Tag: Microsoft Azure

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Sep222017September 22, 2017September 22, 20170Commentby Thomas Maurer
Ubuntu on Microsoft Azure

Microsoft and Canonical create Azure optimized Ubuntu Kernel

Posted in Cloud, Containers, Hosting, Hyper-V, IT, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Azure Stack, Powershell, Server Core, Virtualization, Web, Windows, Windows 10, Windows Server, Windows Server 2016, Work

Ubuntu is a popular choice for Virtual Machines running on Microsoft Azure and Hyper-V. Yesterday Microsoft and Canonical that they will provide an Azure Tailored Kernel for Ubuntu. Microsoft and Canonical were already working on a lot of projects together, like Linux Containers on Windows using Docker, or the Windows Subsystem for Linux.

Canonical, with the team at Microsoft Azure, are now delighted to announce that as of September 21, 2017, Ubuntu Cloud Images for Ubuntu 16.04 LTS on Azure have been enabled with a new Azure tailored Ubuntu kernel by default.  The Azure tailored Ubuntu kernel will receive the same level of support and security maintenance as all supported Ubuntu kernels for the duration of the Ubuntu 16.04 LTS support life.

The kernel itself is provided by the linux-azure kernel package. Some of the special feature this kernel provides are:

  • Infiniband and RDMAcapability for Azure HPC to deliver optimized performance of compute intensive workloads on Azure A8, A9, H-series, and NC24r.
  • Full support for Accelerated Networking in Azure.  Direct access to the PCI device provides gains in overall network performance offering the highest throughput and lowest latency for guests in Azure.  Transparent SR-IOV eliminates configuration steps for bonding network devices.
  • NAPI and Receive Segment Coalescing for 10% greater throughput on guests not using SR-IOV.
  • 18% reduction in kernel size
  • Hyper-V socket capability — a socket-based host/guest communication method that does not require a network.
  • The very latest Hyper-V device drivers and feature support available.

Source: https://insights.ubuntu.com/2017/09/21/microsoft-and-canonical-increase-velocity-with-azure-tailored-kernel/

I am sure these improvements will not only help Ubuntu Virtual Machines running on Azure, but also Ubuntu Virtual Machines running on Hyper-V

Canonical and Microsoft also promise to work close in the future to deliver more new feature.

As we continue to collaborate closely with various Microsoft teams on public cloud, private cloud, containers and services, you can expect further boosts in performance, simplification of operations at scale, and enablement of new innovations and technologies.

Really looking forward how this works. Also funny to see the comments on the Tweet from the @Ubuntu on twitter, which shows how many people live in the old world.


May122017May 12, 2017May 12, 20170Commentby Thomas Maurer
MMS 2015

Speaking at the Midwest Management Summit 2017

Posted in Cloud, Containers, Hyper-V, IT, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Azure Stack, Nano Server, Powershell, Private Cloud, System Center, Virtualization, Windows, Windows 10, Windows Server, Windows Server 2016, Work

I am proud to travel to the US tomorrow to speak at the MMS MOA 2017. The Midwest Management Summit is held in the Mall of America in Minneapolis and I have been there speaking for the past 3 years now from the first one at MMS 2014, second one at MMS 2015 and the last one just last year at MMS 2016. I am proud to be select as a speaker again this year.

The Midwest Management Summit is a 4-day conference purposely capped to just 750 attendees so that nobody gets lost in the crowd. Speakers have time to meet and talk to you. No rushing people out of a session to get the next speaker going. Time to absorb what you see and talk it over with speakers and other attendees. A true learning experience. Real networking. Real-life issues discussed.

This year I will be speaking in 3 different sessions mostly about Windows Server 2016, Nano Server, Hyper-V, Azure and Containers. And I am also proud to speak together with Samuel Erskine (Microsoft MVP) and John Joyner (Microsoft MVP). We have some exiting new stuff to share with the attendees, hopefully see you in the Mall of America!

