Richard talks to Alan Sugano about using the cloud for disaster recovery. Alan discusses how the latest version of Site Recovery Manager (SRM) from VMWare works with certain cloud providers to provide an alternate site for your virtual machines in the event of a disaster. The conversation digs into how much bandwidth is needed, dealing with the initial 'big sync' of data and the on-going costs of operating the cloud as a remote site.
May 02, 2012•41 min•Ep. 262
Richard talks to Aidan Finn about the new Hyper-V features in Windows Server 8. Aidan starts off talking about Hyper-V Replica, focusing on it as an awesome solution for virtual machine disaster recovery for small and medium businesses. The conversation continues into exploring how Microsoft has taken their experiences running Azure into improving Hyper-V and Server 8.
Apr 25, 2012•37 min•Ep. 261
Richard chats with Jes Borland about SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS). Jes talks about how SSRS has evolved into the latest version with SQL Server 2012, including some new features like reporting monitoring, where reports are generated automatically (and notifications sent out) when data changes. The conversation also digs into some of the administrative capabilities of SSRS including security and multi-tenancy features.
Apr 18, 2012•33 min•Ep. 260
Richard chats with Allan Hirt about the new failover clustering features in SQL Server 2012. SQL Server 2012 has added a number of new features to make clustering more flexible and less wasteful of hardware. Allan talks about how Windows Server 8 will also amp-up the clustering offerings when it ships. The conversation also digs into the controversy around Microsoft deprecating database mirroring in SQL 2012 - it's not the end of the world, the technology won't explode when you upgrade!
Apr 11, 2012•36 min•Ep. 259
Richard talks to Rory McCaw of Infront Consulting about the System Center 2012 suite. The conversation starts with the starting point of System Center - Configuration Manager or Operations Manager, depending on the focus of your organization. From there, the entire suite is explored, including Virtual Machine Manager, Orchestrator, Service Manager, Data Protection Manager, Endpoint Protection and App Controller. Rory explains how the different parts of System Center fit together and why you want...
Apr 04, 2012•36 min•Ep. 258
Richard talks to Stacia Misner about the new features of Data Analytics 2012. The conversation starts with the evolution of data analytics from 2000 to 2005, 2008, 2008 R2 and now 2012. Then Stacia digs into how Excel has become the defacto client for analysis services, using PowerPivot and PowerPivot for Sharepoint mode. PowerPivot runs from Excel and doesn't require Analysis Services, at least not at first - but eventually you'll want to bring in the back end. Stacia also explains the evolutio...
Mar 28, 2012•37 min•Ep. 257
Richard talks to Brent Ozar about the upcoming release of SQL Server 2012. While there's certainly lots to talk about around SQL Server 2012, Brent focuses on some of the odder features, like the ability to attach SQL Server to a database accessed over a NAS. Doesn't seem like the best idea, but Brent paints a few scenarios. The conversation also brushes over the NoSQL movement and how SQL Server still plays a role - Brent brings up the SQL Server Connector for Hadoop. Brent also talks about the...
Mar 21, 2012•33 min•Ep. 256
Richard talks to Tony Redmond about DMARC, a new email specification for controlling spam and phishing emails. DMARC is an acronym for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance. It standardizes implementations of Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) so that email servers receiving mail can be sure that the domains the email identifies with are actually the sources of the email. Tony also digs into the deeper concepts of DMARC, including receivi...
Mar 14, 2012•33 min•Ep. 255
Richard talks to Mike Jones about implementing IPv6 at home. After listening to RunAs Episode 205 about IPv6, Mike set about to get himself ready for World IPv6 day. Mike talks about discovering what his ISP (Comcast) was doing for IPv6, and how you can implement IPv6 in your network with or without ISP support. He almost mentions two key resources - one is knowledge base article 929852 on configuring IPv6 features in Windows. The other is the IPv6 test site so you can evaluate how your set up i...
Mar 07, 2012•33 min•Ep. 254
Richard talks to Stephen Rose about the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. Stephen talks about the features that IT Pros are particularily going to be interested in for Windows 8, such as the new version of BitLocker. The conversation also moves over to Server 8 and some of the capabilities there, including a new IPv4 version of DirectAccess. Now is a great time to get testing!
