Category: Uncategorized

31 Days of our Favorite Things: Stupid Active Directory Tricks (Part 25 of 31)

~ Kevin Remde ~ 2 Comments

http://mschnlnine.vo.llnwd.net/d1/inetpub/kevinremde/KROmniture.htmActive Directory has been around for awhile (Remember Windows 2000 Server?), and with every new release of the server platform Microsoft has an opportunity to make things better.  Windows Server 2012 was no exception.  There are many improvements to Active Directory, and to the management tools and capabilities, introduced in this most recent version. “Well.. … Continue reading 31 Days of our Favorite Things: Stupid Active Directory Tricks (Part 25 of 31)

31 Days of our Favorite Things: Windows Server 2012 and the RSATs (Part 24 of 31)

~ Kevin Remde ~ Leave a comment

http://mschnlnine.vo.llnwd.net/d1/inetpub/kevinremde/KROmniture.htmRSAT stands for Remote Server Administration Tools.  This is the toolset that IT Pros have come to know and love, because it is the toolset that lets them keep sitting at their desks. “You mean, it contributes to the obesity epidemic in America?” Well.. I wouldn’t go that far.  But it certainly doesn’t help.  And … Continue reading 31 Days of our Favorite Things: Windows Server 2012 and the RSATs (Part 24 of 31)

31 Days of our Favorite Things: Windows Server 2012 – I think, therefore IPAM. (Part 23 of 31)

~ Kevin Remde ~ 3 Comments

http://mschnlnine.vo.llnwd.net/d1/inetpub/kevinremde/KROmniture.htmI suppose a more correct title for this article might have been, “I manage IP addressing, therefore IPAM.” “IPAM?  What’s that?” IPAM is a FLA (Four-Letter Acronym) that stands for IP Address Management.  More appropriately, Internet Protocol Address Management.  In Windows Server 2012 we have added a capability that addresses (get it?) a need to … Continue reading 31 Days of our Favorite Things: Windows Server 2012 – I think, therefore IPAM. (Part 23 of 31)

31 Days of our Favorite Things: Windows Server 2012 Versions (Part 22 of 31)

~ Kevin Remde ~ 2 Comments

Today we need to talk about the versions and the licensing options you have for Windows Server 2012.  There are some pretty significant changes to A) what you can purchase, and B) what those versions include. “So it’s not just Standard, Enterprise, and Datacenter?  Are you making it even more complex?!” Absolutely not.  In fact, … Continue reading 31 Days of our Favorite Things: Windows Server 2012 Versions (Part 22 of 31)

31 Days of our Favorite Things: Windows Server 2012 makes NIC hardware sing! (Part 21 of 31)

~ Kevin Remde ~ Leave a comment

http://mschnlnine.vo.llnwd.net/d1/inetpub/kevinremde/KROmniture.htmToday in Part 21 of “31 Days of our Favorite Things”, Brian Lewis answers the musical question, “To NIC or not to NIC?” There are so many new and exciting hardware options out there, and sometimes it makes sense to purchase one over another.  One thing that may influence your decision is in how you … Continue reading 31 Days of our Favorite Things: Windows Server 2012 makes NIC hardware sing! (Part 21 of 31)

31 Days of our Favorite Things: Extend Your Hyper-V Virtual Switch in Windows Server 2012 (Part 20 of 31)

~ Kevin Remde ~ Leave a comment

http://mschnlnine.vo.llnwd.net/d1/inetpub/kevinremde/KROmniture.htmIt’s the weekend!  Just in time for Part 20 of the “31 Days of our Favorite Things” series:  the Hyper-V Extensible Virtual Switch! What is a Virtual Switch? In Hyper-V, as in other virtualization platforms, a virtual switch is rather like a physical networking switch in the sense that it is a connection point for … Continue reading 31 Days of our Favorite Things: Extend Your Hyper-V Virtual Switch in Windows Server 2012 (Part 20 of 31)

31 Days of our Favorite Things: Either / Or with Core in Windows Server 2012 (Part 19 of 31)

~ Kevin Remde ~ Leave a comment

http://mschnlnine.vo.llnwd.net/d1/inetpub/kevinremde/KROmniture.htmIn Windows Server 2008 we introduced you to the notion of a “Core” installation.  The idea with Server Core was that you had a minimal installation of a server workhorse that didn’t contain any of the extra fluff.  And when I say fluff, I mean GUI / UI / Windows Explorer / IE / multimedia.. … Continue reading 31 Days of our Favorite Things: Either / Or with Core in Windows Server 2012 (Part 19 of 31)

31 Days of our Favorite Things: Continuously Available File Shares in Windows Server 2012 (Part 18 of 31)

~ Kevin Remde ~ Leave a comment

http://mschnlnine.vo.llnwd.net/d1/inetpub/kevinremde/KROmniture.htmHow much do you depend on a file share to be available at all times? “Not much.  After all, I don’t use them for anything much beyond file storage due to the performance of that kind of resource.” Ah.. but back in Part 17 of our series, we told you that with the new SMB … Continue reading 31 Days of our Favorite Things: Continuously Available File Shares in Windows Server 2012 (Part 18 of 31)

31 Days of our Favorite Things: Just when you thought SMB couldn’t get any better (Part 17 of 31)

~ Kevin Remde ~ Leave a comment

http://mschnlnine.vo.llnwd.net/d1/inetpub/kevinremde/KROmniture.htm“SMB?  You mean Server Message Block?” Yep.  “Better?  It’s just the protocol for accessing files across a network, isn’t it?” Yes.  But can you use that file share storage for fast, highly available file access and use it for, say, a database file used by the database server?  Or as the location for a virtual … Continue reading 31 Days of our Favorite Things: Just when you thought SMB couldn’t get any better (Part 17 of 31)

31 Days of our Favorite Things: Simply Connected using DirectAccess in Windows Server 2012 (Part 16 of 31)

~ Kevin Remde ~ Leave a comment

http://mschnlnine.vo.llnwd.net/d1/inetpub/kevinremde/KROmniture.htmDirectAccess is not new, but it is improved in Windows Server 2012.  For those of you who are not familiar with DirectAccess, let me briefly describe a scenario that I live every week (or three)… It’s time to fill out and submit expense reports for my many travels and the associated costs to the company.  … Continue reading 31 Days of our Favorite Things: Simply Connected using DirectAccess in Windows Server 2012 (Part 16 of 31)