6,000	96	48
Standard_D3	4	14	200	12,000	192	96
Standard_D4	8	28	400	24,000	384	192
Standard_D11	2	14	100	6,000	96	48
Standard_D12	4	28	200	12,000	192	96
Standard_D13	8	56	400	24,000	384	192
Standard_D14	16	112	800	48,000	768	384

IO Operations are limited by either Max IOPs or the Max Read/Write throughput (MB/s), whichever they hit first (for mixed workloads a write effectively counts double against the read limit). Small IO sizes will typically max out on IOPS before hitting bandwidth limits, while large IO sizes will typically max out on bandwidth before hitting IOPS limits.

Here’s the pricing for all VM’s -

More Microsoft Azure training please go to the Microsoft Virtual Academy at http://aka.ms/go-mva

Angelbeat event in Miami – November 21st

Fri, 14 Nov 2014 14:00:00 GMT

Join Rob Gerber, myself and others at the Angelbeat event in Doral Florida.

I’ll be talking about Enterprise Device Management and Security, come on join us!

http://www.eventbrite.com/e/miami-november-21-registration-12852404889

Windows 10 Training – Technical Preview Fundamentals for IT Pros

Thu, 13 Nov 2014 14:00:00 GMT

Simon May is doing a Windows 10 Technical Preview Fundamentals for IT Pros, check it out:

http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/liveevents/windows-10-technical-preview-fundamentals-for-it-pros?CR_CC=200502153&loc=zOTlocz&prod=zWin8z&tech=zOttechz&prog=zMVAz&type=zEVz&media=zWCz&country=zUSz

Mark Russinovich take a week to deep dive into Azure IaaS for IT Pros!

Wed, 12 Nov 2014 14:00:00 GMT

This is must attend for those of you that are working on IaaS in Microsoft Azure.

Mark’s the man that always steps up to deliver the hard core IT perspectives on Azure.

He is then joined by heavy hitters Rick Claus and other team members.

http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Microsoft-Azure/Level-Up-Azure-IaaS-for-IT-Pros?WT.mc_id=11101-iaas-for-it-pros-event-&loc=zTS1z&prod=zWAz&tech=zCLz&prog=zMVAz&type=zTRz&media=zWCz&country=zUSz

Florida IT Server Group Meeting Weds Nov 12th, 6pm with Adnan Cartwright – Microsoft Innovation Center

Mon, 10 Nov 2014 14:44:13 GMT

The User Group is giving free tickets to the Miami VS. Buffalo game at Sun Life Stadium - Nov 13th at this meeting.

Just take a Microsoft Virtual Academy course at http://aka.ms/go-mva take a screenshot of the completed online course and send adnanc@fisg.onmicrosoft.com

First come first serve basis.

___________________________________________________________________________

Configuring Microsoft Azure Services

In this session, you'll experience the versatility of the Microsoft Azure platform, and see the practical capabilities that Azure brings within reach of every IT Company and department all from an intermediate to advanced level.

Join us for a discussion around Microsoft’s Public Cloud offering Microsoft Azure and be one step closer to cloud readiness. We'll cover Mobile Services configuration and deployment, Website Management, Automation through PowerShell, Azure Remote App and Recovery services to name some of the features in Azure we will be covering.

Experience the versatility and capabilities of Azure platform that can be implemented immediately and work seamlessly with your existing set of tools and infrastructure.

If you plan to do any work within Microsoft Azure that night,

PLEASE BRING YOUR COMPUTER AND ACTIVATED AZURE SUBSCRIPTION -

If you need to get a free Microsoft Azure 30-day trial prior to the event, please go to http://aka.ms/try-azure

Configuring Microsoft Azure Services

Wednesday evening, November 12th, 2014 6:00 – 8:30pm EST

Speakers – Adnan Cartwright - MVP Windows Server

Introduction - Pizza and networking

Session - Configuring Microsoft Azure Services

Q&A - 15 minutes

Tickets still available for Dolphins VS. Buffalo Bills at Sun Life Stadium

Tue, 04 Nov 2014 14:35:38 GMT

IT Pro Camp Inc. still has tickets for the game to win them you can go to http://aka.ms/go-mva and take the Microsoft Azure online assessment “DEVOPS – An IT Pro Guide” at http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/devops-an-it-pro-guide and take a screenshot of your COMPLETED online assessment and send the screenshot to Marybak@microsoft.com You will be able to pick your ticket up at the tailgate party, Please RSVP for the TechTailgate party here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tech-tailgate-at-the-dolphins-tickets-14042410227

