Tag: Azure Stack

Mar072019March 7, 2019March 7, 20191Commentby Thomas Maurer
Windows Server 2019

Which Windows Server 2019 Installation Option should I choose?

Posted in Cloud, Containers, Docker, Hyper-V, Kubernetes, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Azure Stack, Nano Server, PowerShell, Server Core, Uncategorized, Virtualization, Windows, Windows 10, Windows Server, Windows Server 2019, Work

Windows Server 2019 will bring several installation options and tuning options for virtual machines, physical servers as well as container images. In this blog post I want to give an overview about the different installation options of Windows Server 2019.

Installation Options for Windows Server 2019 Physical Servers and Virtual Machines

As always, you can install Windows Server 2019 in virtual machines or directly on physical hardware, depending on your needs and requirements. For example you can use Windows Server 2019 as physical hosts for your Hyper-V virtualization server, Container hosts, Hyper-Converged Infrastructure using Hyper-V and Storage Spaces Direct, or as an application server. In virtual machines you can obviously use Windows Server 2019 as an application platform, infrastructure roles or container host. And of course you could also use it as Hyper-V host inside a virtual machine, leveraging the Nested Virtualization feature.

Installation OptionScenario
Windows Server CoreServer Core is the best installation option for production use and with Windows Admin Center remote management is highly improved.
Windows Server Core with Server Core App Compatibility FODWorkloads, and some troubleshooting scenarios, if Server Core doesn’t meet all your compatibility requirements. You can add an optional package to get past these issues. Try the Server Core App Compatibility Feature on Demand (FOD).
Windows Server with Desktop ExperienceWindows Server with Desktop Experience is still an option and still meets like previous releases. However, it is significantly larger than Server Core. This includes larger disk usage, more time to copy and deploy and larger attack surface. However, if Windows Server Core with App Compatibility does not support the App, Scenario or Administrators still need the UI, this is the option to install.

Installation Options for Windows Server 2019 Container Images

For containers Microsoft offers three types of container images with different sizes and different application compatibility levels. You can use the Nano Server and Windows Server Core container image you already know from Windows Server 2016, or you can leverage the new Windows container image, which adds additional application compatibility to beyond the Server Core image.

NameSizeScenario
Nano Server~200MBNano Server is great for new applications for example for .NET Core applications. This image is the smallest of the Microsoft Windows container images. It is lightweight and fast.
Windows Server Core~3.3GBThe Windows Server Core image offers the same application compatibility like the Windows Server 2019 Core Installation option.
Windows~8.0GBThe Windows container image, Microsoft is offering a new option for applications who need more components which are not included in Windows Server Core, like DirectX or proofing support.

Installation Options for Windows Server 2019 in Microsoft Azure

Of course Azure is a great place to run Windows Server. You can run Windows Server 2019 as Azure VMs with the same installation options you have available if you download it. You can also run Windows Server Containers in multiple Azure services.

And of course Windows Server is used in the Azure back-end and powers a large amount of services.

What do you think? Let me know in the comments!


Feb192019February 19, 2019February 19, 20190Commentby Thomas Maurer
Microsoft Tech Summit Switzerland 2019

Speaking at Microsoft Tech Summit Switzerland 2019

Posted in Cloud, Cloud Advocate, Events, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Azure Stack, Virtualization, Work

Yesterday Microsoft Switzerland launched the website for the Tech Summit Switzerland 2019 in Bern. I am happy that I will be speaking again this year at Microsoft Tech Summit Switzerland, after speaking there as well last year.

The inspirational and technical learning event for developers and ITPros to gain strategic insight, evolve skills, deepen expertise and grow career – Open Source and Microsoft alike. Besides keynotes on the first day, the Tech Summit will offer 30 breakout sessions delivered by Microsoft employees and Microsoft Technology Enthusiasts.

The Tech Summit Switzerland will at April 3-4, in Bern. We will have great keynote speakers like Scott Hanselman, Marc Pollefeys, Dominik Wotruba and Primo Amrein.

I will be speaking about extend the Intelligent Cloud to the Edge with Azure Stack.

Tech Summit 2019

Extend the Intelligent Cloud to the Edge with Azure Stack

Azure Stack allows you to extend Azure to your datacenter and run Azure Services under your terms. Find out more about Azure Stack and how it can help you to in your Hybrid Cloud strategy. Learn about the features and services you will get by offering Azure Stack to your customers and how you can build a true Hybrid Cloud experience.

You can also meet other Azure Cloud Advocates like Phoummala Schmitt and Laurent Bugnion!

I hope to see you there!