Mar 01, 2012•37 min•Ep. 253
Richard talks to Justin Morris about the mobility component of Lync. Only just released, Microsoft has Lync clients for iPhone, Android, Symbian and Windows Phone 7. Justin talks about how the mobile Lync client extends Lync's concept of presence to the smartphone, so that people working in the enterprise can connect and communicate with their fellow employees on the road the same way. The conversation digs into the challenges of data connectivity versus cell telephony, and how Lync provides a c...
Feb 22, 2012•31 min•Ep. 252
Richard talks to Sean Deuby about Simple Cloud Identity Management (SCIM). SCIM is an evolving standard for simplifying federation of identity authentication and account information using common web-based protocols like REST and SAML. Sean talks about how services like Microsoft's Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) works fine for a handful of major cloud applications, but becomes a problem when the number of applications grows. SCIM looks to address this by simplifying the provisioning ...
Feb 15, 2012•32 min•Ep. 251
Richard talks to Tom Arbuthnot about how Microsoft Lync impacts business processes. Going beyond 'What is Lync', Tom talks about how the integration of IM, email and voice together presents opportunities for automating workflow. Tom sites the example of a timesheet that follows you around until you fill it in. He also discusses the goal of reducing email by creating opportunities for immediate response using the presence that Lync creates. Ultimately the goal is to see how Lync improves your bus...
Feb 08, 2012•34 min•Ep. 250
Richard talks to Stephen Foskett about building data centers for virtual servers. The conversation ranges over how virtualization has evolved from consolidating servers in data centers into the newer concepts of private cloud, where being able to move and/or duplicate a virtual machine quickly becomes paramount. Stephen focuses on the challenges around data in these scenarios and how traditional disaster recovery techniques for data migration are inadequate. In 2012 Stephen will be doing a serie...
Feb 01, 2012•30 min•Ep. 249
Richard talks to Clint Huffman about understanding the health of IIS7. Clint points out some awesome resources for taking care of IIS7, especially learn.iis.net. Don't miss Clint's Blog Post on IIS7 PowerShell Scripts, how to TroubleShoot Failed Requests Using Tracing in IIS7 and where to get the IIS Log Analyzer. There's more to talk about here, but this is a great start on the toolkit for keeping IIS7 healthy!
Jan 25, 2012•36 min•Ep. 248
Richard talks to Jeremiah Peshcka about how DBAs can work with Object Relational Mapping (ORM). ORMs are tools used by developers to speed development of object-oriented applications that use databases by automating the process of connecting application objects to database objects. While speed is good, crap is bad, and DBAs often struggle with the results of the ORMs generated data structures and queries. Jeremiah talks about how DBAs can work with developers to make better databases and queries...
Jan 18, 2012•32 min•Ep. 247
Richard talks to Rodney Buike about how System Center 2012 facilitates the construction of private clouds. This is where System Center all comes together - utilizing Configuration Manager, Operations Manager, Virtual Machine Manager, Service Manager and Orchestrator to create effective private cloud infrastructure in your own data center. Rodney talks about how each of the System Center components work together to simplify the deployment of services - beyond the individual VM and into a suite of...
Jan 11, 2012•36 min•Ep. 246
For the first show of 2012, Richard talks to Dana Epp about his eight rules of security. Dana wrote the original blog post back in December of 2003, you can read it here. The rules are technology agnostic, and revisiting them reminds us that they are still right, there's just new ways of implementing them. Have a read and think again about what you're focused on for your security!
Jan 04, 2012•40 min•Ep. 245
Richard talks to Mark Minasi about the events of 2011 that happened and didn't happen. The conversation starts with Windows 8 and the Build conference - is it going to succeed? The debate drills into the role of the tablet in the enterprise. Next topic is IPv6. 2011 is the year that IANA ran out of IPv4 addresses, but the world didn't end. When will IPv6 ascend? Finally, Mark and Richard chat about the Kinect and the next generation of user interfaces. What a great year - and 2012 looks awesome....
Dec 28, 2011•45 min•Ep. 244
Richard talks to Todd Lamothe about how to use Windows Server 2008 to secure WiFi. No, this doesn't replace encryption, it just adds to it - with WPA2-RADIUS to have your access point communicate with the Network Policy Service in Windows 2008. Now every user on your WiFi connection is specifically associated with an active directory account. Todd talks through the challenges of certificates, configuration and how to integrate the service with a firewall to get a complete end-to-end view of what...