Attention ticket holders for Nov. 13th Dolphins vs. Bills game – Please RSVP for the TechTailgate party

Tue, 04 Nov 2014 13:44:43 GMT

Attention ticket holders of the Nov. 13th Dolphins vs. Bills game: with proceeds of TechWeekend@theDolphins event, we’re hosting a TechTailgate party and buying a couple grand worth of food and beer. Please RSVP for the TechTailgate party here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tech-tailgate-at-the-dolphins-tickets-14042410227

If you want to participate but don’t have a Dolphins vs. Bills game ticket, use “FINTANK” promo code to buy your discounted game tickets: https://oss.ticketmaster.com/aps/dolphins/EN/link/promotion/home/101522cd6930a2f7abfbf041878ae154c8a3afb0

We’re using www.StadiumTailgate.com (a FINTANK winning app) to help manage the event and show the TailGate location in Sun Life Stadium parking lot. See you at the Stadium!

If you still want a ticket at no charge (until supplies last from FINTANK) go to Microsoft Virtual Academy http://aka.ms/go-mva and take the Microsoft Azure training course and email a screenshot of the completed online assessment to marybak@microsoft.com

TechNet Radio: (Part 3) BYOD and Design Considerations

Thu, 30 Oct 2014 16:57:51 GMT

http://channel9.msdn.com/Shows/TechNet+Radio/TechNet-Radio-Part-3-BYOD-and-Design-Considerations

Kevin Remde welcomes back Yuri Diogenes to the show as they continue their discussion around the benefits, challenges and considerations businesses must make around Bring Your Device (BYOD) and how IT organizations can support it.

[2:46] Why don't you give us a summary on the concept of BYOD?
[6:20] I understand that recently you and your team have published some really useful resources to the Microsoft TechNet online documentation. What have you created for us?
[9:26] How should one use the BYOD Design Consideration Guide?
[13:51] Can you give us an example of how an IT organization can use this guide in a real-world BYOD scenario?

Check out the FREE “BYOD Design Considerations Guide”
Shortened URL if you would like to share on Twitter or Facebook, etc.

http://aka.ms/TR141030

Tech Weekend @ the Dolphins tomorrow Oct 25th and 26th, hope to see you there!

Fri, 24 Oct 2014 23:59:57 GMT

Sponsored by Citrix and Microsoft, Grand Prizes will be awarded for the use of the Podio API, Submission of Windows Phone & Store apps to the Store, Web App - Real Time Data, Best UI/UX.

Whether you're a gamer, student, or just someone who uses the internet sometimes, all you'll need is a laptop and by the end of the day, you'll have written your own website. You can take it with you when you leave!

http://thefintank.com

IT & Code Track

Novice and Intermediate sessions on Microsoft Azure for IT, and XenDestop/XenMobile. Tracks will also include code: Objective-C, C#, Node, Angular and more...

MeetUps

FinTank is sponsoring more than 15 User Groups and Meetups. MeetUps and User Groups will be held in private suites, and the club level of the stadium. When have you been to a cooler location for a meetup?

Microsoft Ignite is our commercial technology event that brings together our audiences, May 4th – 8th 2015 in Chicago! Read more…

Thu, 16 Oct 2014 16:04:26 GMT

Microsoft Ignite is our commercial technology event that brings together our audiences, content and best-of experiences across TechEd, SharePoint Conference, Project Conference, Microsoft Exchange Conference, Lync Conference and Microsoft Management Summit.

If you've attended TechEd or Microsoft Management Summit, this is the place for you to be. It's everything you've come to know and love and more. You'll find what you're familiar with and you'll learn more about Lync, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Exchange, Office 365, Project, SharePoint, SQL Server, System Center, Visio, Visual Studio, Windows, Intune, Windows Server and lots more. Just look at the lineup!

http://ignite.microsoft.com/#fbid=ng8WyIva1S-

Save the week of May 4, 2015. We'll be back in September with more details. See you in Chicago for this unparalleled event.

Also make sure you visit the Microsoft Virtual Academy (MVA) for your online training needs at http://aka.ms/go-mva

US Imagine Cup 2015 Kicks off! Check it out!

Thu, 16 Oct 2014 12:00:00 GMT

This year you can choose when you want to compete. The 2015 US Imagine Cup Competition offers two opportunities to compete - one starting now and with the first deadline in November (Fall Competition) and one starting in November and with the first deadline in January (Spring Competition). Choose the competition season that best fits your schedule - or compete in both. https://www.imaginecup.com/USA

That’s right! You now have more than one chance of making it to the US and World Finals. If you compete in the Fall Competition but are not selected to advance either to Round 2 or Round 3 you can submit again for the Spring Competition.