MMS 2017

The best of Windows Server 2016

Join this session for The Best of Windows Server 2016 – The New Foundation of your Datacenter. You’ll get an overview of the new, exciting improvements that are in Windows Server 2016 and how they’ll improve your day-to-day job. In this presentation Thomas Maurer (Microsoft MVP) will guide you through the highly anticipated innovations including: Hyper-V 2016 features, Nano Server, Storage Spaces Direct, Storage Replica, Windows Server Containers, and more!

MMS 2017

Getting Started with Windows Containers, Docker and Azure

In Windows Server 2016 Microsoft released their first version of Windows and Hyper-V Containers. In this session you will get an overview of how containers work and how you can use them for your deployments , as well as how you can get started with Containers and Docker on Windows 10, Windows Server or on Microsoft Azure.

MMS 2017

Nano Server - The Future of Windows Server

Nano Server is the future of Windows Server. With Nano Server Microsoft created the foundation for Windows Server for the future. In this session you will get an overview about Nano Server and see some great live demos of how you can deploy, manage and operate Nano Server as well as creating applications for it. Get a better understanding of Nano Server and see how you deploy, manage and operate it.


Nov292016November 29, 2016November 29, 20160Commentby Thomas Maurer
Hyper-V Manager ins Azure Server Management Tools SMT

Manage Hyper-V from Azure Server Management Tools

Posted in Cloud, Hyper-V, IT, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Nano Server, Operations Management Suite, Powershell, Private Cloud, Server Core, Virtual Machine Manager, Virtualization, Web, Windows, Windows 10, Windows Server, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016, Work

Microsoft released an updated to the Azure Server Management Tools (SMT) and this improves some of the existing tools such as File Explorer and Device Manager. But the big announcement here is, that you now can manage your Hyper-V Server and Virtual Machines directly from Microsoft Azure from where ever you are. This is one of the great examples of using cloud solutions to extend your on premise environment, By using Management as a Service you basically don’t need to updated anything, you just got this new feature available in the Azure portal and you can start using it.

In this update to the Server Management Tools, Microsoft supports the following VM management functionality:

  • Start/Shutdown/Turn off/Pause/Resume
  • Save State/Delete Saved State
  • Take/Apply & rename checkpoints

You can see the Virtual Machines on which are running on the Hyper-V server

Hyper-V Manager in Azure SMT

You can also do basic management of checkpoints

Hyper-V VM in Azure SMT

If you want to know more about the Server Management Tools (SMT) check out my blog post: Manage Nano Server and Windows Server from Azure using Remote Server Management Tools

 


Nov072016November 7, 2016November 7, 20162Commentsby Thomas Maurer
Azure Nano Server PowerShell Package Management

How to deploy Nano Server in Azure

Posted in Cloud, Hyper-V, IT, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Nano Server, Powershell, Private Cloud, Virtualization, Web, Windows, Windows 10, Windows Server, Windows Server 2016, Work

In some other post I have written how you can deploy a Nano Server on premise using PowerShell or the Nano Server Image Builder. In this post I will quickly show you how you can setup a new Nano Server in Microsoft Azure.

To deploy Nano Server in Azure, Microsoft offers you a Nano Server Image in the Marketplace.

Using the Azure Portal to deploy Nano Server on Microsoft Azure

There are also several ways you can deploy Nano Server, for example using the Azure Portal or PowerShell. First this will show you how you can create a Nano Server Virtual Machine using the Azure Portal.

Nano Server on Azure Marketplace

Simply follow the steps to create a new Azure Virtual Machine.

Nano Server on Azure VM Size

The most important part is to configure the Network Security Groups to allow PowerShell Remoting since Nano Server does not support RDP. There are two options to do this, using WinRM over http (5985) or using WinRM using https (5986). To be honest in production you should only use https, but for some demos or if you are configuring Nano Server to be used over a VPN you can also use WinRM over http. I also recommend that you remove the RDP port rule, since this is not really necessary. If the WinRM rule in the network security group is not already there, just create it. For easy setup you can use 5985 if you want to use SSL you will require additional steps.

