March 2014: Top 10 Favorite IT Pro Blog Articles and eBook of the Month

March came in AND went out like a Lion this year … and the blogging activity in our IT Pro community has been no different, with some awesome posts on Microsoft AzureHybrid Cloud, Windows 8.1 and PowerShell!

Top 10 for March 2014

In this article, I’ve provided a list of my top 10 favorite IT Pro blog articles in March along with my eBook pick of the month … Be sure that you don’t miss out on these great resources!

Top 10 Favorite IT Pro Blog Articles - March 2014

      << drum roll, please! >>  

 

10.

Microsoft Azure – Innovation, Quality and PriceAn update from the Microsoft Azure team on new options for cost-effective general purpose VM instances in a new “Basic” (A0-A4) tier, reduced VM and storage pricing, and a new Zone Redundant Storage (ZRS) option.

 

9.

Follow James on Twitter!

Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Platform for Hybrid CloudMicrosoft MVP James van den Berg provides a recap of the Hybrid Cloud storage, backup, high availability and disaster recovery options that are included in SQL Server 2014.

 

8.

Follow Brian on Twitter!

Word, Excel and PowerPoint released today for Apple iPadA great review of first experiences with Office for Apple iOS by IT Pro Brian Lewis!

 

7.

Follow Thomas on Twitter!

Windows Azure Pack - Virtual Machine CloudMicrosoft MVP Thomas Maurer shows us the basics of connecting Windows Azure Pack to System Center 2012 R2 to deliver a self-service private cloud experience.

 

6.

Step-by-Step: Windows 8.1 Deployment from the ground up! In this step-by-step series, Canadian IT Pro Pierre Roman steps us through the process of planning, inventorying and deploying Windows 8.1 in a business environment.

 

5.

PowerShell: Create an Active Setup Registry KeyNashville IT Pro Mick Pletcher walks through the steps of using a PowerShell script to create Active Setup Registry Keys for performing custom per-user setup tasks on new PC’s.

 

4.

Follow the Scripting Guys on Twitter!

Intro to PowerShell 4.0 Desired State ConfigurationGet started with an introduction to the new capabilities provided by DSC in PowerShell 4.0 in this introductory post to “DSC Week” with the Scripting Guys

 

3.

Contoso Labs – A real-world Hosting Provider Cloud experienceRedmond IT Pro Carmen Crincoli walks us through this real-world blog series of evaluating, planning and implementing a Hosting Provider Cloud environment.

 

2.

Follow Yung on Twitter!

Step-by-Step: Assigning a Static IP Address to a Windows Azure VMUS IT Pro Yung Chou steps through the process of reserving internal DIP addresses for Windows Azure VM’s that may need a more permanent IP address assignment.

      … And my #1 blog article pick for March 2014 is …  

 

1.

Follow Walter on LinkedIn!

Network Isolation Options for Machines in Microsoft Azure Virtual NetworksPrincipal Consultant and US IT Pro Walter Myers describes the scenarios for implementing security isolation for Virtual Machines in Microsoft Azure Virtual Networks.

Top eBook Pick of the Month - March 2014

This past month, Microsoft Press released a new virtualization book in their Microsoft System Center series, authored by a team of Microsoft MVPs and experienced virtualizations pros.

Microsoft System Center: Network Virtualization and Cloud Computing

Microsoft System Center: Network Virtualization and Cloud ComputingMitch Tulloch with Nader Benmessaoud, CJ Williams, Uma Mahesh MudigondaMarch 201494 pages

This brief book identifies some key usage and deployment scenarios for cloud computing to provide some deep technical background on the Microsoft SDN solution, enabling IT professionals to quickly learn the internals of HNV, how it works from end to end, and where and how it should be used.

 Download the PDF (4.52 MB)

 Download the EPUB file (4.2 MB)

 Download the Mobi for Kindle file (6.56 MB)

What’s Your Favorite IT Pro Blog Article?

Did I miss your favorite IT Pro blog article published this past month? Feel free to cast your vote in the Comments section below …

See you in the Clouds!

- Keith