Three competition categories

The US Imagine Cup offers the following competition categories: Games, Innovation, and World Citizenship. Click on each to see the detailed rules and regulations.

Three competition rounds

Round 1 (Qualifying): Submit either a one-page vision document or 3-minute video explaining your project idea and how you want to implement this.

Round 2 (US Semifinals): Submit project proposal, software, and software instructions.

Round 3 (US Finals): If you are one of the teams who advance to Round 3 you will be invited to the 2015 US Imagine Cup Finals event in San Francisco where you will present your project live to a panel of judges.

Important dates

Fall Competition

Round 1
Opens: Now!

Submit by: November 10, 2014

Round 2
Opens: November, 11, 2014

Submit by: January 6, 2014

Spring Competition

Round 1
Opens: November, 17, 2014

Submit by: January 26, 2015

Round 2
Opens: January 27, 2015

Submit by: March 24, 2014

Round Advancement

All teams who submit the required entry material are advanced to Round 2.

Round 2 of the Fall and Spring Competitions will each result in the selection of six teams (two from each competition category) who will advance to Round 3 - the US Finals. A total of twelve teams (four from each competition category) will be advanced to Round 3.

Prizes

Teams who advance to Round 2 win a trip to the US Imagine Cup Finals event in San Francisco in April.

First place winnings teams (one per competition category) will receive $4,000 USD and advance to the Imagine Cup World Semi-Finals for a chance to compete in the World Finals and win $50,000 USD.

Learn more

Read the FAQs and if you have questions email us at icus@microsoft.com

Get Started!

STEP 1: Register at www.imaginecup.com
STEP 2: Sign up for your favorite competition - or compete in all three!
STEP 3: Create a team and invite up to three of your brightest friends
STEP 4: Submit your R1 entry by Nov 10, 2014

Imagine Cup Champs Meet Bill Gates…Read on…

Wed, 15 Oct 2014 15:50:47 GMT

Our 2014 Imagine Cup World Champions, Team Eyenaemia from Australia, made a triumphant return to Seattle recently – and met Bill Gates! You can read all about their meeting at Bill’s gatesnotes blog and don’t miss the great video.

Very cool stuff.

Of course, they didn’t just meet Bill. The team spent a week in the YouthSpark Boot Camp, meeting to discuss their project with Microsoft engineers, businesspeople, and patent attorneys, as well as meetings outside of Microsoft with organizations like the Gates Foundation. It was an incredible week that will give these two students a terrific path forward for their project.

Read more on what John Scott Tynes has to say about this amazing team. https://www.imaginecup.com/Blog/Details/imagine-cup-champs-meet-bill-gates

Matt Hester and Jennelle Crothers join us for today’s show as they discuss their upcoming Microsoft Virtual Academy event – “Modernizing Your Data Center” on Tuesday, October 28th. Tune in for Part 1

Wed, 15 Oct 2014 13:00:00 GMT

Matt Hester and Jennelle Crothers join us for today’s show as they discuss their upcoming Microsoft Virtual Academy event – “Modernizing Your Data Center” on Tuesday, October 28th. Tune in for part 1 of this MVA Live Event teaser and be sure to register for this FREE, live online training event!

Register Now! – Modernize Your Datacenter Online IT Camp! Check it out! October 28th!

Tue, 14 Oct 2014 22:44:32 GMT

If you are an IT Pro looking ahead to next year’s Windows Server 2003 end of life, sign up for this informative look at data center modernization options. Review the four major steps for planning a migration project, and find out what you need to update your data center to match your workloads. Join experts Matt Hester and Jennelle Crothers for a demo-rich look at administration tools and storage improvements. Your familiarity with Windows Server and with your data center requirements will help you get the most out of this course.. Register today! Link: http://aka.ms/modern-datacntr

Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter 3.0 is now available for download

Tue, 14 Oct 2014 17:38:01 GMT

Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter 3.0 is now available for download.

I had this is a recent article about converting physical to virtual machines and now it is out!

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42497

For free training also visit the Microsoft Virtual Academy at ; http://aka.ms/go-mva

Reminder - Tampa IT Pro Camp still open – October 18th at Keiser University in Tampa! Sign up here,

Mon, 06 Oct 2014 12:00:00 GMT

Registration for the IT Pro Camp in Tampa is now open for Attendees, Speakers and Sponsors!