Feb142019February 14, 2019February 14, 20190Commentby Thomas Maurer
Microsoft Ignite The Tour

Speaking at Microsoft Ignite The Tour 2018-2019 in London and Amsterdam

Posted in Cloud, Cloud Advocate, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Azure Stack, Speaking

After joining Microsoft a couple of days ago, I am happy to announce my first speaking engagements under Microsoft. As mentioned in my blog before, I will be joining Microsoft Ignite The Tour 2018-2019 in London and Amsterdam. As part of our Cloud Advocates team, I will be speaking in two sessions in the “Building and maintaining your Azure hybrid environment” learning path.

This learning path is designed for Microsoft Ignite The Tour and gives attendees an overview about the steps to build, connect, secure, protect and manage a Azure hybrid cloud environment.

Sessions at Microsoft Ignite The Tour

Microsoft Ignite The Tour

HYB10 - Planning and implementing hybrid network connectivity

Once your organization has decided to implement a hybrid model, you need to start figuring out how to ensure that communication between your on-premises environment and your hybrid workloads is both secure and reliable. You also need to ensure that those workloads are protected from internal and external network threats. In this module, you’ll learn how to assess your organization’s on-prem network infrastructure, how to plan and then implement an appropriate networking design for Azure. You’ll learn how to implement appropriate Azure virtual network technologies, including securing connectivity between on-premises and Azure using VPNs and ExpressRoute as well as how to strategically deploy firewalls, network security groups and marketplace appliances to protect those resources and workloads.

Microsoft Ignite The Tour

HYB20 - Securing your Azure environment

With Cloud resources now connected with our datacenter, secure administrative access to critical workloads needs to be configured appropriately. It’s also important from an organizational and compliance perspective to ensure that workloads have a security configuration aligned with industry best practice. In this module, you’ll learn how to improve the security of privileged accounts used to manage Azure resources, manage software updates for both on-premises and cloud hosted virtual machines, and how to get the most out of Azure Security Center for assessing and remediating security configuration issues in a hybrid environment.

I am also happy to talk with you in the expo hall about the latest and greatest features in Azure, Azure Stack and Windows Server. as well as learning from your experience. So join me and the team at Microsoft Ignite the Tour.

If you want to join, check out the Microsoft Ignite The Tour 2018-2019 website. London is already sold out, however you can join the waitlist. For Amsterdam, there are still seats available.

I hope to see you there!


Jan032019January 3, 2019January 15, 20192Commentsby Thomas Maurer
Extended Security Updates for SQL Server and Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 on Azure Stack

Extended Security Updates for SQL Server and Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 on Azure Stack

Posted in Cloud, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Azure Stack, PowerShell, SQL Server, Virtualization, Windows Server, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2019, Work

SQL Server and Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 will both be out of extended support within the  next 12 months (detailed dates below). This means if you have these versions, you’ll need to migrate to newer versions of SQL Server or Windows Server or buy Extended Support soon to maintain support and receive security updates and fixes. Buying Extended Support is not cheap. Customers with active Software Assurance or subscription licenses can purchase Extended Security Updates annually for 75 percent of the full license cost of the latest version of SQL Server or Windows Server. A lot of customer should start migrating to newer versions of these products to avoid these extra costs.

Extended Support dates

  • Extended Support for SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2 will end on July 9, 2019.
  • Extended Support for Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 will end on January 14, 2020.

However, in mid-2018 Microsoft announced a new option for SQL Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 End of Support. Customers running 2008 or 2008 R2 versions of SQL Server and Windows Server in Azure virtual machines will get Extended Security Updates for free. This will give customers some extra time to migrate to newer versions of SQL Server and Windows Server. Or even better, to Azure PaaS and serverless computing like Azure Functions.

The great thing about this, is that you can also combine this with your Azure Hybrid benefits, to use your SQL Server and Windows Server on Azure with your on-premise licenses.

Extended Security Updates on Azure Stack

If you are thinking to migrate to the cloud, this new option will bring down costs for you. However, not everyone is fully ready to move all their servers to the public cloud. You might still need or want to run some servers on-premise in your datacenter. This will leave you with buying Extended Support or what a lot of people don’t know, you can also run your SQL Server and Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 on Azure Stack and get Extended Security Updates for free, since it is basically Azure!

This is great, especially since Azure Stack also comes with great IaaS capabilities. And if you are thinking about using Azure in the mid-term, Azure Stack provides you with Azure capabilities, but still allows you to stay in your own datacenter.

Read More

Dec312018December 31, 2018January 15, 20190Commentby Thomas Maurer
Thomas Maurer Travel

My 2018 – I call it a year!

