Server Guy at Microsoft Ignite 2017
If the cumulative effects of Hurricanes Irma and Jose permit, Microsoft Ignite 2017 will take place in Orlando from 25th - 29th September. That's less than 3 weeks away.
What has that got to do with Windows Server 2016. Well, there are 91 Sessions focussed on Windows Server from The hacker playbook by Paula Januszkiewicz to My server session, Cert Prep for the 70-741 Networking with Windows Server 2016 exam. Of the 91 sessions, there are 76 at either level 200 or 300 and 3 deep dives at level 400. The full ist can be accessed here.
Ignite is sold out and there will be 30,000 people from all over the world learning, networking, partying for a week. The passes cost over $2000 and the flights and hotels are an additional cost on top. If you are not lucky enough to be going , how can you take part and learn all this new server goodness?
One website is your best friend both for the conference week and for the foreseeable future.
https://channel9.msdn.com/
Specifically the Ignite event portal https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Ignite .
Channel 9 is a mine of useful recorded information and sessions by Microsoft Employees and MVPs who, outside of events, spend time uploading their presentations and recordings to help the Audience.
Even better, Ignite is streamed live on Channel 9 every day, and within 24 hours all the non live-streamed sessions are posted for watching online or downloading for later use.
If you are a techie at all interested in Microsoft technology this should be your first port of call for learning. (As well as docs.microsoft.com) the new home of Microsoft technical documentation. The Windows Server 2016 docs can be found here.
As <serverguy@microsoft.com> will be at Ignite I will be trying to get time with some of the Server luminaries like Ned Pyle (Storage Replica), Jeff Woolsey (@WSV_GUY) and Elden Christiansen (Storage Spaces Direct).
Due to the 30,000 other attendees getting in the way and the above-mentioned gurus being quite popular I may not manage this, but will do my best.
So, if you are Server-interested what should you focus your valuable time on from these 91 sessions.
Well it depends on your aim, if Certification is for you then the Cert Prep talks are a must (discounts for every exam taken at Ignite are available).
Below is a list of my must-see content.
Lessons learned from deploying Windows Server 2016 by Thomas Maurer lots of real-world hints and tips about actually deploying the product. Thomas is an MVP and speaks very well.
Securing virtual workloads in less than 60 minutes: A live guarded fabric deployment by Dean Wells and Ryan Puffer, Dean and Ryan are both on the product team at Microsoft and this will be a great walkthrough of how to deploy shielded VMs.
Windows Server: What's new and what's next by Chris Van Wesep and Erin Chapple for some great roadmap information and what's coming in the soon to be released edition.
Windows Server and hybrid cloud by Jeff Woolsey . What to leave on-premises and what to move to the cloud, and how.
What's new in Windows Server clustering and storage: Hyper-converged SHAZAM! by Elden Christensen The next big thing in Storage and Compute, not to be missed.
Storage Replica: Save your job with Windows Server 2016 by Ned Pyle Another not-to-be-missed session and presenter. Ned has a unique style and has some really important things to tell you about your DR needs.
Wish me luck, there are currently 350+ signups to my Server session! No pressure then.
Finally, make sure to follow @serverguyUK on Twitter for up to the minute updates on all things Windows Server 2016, especially during Ignite.