This is a community event with multiple speakers and sponsors with food and giveaways!

Sign-up now! http://www.itprocamp.com/tampa2014/

IT Pro Camp, Inc is now a 501C3 charity, so invoices as well as their IRS Tax Id will be sent to Sponsors.

Windows 10 Technical Preview Download is here, read more….

Wed, 01 Oct 2014 17:13:01 GMT

Windows 10 Technical Preview is up on MSDN.

If you are an IT Professional please join the Windows Insider Program to give us feedback. We’re listening.

We are wanting to get as much feedback as possible from our IT Professionals out there!

You can join by going to http://aka.ms/windows10insiders

On MSDN

FinTank 2014 at Dolphins Stadium Oct 24th and 25th – Hackathon and IT Sessions

Wed, 01 Oct 2014 00:00:00 GMT

Sponsored by Citrix and Microsoft, Grand Prizes will be awarded for the use of the Podio API, Submission of Windows Phone & Store apps to the Store, Web App - Real Time Data, Best UI/UX.

http://thefintank.com

IT & Code Track

Novice and Intermediate sessions on Azure for IT, and XenDestop/XenMobile. Tracks will also include code: Objective-C, C#, Node, Angular and more...

MeetUps

Reminder – Tampa IT Pro Camp October 18th at Keiser University still open – sign up here!

Tue, 30 Sep 2014 12:00:00 GMT

Registration for the IT Pro Camp in Tampa is now open for Attendees, Speakers and Sponsors!

This is a community event with multiple speakers and sponsors with food and giveaways!

Sign-up now! http://www.itprocamp.com/tampa2014/

IT Pro Camp, Inc is now a 501C3 charity, so invoices as well as their IRS Tax Id will be sent to Sponsors.

Registration Open – Tampa IT Pro Camp at Keiser University in Tampa

Mon, 29 Sep 2014 12:00:00 GMT

Registration for the IT Pro Camp in Tampa is still open for Attendees, Speakers and Sponsors!

This is a community event with multiple speakers and sponsors with food and giveaways!

Sign-up now! http://www.itprocamp.com/tampa2014/

IT Pro Camp, Inc is now a 501C3 charity, so invoices as well as their IRS Tax Id will be sent to Sponsors.

Step-By-Step - Migrating Application Servers to Windows Server 2012 R2

Fri, 26 Sep 2014 12:00:00 GMT

Today’s opportunities to move from on-premises to the Cloud is greater than ever. In the past you had to thinking about hardware, think about location, think about disaster recovery. In today’s world all you have to do is migrate to the cloud and leave the hardware and capital expenditures to Microsoft. I have been having a lot of discussions about CAPEX (capital expenditures like physical hardware) and OPEX (operational expenditures such as power bills for air conditioning, leases, and pay-as-you-go “Software as a Service” like Office 365, more importantly, Exchange online. Back in the day, it took my company a large amount of capital expenditures to guide the discussions around migration/upgrade or rip and replace. Companies I talk to lately are looking at moving and migrating their Exchange servers online and out of their physical datacenters to reduce hardware costs, and invest in other parts of their business such as services.

This article covers migrating two servers –

Microsoft Exchange Server 2003
Microsoft SQL Server – All Versions Article by Dan Stolts

Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Migration

First, one of things to consider is moving your Exchange 2003 Servers to Exchange Online within Office 365.

I’ll explain how to use the Exchange Admin Center in Office 365to migrate your data from existing Microsoft Exchange Servers like 2003. I’ll also mention Application Servers later in the article.

Listed below is what's covered as far as Exchange Servers. the migration features that are available in the Exchange Admin Center in Microsoft Office 365. It also discusses migration scenarios in which the Exchange Admin Center is used to migrate data from the following existing environments:

Microsoft Exchange Server 2003
Microsoft Exchange Server 2007
Microsoft Exchange Server 2010
Microsoft Exchange Server 2013
Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP)

Note - As of April 8th, 2014, Microsoft no longer provides security updates, offers free or paid support options, or update online content such as KB articles for Exchange Server 2003. Online content may remain available as long as Exchange 2003 remains in the Self-Help Online support phase. Companies running Exchange 2003 after April 8th, 2013 will be responsible for their own support.

Given that, the Exchange Admin Center in Office 365 is used to migrate data from a hosted and on-premises Exchange environment or an IMAP environment through the creation and management of migration batches. Migration batches are specific requests to migrate all mailboxes or a subset of mailboxes from a remote mailbox source.

