This is a follow-up to the initial post on the topic which was based on the original Azure Service Manager (Azure SM) model. Azure Resource Manager (Azure RM) changes the deployment methodology. Take a look at Azure Resource Manager vs. classic deployment: Understand deployment models and the state of your resources for more details. We…
Install Desktop Experience – Windows Server 2012 R2
This is an updated version of the original Windows Server 2012 post. The genesis of which was an application requirement to install Media Player onto a couple of servers. This met with some muttering and cursing from my colleague in the nearby fabric covered box, as the option to install the Desktop Experience feature is…
TechNet Gallery Resources
There are numerous outstanding scripts, tools and resources located in the TechNet Gallery. In addition to MVPs and community members adding scripts, Microsoft also adds official contributions. For example, this is where you are downloading the Exchange 2013 Server Role Requirements Calculator and Exchange 2010 Server Role Requirements Calculator. Since adding PowerShell scripts to this…
AzureVM Static IP Does Not Persist
It is possible to configure a “static” IP on your Azure IAAS VMs. This is something that we looked at in a previous post. One thing worth pointing out is that there is a little wrinkle with the current implementation, and you may run into unexpected results. Static IP assignment in Azure VMs is not…
Change AD FS 2012 R2 Service Account Password
One of the added features in AD FS 2012 R2 was the ability to leverage group managed service accounts (gMSA) which obviated the requirement to manually change the password associated with the service account. See Getting Started with Group Managed Service Accounts for some background on gMSA. You may also see the term sMSA which…
Hyper-V Windows Server “8” Architecture Poster
I’d previously blogged about the Windows 2008 R2 Hyper-V architecture poster. It certainly is a neat way to see the underlying concepts laid out, especially when printed on A2 sized paper! Following this trend the poster guy, has created a poster for Windows Server “8”, and this is now available for download from TechNet….
Lync Session Recordings From TechEd 2012
Just in case evaluating the Exchange 2013 preview was not keeping you busy, Channel 9 has recordings on Lync from TechEd 2012. Enjoy! Forget about IT – How about Lync Inside Business Applications?! Consumerization of IT has brought an irreversible shift of power from IT to the Business where IT is…
Assigning Exchange 2016 and 2013 Certificate To Multiple Servers At The Same Time
In Exchange 2010, the Exchange Management Console allowed us to import certificates to multiple servers and to then assign the certificate to multiple servers simultaneously. In the Exchange 2013 and Exchange 2016 EAC, the option to enable the certificate for Exchange services is per server. As you can seen in the Exchange 2016 example below,…
Active Directory Replication Status Tool Expired
Update 25-4-2016 – The tool has been updated and should be functional. The feedback pages referenced at the bottom are now closed. Back in 2012 the Active Directory Replication Status Tool (ADREPLSTATUS) was released. The below is from one of my old labs. It was a useful tool to have in environments which had no…
Save The Date – End of Exchange 2007 Extended Support
Exchange 2007 is now twelve months out from the end of its support lifecycle. If you still have Exchange 2007 deployed, and have not completed the migration to a newer version of Exchange then it is time to accelerate that migration project. I feel a little bittersweet about this. Yes, the new Exchange versions offer…