Posted in Award, Microsoft, Microsoft MVP, Speaking, Work

This is my last blog post of 2018. I just came back from my last flight in 2018 and I am happy to spend a relaxing New Year’s Eve with my close friends and girlfriend. 2018 was a great, intense and challenging year, with a lot of learnings and a lot of good things happening. I just want to thank all my friends, colleagues, supporters, blog readers and followers for everything. People who read, like, comment and share my blogs and tweets, people who listen to my talks and videos, people who I have conversations with, you all give me the motivation to keep on doing this.

I also want to use the chance to thank my sponsors, your support and partnership helps me a lot.

For years now, I had the chance to travel around the world, engage with the community, learn, make new friends and even find love. For that, I am happy and thankful and that the hard work pays off.

There were a lot of highlights, like traveling, speaking, new gadgets, server releases, hybrid cloud platforms, the Microsoft MVP Award and devices, this year and it is hard to name them all, so I just let them be 😁

I am looking forward to 2019 and a new year full of new challenges and experiences. 2019 will have some big changes coming up, so stay tuned.

With that I want to thank you all and wish you all the best and a good start into 2019!

Happy New Year! 🥂🎉🥳

– Thomas


Dec112018December 11, 2018December 11, 20181Commentby Thomas Maurer
Technado Podcast

Interview about Azure and Microsoft on Technado ITPro.TV

Posted in Cloud, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Azure Stack, Microsoft MVP, Speaking, Webinar, Work

I was a proud interview guest at the Technado Podcast by ITPro.TV this week! Together with Cherokee and Don, we were talking about Microsoft Azure, Azure Stack and the Cloud as well as Microsoft in general and my favorite foods.

The Technado, Episode 77: Microsoft MVP Thomas Maurer

 

If you’re plugged into the Microsoft community, you’ve heard of Thomas Maurer. In this episode, Thomas will give Don and Cherokee his take on all things Azure. This week also sees a return of the latest tech news from the week.

ITProTV is the industry leader for online, on-demand IT training for tech professionals, students, and organizations worldwide. Home of binge-worthy learning, ITProTV empowers the world through engaging training.

By blending entertainment and cutting-edge technology with IT education, ITProTV creates high-quality training shows taught by experienced educators and industry professionals. Toss the boring PowerPoint classroom training aside, ITProTV is streaming the latest training for the most current tech trends and certification exams daily. Start FREE today: https://www.itpro.tv/plans/

Enjoy watching!


Dec062018December 6, 2018February 22, 20194Commentsby Thomas Maurer
Azure Stack VM Update Management

Using Azure Update Management on Azure Stack

Posted in Cloud, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Azure Stack, Virtualization, Windows, Windows Admin Center, Windows Server, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019

At Microsoft Ignite 2018, Microsoft announced the integration of Azure Update and Configuration Management on Azure Stack. This is a perfect example how Azure services from the public cloud can be extended into your datacenter using Azure Stack. Azure Update and Configuration Management brings Azure Update Management, Change Tracking and Inventory to your Azure Stack VMs. In the case of Azure Stack, the backend services and orchestrator like Azure Automation and Log Analytics, will remain to run in Azure, but it lets you connect your VMs running on Azure Stack.

Azure Update and Configuration Managemen Schemat

Today, the Azure Update and Configuration Management extension, gives you the following features:

  • Update Management – With the Update Management solution, you can quickly assess the status of available updates on all agent computers and manage the process of installing required updates for these Windows VMs.
  • Change Tracking – Changes to installed software, Windows services, Windows registry, and files on the monitored servers are sent to the Log Analytics service in the cloud for processing. Logic is applied to the received data and the cloud service records the data. By using the information on the Change Tracking dashboard, you can easily see the changes that were made in your server infrastructure.
  • Inventory – The Inventory tracking for an Azure Stack Windows virtual machine provides a browser-based user interface for setting up and configuring inventory collection.

If you want to use Azure Update Management and more on VMs on-premise (without Azure Stack) or running at another Cloud Provider, you can do this as well. Have a look at Windows Admin Center, which allows you to directly integrate with Azure Update Management. However, there will be a difference in pricing.

Read More


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    Thomas Maurer

    My name is Thomas Maurer. I am a Senior Cloud Advocate at Microsoft. I am part of the Azure engineering team and engage with the community and customers around the world. I am located in Switzerland. I am focusing on Microsoft technologies, especially cloud and datacenter solutions based on Microsoft Azure, Azure Stack and Windows Server.
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