In Exchange Online, IT admins have several options to migrate mailbox data from their existing on-premises or hosted environment. These options vary based on the source environment and the result that the customer wants to achieve. As with any deployment of Exchange Online in Office 365, customers can review the Microsoft Exchange Server Deployment Assistant The Microsoft Exchange Server Deployment Assistant is a web-based tool that asks you a few questions about your current environment and then generates a custom step-by-step checklist that will help you deploy different versions of Exchange Server for different types of Scenarios.

The Exchange Server Deployment Assistant gives IT Pro’s a way to conduct “On-Premises”, “Hybrid” and “Cloud Only” deployment scenarios.

I suggest taking a look at the “Cloud Only” scenario for migrating your Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 environment.

This is the beginning of the wizard, select the scenario you wish to perform.

Neither of these choices involving On-Premises are fit for Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 as they require in place upgrades, in this case Exchange 2003, 2007 then to 2010. You’re still not to 2013.

Hybrid still requires you to “leap frog” upgrade to Microsoft Exchange 2013.

Here you would select the Exchange 2013 based Hybrid, but still not ideal.

Here you would select Exchange Server 2003

Since you select Exchange Server 2003, then wizard then takes you to a message, or WARNING, if you like leap frog upgrades. Because you have an Exchange 2003 on-premises organization and want to configure a new hybrid deployment with office 365, you must add one or more servers running Exchange 2010 with Server Service Pack 3, not Exchange 2013 servers to your on-premises organization. Well that still doesn’t get us to Exchange Server 2013. So, Cloud only looks like the best option for a couple of reasons –mainly cost, ease of migration without the hardware.

When you click on Exchange Server 2003 it also mentions that after April 8th, 2014, Microsoft no longer provide security updates, offer free or paid support options, or update online content such as KB articles for Exchange Server 2003. Online content may remain available as long as Exchange 2003 remains in the Self-Help Online support phase. Companies running Exchange 2003 after April 8th, 2013 will be responsible for their own support. So this is big. Time to move to “Cloud Only” and get this done.

Licensing questions do come up indirectly, however you can easily get the licensing via your current licensing program.

Does your Exchange Server have LESS than 2,000 mailboxes then you’ll do a Cutover migration

Cutover migration

The cutover migration option is for customers who want to migrate their whole environment at one time. This migration is limited to less than 2,000 mailboxes and is targeted at small to medium-sized business customers who are running Exchange 2003 or a later version in their environment. Specifically, this migration supports users who are using the Microsoft Exchange Auto-discover service against Exchange 2007 (or later-version) environments to determine the mailboxes that are available for migration. However, if you're running Exchange 2003 in your on-premises environment, you can manually enter the remote procedure call (RPC) proxy addresses to access the Exchange mailboxes for migration. This option is available to Office 365 Enterprise customers and Office 365 Small Business customers.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj874016(v=exchg.150).aspx

Here are the steps for the Cutover Migration -

Do you have MORE than 2,000 mailboxes – then you are looking at a Staged migration.

Staged migration

Staged migration enables migration from an on-premises Exchange 2003 or Exchange 2007 deployment. The main difference in this kind of migration is that the migration is targeted at customers who want to establish a permanent mail coexistence with Exchange Online and their on-premises environments. This requires that customers deploy directory synchronization when they deploy Exchange Online. This option is available for customers who have Enterprise Exchange licenses only. IT admins must provide a list of users to migrate in each batch by using a comma-separated values (CSV) file.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj874018(v=exchg.150).aspx

Use the Migration page (also called the migration dashboard) in the Exchange Administration Center (EAC) or use the Exchange Management Shell (Shell) to migrate all the mailboxes and corresponding mailbox data from your on-premises Exchange organization to Exchange Online in a single migration batch over the course of a few days. This type of migration is called a cutover Exchange migration because all on-premises mailboxes are migrated in preparation for moving your entire organization to Microsoft Office 365 and Exchange Online. After mailboxes are migrated to Exchange Online, the corresponding user accounts are managed in Office 365.

Remote move

Remote move enables migration from a deployment of Exchange 2010 or later versions. It uses the Microsoft Exchange Mailbox Replication Service (MRS) Proxy service. For more information about remote moves, go to the following Microsoft TechNet website:

Mailbox Moves in Exchange 2013

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj150543.aspx

IMAP migration

IMAP migration is targeted at customers who may be using non-Exchange-based mail systems in their current hosted environment or have access to the data only by using the IMAP 4 protocol. The Office 365 migration engine uses the information that's provided by IT admins in the EAC to connect to IMAP mailboxes and download mailbox data. IT admins must provide a list of users to migrate in each batch by using a CSV file.