Dec 21, 2011•34 min•Ep. 243
Richard talks to Mitch Garvis about System Center Essentials (SCE). SCE brings the power of System Center Configuration Manager, Operations Manager and Virtual Machine Manager to the small-to-medium business. It limits to 50 servers (physical and virtual) and 500 workstations - plenty for lots of businesses! Mitch digs into a few tricks of the trade for being successful with SCE - check out his blog post on installing System Center Essentials. SCE is the tool you wish you knew about, now have a ...
Dec 14, 2011•33 min•Ep. 242
Richard talks to Tony Redmond, formerly of Hewlett-Packard, about the state of affairs for Office 365. At the time of the interview Office 365 had been shipping for only five months. Tony talks about the outages suffered by Microsoft and Google for their cloud offerings, noting that Microsoft is still in the early days of learning how to run a massive multi-tenancy infrastructure. He also compares Gmail and Outlook/Exchange, as well as recognizing that Outlook and Exchange are not the same produ...
Dec 07, 2011•38 min•Ep. 241
Richard talks to Steve Syfuhs at TechDays Toronto about IT Pros providing security services for developers using Active Directory Federated Services. IT and development talking to each other willingly? Perish the thought! But in truth, Steve makes it clear that ADFS provides a great wrapper for developers to access active directory or any other service that has security claims that an application might require. Azure depends on it, even Office 365 can take advantage of ADFS. Steve discusses how ...
Nov 30, 2011•28 min•Ep. 240
While at TechDays in Toronto, Richard talks to Rodney Buike about virtualizing desktops. Rodney digs into how Citrix's XenDesktop can let you use Windows 7 applications on your iPad! The conversation also explores the use of application virtualization to minimize storage use and simplify software updates, as well as an approach to using desktop virtualization to keep older workstations up and running for longer. VDI is coming of age, and Rodney digs into how to get things done.
Nov 23, 2011•32 min•Ep. 239
Richard talks to Rick Claus just before lunch on the second day of TechDays Toronto about diagnosing problems with DNS. Rick admits that much of his session was derived from Mark Minasi's session on DNS - but Rick adds his own twist. The conversation dives into the tools you can use to understand what's happening with DNS on your machine and the common problems that crop up with DNS. It's a tour back to the fundamentals of networking!
Nov 16, 2011•27 min•Ep. 238
Richard flies solo at TechDays Toronto talking to Tom Moreau about some of the new T-SQL features in the next version of SQL Server, code named Denali. Tom waxed poetic about sequences and their advantages (and disadvantages) compared to identity columns. Other features Tom digs into include Lead and Lag and the new Throw feature that further extends the Try Catch capabilities in T-SQL.
Nov 09, 2011•31 min•Ep. 237
While at TechDays Toronto, Richard talks to Jeff Woolsey about virtualization in the SMB space. Jeff walks through a scenario where a branch office with three servers in different roles sets up Hyper-V, uses P2V migration to virtualize the existing roles into the hardware and then repurposes the hardware to create failover and redundancy. The conversation continues into the role of Cloud and even a sneak peek of how Server 8 will make Hyper-V even more important to the equation!
Nov 02, 2011•29 min•Ep. 236
Richard and Greg talk to Geoff Citron about the choices IT pros can make today around running applications on-premise, with a hosting provider or in the Cloud. Geoff discusses how small hosting providers are thriving in a Cloud world by providing great customer service and customizing services for their customers.
Oct 26, 2011•31 min•Ep. 235
Richard flies solo to talk to Mike Laverick about VMWare. Mike starts out talking about the history of virtualization, from the early days of virtualization for testing into the later generation production virtualization. The conversation moves into the upcoming release of VMWare vSphere 5, including a discussion about the rather controversial new licensing model. Mike also talks about the relationship between virtualization and the Cloud, and the role of virtualization in disaster recovery....
Oct 19, 2011•35 min•Ep. 234
Richard and Greg talk to Susan Bradley and Kevin Royalty about the latest edition of servers from Hewlett Packard specifically made for Small Business Server. Susan and Kevin talk about the ultra-small form factor of the HP ProLiant MicroServer, priced with Small Business Server Essentials for under a thousand dollars. You can see more about MicroServers and SBS at the SMB MVP Community Roadshow at http://mvptour2011.sbsmigration.com/.
Oct 12, 2011•34 min•Ep. 233