SQL Server Migration

My colleague and friend Dan Stolts took the SQL migration article for me as he has a lot of experience with SQL and migration techniques.

How To Move or Migrate SQL Server Workload to Azure Cloud Services – All version of SQL Server – Step-By-Step - See more at: http://itproguru.com/expert/2014/09/how-to-move-or-migrate-sql-server-workload-to-azure-cloud-services-all-version-of-sql-server-step-by-step/#sthash.ON2HBZyX.dpuf

Blain Barton

Senior IT Pro Evangelist – Tampa, Florida - US DPE

Raised in Spokane Washington, Blain Barton has been with Microsoft for 21+ years and has held many diverse positions. His career started in 1988 as Team Leader in Manufacturing and Distribution, progressing to PSS Team Manager for Visual Basic Product Support 1990, Product Development Consultant for Microsoft Word Division in 1993 then left Microsoft for 5 years working for a Certified Training Education Center as a Microsoft Certified Training for NT 4.0. Blain then resumed his service with Microsoft in 1999 within the OEM Systems Engineering Division and currently serving as a Senior Technical Evangelist. Blain has organized and delivered a wide array of technical events and has presented over 1000 live events and has received six “top-presenter” speaking awards. He has traveled around the world delivering OEM training sessions on pre-installing Microsoft Windows on new PC’s. He attended Washington State University graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in English/Business and Minor in Computer Science. After college, Blain taught snow skiing on a professional level in the Cascade Mountains before starting his career with Microsoft. As a hobby, Blain runs a 10-acre farm consisting of 800 Sylvestris Silver Date palm trees within his nursery operation in Homosassa Florida. Blain currently resides in Tampa Florida.

Join us at the Dolphins Stadium for FinTank 2014 – Hackathon and IT Sessions

Fri, 26 Sep 2014 12:00:00 GMT

Sponsored by Citrix and Microsoft, Grand Prizes will be awarded for the use of the Podio API, Submission of Windows Phone & Store apps to the Store, Web App - Real Time Data, Best UI/UX.

http://thefintank.com

IT & Code Track

Novice and Intermediate sessions on Azure for IT, and XenDestop/XenMobile. Tracks will also include code: Objective-C, C#, Node, Angular and more...

MeetUps

Step-By-Step: Migrating Web Servers to Windows Server 2012 R2

Thu, 25 Sep 2014 12:00:00 GMT

In many of my IT Camps over the last 13 years I ask how many people have an updated topology map?

Most of them just look at me with a blank face. Some raise their hands but not many.

“It’s not that IT Administrators plan to fail, it’s that they failed to plan” Just something to keep in mind.

As you’ve been hearing the news about “End of Life” support for Windows XP last April 8th, 2014 of course that would be followed with the retirement of Windows Server 2003 R2 with the end-of-support date set for July 14, 2015. This will include all versions of Windows Server 2003 and R2 - the Itanium and x64 editions, the Windows Server 2003 Cluster Edition, Datacenter Edition, Web Edition, and Enterprise edition. It’s not like your server will seize and stop functioning, but any future attacks around known security holes or volatile components on those platforms won't be patched.

We will continue to make available security updates and paid per-incident support, however, that will all end July 14, 2015. This is an easy date for me to remember as it’s my mother’s birthday. It’s not however a surprise birthday party or an event filled with joy. It might even be painful for some to go through the migration or get the new hardware up and running. The good news is that this is the last time I’ll talk about Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP. I thought the 386 was hip too, but that is so yesterday, not to mention the stale coffee in my cup below.

These days you have to think about things that weren’t around in 2003. How about Hyper-V while at the time was codenamed Viridian.

Think about all of your topology plans around your current model for your web server farm. If you don’t have a current topo, go build one. Start there. Look at all of the components and whether you are going to bring those old workloads into the new world, whether you’ll upload the site with Visual Studio and put them in the cloud., deploy a new server, rip and replace, rebuild.

There are several things to consider when moving your web servers -

· Web Pointers

· Web Page Names

· Web Links

· Web References

· Web Attachments

· Keeping and or changing CSS Style Sheets

· New hardware – moving from X86 to X64

· Virtualization – Hyper-V is here

· Consolidation –Move to cloud within Microsoft Azure

· Security – Patches and Windows Updates

· Application migration – Visual Studio Online and to Microsoft Azure

· Training – Microsoft Virtual Academy – http://aka.ms/go-mva

· Licensing – That’s a whole article in itself.

· Time – Priceless.

· People – Costly.

So what do you do if you’re going to migrate your Web Servers to Windows Server 2012 R2?

If you currently have a server running Windows 2003, you should plan to rebuild/migrate your web roles to new hardware and a new Operating System or put them in Microsoft Azure.

I think a key issue is that Windows Server 2003 is 32-bit and we are now in a whole other world with 64-bit. As the software changes so does the hardware and the capabilities of compute, storage and networking. People seems to think 32-bit Windows Server is good enough, but do you still run 64k of memory and a 5mb hard drive in your computer? Heck no. You want the latest and greatest functionality, responsiveness and pizzazz.

Applications like Exchange 32-bit server which at the time of its release did exist in a 32-bit version, would need to be replaced with a 64-bit version, since no 32-bit editions of Exchange are offered anymore. SQL Server and SharePoint are others. This is covered in my next article.

Azure Websites Migration Assistant

One thing to consider for migrating Windows Server 2003 IIS web sites to Azure Websites, you may want to check out the Azure Websites Migration Assistant tool at https://www.migratetoazure.net

Go to the page and notice there are 3 easy steps,

On Step 1and go to the bottom of the page.

Click on “Web Deploy For Windows 2003 Server”

Download the Web Deploy V3.6 Betaapp.

The Web Deployment Tool simplifies the migration, management and deployment of IIS Web servers, Web applications and Web sites. Administrators can use command-line scripting with the Web Deployment Tool to synchronize IIS 6.0, IIS 7.0 and IIS 8.0 servers or to migrate an IIS 6.0 and IIS 7.0 servers to IIS 8.0. The Web Deployment Tool also enables administrators and delegated users to use IIS Manager to deploy ASP.NET and PHP applications to an IIS 7.0 and later servers. Here’s what you get when you run the tool,

· Migrate Web applications between IIS 6.0, IIS 7.0 and IIS8.0 with ease

· Synchronize your server farm efficiently

· Package, archive and deploy Web applications more easily

You have a couple of more options for migrating Web Servers

1. Migrate and Publish a Web Application to an Azure Cloud Service from Visual Studio

2. Create and migrate your Web Servers to the Cloud under “Platform as a Service - PaaS”. (Just the website without Windows Server as your base OS).

3. FTP the files from the on-premises server to the cloud in Microsoft Azure

4. Create and migrate your Web Servers to the Cloud under Infrastructure as a Service- IaaS” (Windows Server 2012 R2 and ISS)

1. Migrate and Publish a Web Application to an Azure Cloud Service from Visual Studio

To take advantage of the hosting services and scalability of Azure, you might want to migrate and publish your web application to Azure. You can run a web application in Azure with minimal changes to your existing application.

You must first enable your web application for Azure from Visual Studio. The following illustration shows the key steps to publish your existing web application by adding an Azure project to use for deployment.

This process adds an Azure project with the required web role to your solution. Based on the type of web project that you have, the project properties for assemblies are also updated if the service package requires additional assemblies for deployment.

For the full ‘Step-By-Step” go to the rest of this MSDN article “How to: Migrate and Publish a Web Application to an Azure Cloud Service from Visual Studio”

2. Create and migrate your Web Servers to the Cloud under “Platform as a Service - PaaS”. (Just the website without Windows Server as your base OS)

When considering moving websites to Microsoft Azure, you may want to know the advantages of Azure Websites vs. IaaS VMs, in that Websites can support an SLA of 99.9% for basic and standard instances(even if using a single instance) and can also provider stickier load-balancing than VMs for legacy web apps that store state information in the web tier.

Also if you are moving a WordPress site to Microsoft Azure check out this article - “Moving a WordPress Blog to Windows Azure”by Dave Bost

To create a new website, Log into Microsoft Azure Portal to build your new website, it’s very straight forward – Go to the Portal and go to NEW

(Get your Microsoft Azure trial subscription by going to http://aka.ms/try-azure)

Click on Websites and go to FROM GALLERY –then select the option you chose.

You can build out App frameworks, blogs, CMS, Ecommerce, Forums, Galleries, Templates for ASP.NET, Node.JS, PHP as well as tools and Wiki’s.

This way you do not have to manage the hardware ever again while taking full advantage of the platform, without the hardware nightmares. Microsoft Azure from a “Platform as a Service” perspective could save you lots of time and money just building it over again, either on Windows Server 2012 R2 or within the Microsoft Azure environment.

You can then open up the website dashboard within Microsoft Azure and go to the FTP settings. Here you can upload your files to the empty website whether it is WordPress, ASP.NET PHP or others.

3. FTP the files from the on-premises server to the cloud in Microsoft Azure

4. Create and migrate your Web Servers to the Cloud under Infrastructure as a Service- IaaS” (Windows Server 2012 R2 and IIS 8)

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is different if you want to build the whole server in the cloud. This is where you build a virtual machine from the GALLERY.

Go to Virtual Machine

Go to FROM GALLERY

Select Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter

When the Virtual Machine boots up and you RDP to it, go to Server Managerand install your Web Server Roles.

So it will depend if you want to build a complete virtual machine in IaaS from the Virtual Machine GALLERY or if you want to build a Platform as a Service (PaaS) and have just the Web Servers without the full blown Windows Server underneath it.

So let’s consider the Web Server (IIS) role in Windows Server 2012 that provides a secure, easy-to-manage, modular and extensible platform for reliably hosting websites, services, and applications.

With IIS 8 you can share information with users on the Internet, an intranet, or an extranet.

IIS 8 is a unified web platform that integrates IIS, ASP.NET, FTP services, PHP, and Windows Communication Foundation (WCF).

You can then add in your website from another source

You’re not going to get this in Windows Server 2003 nor have the hardware to support it.

Here’s a running list that shows some of the benefits for running IIS 8:

· Maximize web security through a reduced server foot print and automatic application isolation.

· Easily deploy and run ASP.NET, classic ASP, and PHP web applications on the same server.

· Achieve application isolation by giving worker processes a unique identity and sandboxed configuration by default, further reducing security risks.

· Easily add, remove, and even replace built-in IIS components with custom modules, suited for customer needs.

· Speed up your website through built-in dynamic caching and enhanced compression.

· Administrators can use the Web Server (IIS) role to set up and manage multiple websites, web applications, and FTP sites. Some of the specific features include the following:

· Use IIS Manager to configure IIS features and administer your websites.

· Use File Transfer Protocol (FTP) to allow website owners to upload and download files.

· Use website isolation to protect against one website from interfering with other sites on your server.

· Configure web applications that are written using various technologies, such as classic ASP, ASP.NET, and PHP.

· Use Windows PowerShell to automate management of most administration tasks for your web server.

· Configure multiple web servers into a server farm that you can manage using IIS.

Home

Check out the MVA sessions below.

Perhaps AppZero can work to migrate some workloads as well.

Developing ASP.NET Web Apps with Jon Galloway and Christopher Harrison

Other news is that Windows Server 2008 will change January 13, 2015 from Mainstream Support to Extended Support. The difference between the two types of support is that Microsoft will continue to make security related patches available free of charge during extended support. They will continue to assist on a pay for incident basis. Non-security patches will require an extended hotfix agreement, purchased within 90 days of mainstream support ending.

Hope this helps give you some ideas about what direction to steer when dealing with your Windows Server 2003 Web Servers.

For more information on Migrating Roles to Windows Server 2012 R2 go to: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/windowsserver/jj554790.aspx

Blain Barton

Senior IT Pro Evangelist – Tampa, Florida - US DPE

Raised in Spokane Washington, Blain Barton has been with Microsoft for 21+ years and has held many diverse positions. His career started in 1988 as Team Leader in Manufacturing and Distribution, progressing to PSS Team Manager for Visual Basic Product Support 1990, Product Development Consultant for Microsoft Word Division in 1993 then left Microsoft for 5 years working for a Certified Training Education Center as a Microsoft Certified Training for NT 4.0. Blain then resumed his service with Microsoft in 1999 within the OEM Systems Engineering Division and currently serving as a Senior Technical Evangelist. Blain has organized and delivered a wide array of technical events and has presented over 1000 live events and has received six “top-presenter” speaking awards. He has traveled around the world delivering OEM training sessions on pre-installing Microsoft Windows on new PC’s. He attended Washington State University graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in English/Business and Minor in Computer Science. After college, Blain taught snow skiing on a professional level in the Cascade Mountains before starting his career with Microsoft. As a hobby, Blain runs a 10-acre farm consisting of 800 Sylvestris Silver Date palm trees within his nursery operation in Homosassa Florida. Blain currently resides in Tampa Florida.