Nano Server on Azure Network Security Groups NSG

Follow the rest of the wizard to deploy the new Nano Server VM. After the VM is created you will see it in the Azure Portal. You can now use the IP address to connect to the virtual machine using PowerShell remoting. If you don’t have a VPN connection to the Azure VM Network you will need to use the public IP address, if it is connected trough a VPN or from another machine running in the same VM Network, you can use the internal IP address. In my demo case I am using the public IP address to connect to the virtual machine. To make it easier I also created a Public DNS name for this Azure IP address.

Nano Server on Azure Public DNS Name

To connect to your Nano Server you also have to setup PowerShell Remoting on your machine and add the host to your trusted hosts group.

You can now connect to your Nano Server running in Azure.

Nano Server PowerShell Remoting Azure VM

Using the Azure PowerShell module to deploy Nano Server on Microsoft Azure

First you have to install the Azure PowerShell Module and get the NanoServerAzureHelper PowerShell Module (NanoServerAzureHelper_20160927) this will help you with the setup.

Time to fire up PowerShell and login to Azure

First create a new Azure Resource Group and a Key Vault if you don’t have them already available. The key vault will be helping you to use SSL configuration for your PowerShell remoting.

Import the NanoServerAzureHelper PowerShell module which you have downloaded before.

NanoServerAzureHelper PowerShell Module

This will give you some new PowerShell cmdlets to deploy Nano Server quickly on Azure.

The most important for creating new Nano Server VMs in Azure is simply the New-NanoServerAzureVM.

New-NanoServerAzureVM

Create a new Nano Server VM in Azure using the following PowerShell command:

New-NanoServerAzureVM Create Nano Server VM

To connect you can get the public IP address for the system you deployed and connect to it

 

Using PowerShell Package Management to Install Roles and Features on Nano Server

Since in Nano Server does not include any roles per default you can now use PowerShell Package Management to installed Nano Server Packages on your Azure Virtual Machine.

Azure Nano Server PowerShell Package Management

If you want to know more about PowerShell Package Management on Nano Server, check out my blog post. If you want to know more about Nano Server in general check this post here: Nano Server – The future of Windows Server – Just enough OS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Aug092016August 9, 2016August 9, 20160Commentby Thomas Maurer
GartnerMQ_Virtualization

Microsoft a leader in Gartner x86 Server Virtualization Infrastructure 2016 Magic Quadrant

Posted in Cloud, Containers, Hyper-V, IT, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Nano Server, Private Cloud, Server Core, System Center, Virtualization, VMware, Web, Windows, Windows 10, Windows Server, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016, Work

Year over year Microsoft is named as a leader in the Gartner x86 Server Virtualization Infrastructure Magic Quadrant and it gets closer and closer to VMware. Microsoft now is named again as a leader in Gartner x86 Server Virtualization Infrastructure 2016 Magic Quadrant. Especially the integration with System Center and Microsoft Azure as well as the new security features in Windows Server 2016 Hyper-V, makes Hyper-V a strong player in the hypervisor space. Check out the Microsoft Blog post for more information or my blog post about What’s new in Windows Server 2016 Hyper-V.

Gartner published the Gartner x86 Server Virtualization Infrastructure MQ with Microsoft landing in the Leader Quadrant for the sixth year in a row. Microsoft moved up in the ‘ability to execute’ and to the right in the ‘completeness of vision’ assessment compared with 2015. Gartner defines leaders as having a clear strategy and roadmap for offerings, understanding virtualization’s role in infrastructure and operations transformation, and having a clear vision with respect to private cloud, hybrid cloud and public cloud computing.

GartnerMQ_Virtualization

Microsoft offers you to have a look at the Gartner Document here:

Download the Gartner x86 Server Virtualization Infrastructure 2016 Magic Quadrant


May182016May 18, 2016May 18, 20160Commentby Thomas Maurer
Azure PowerShell Installing

How to Install the Azure PowerShell Module

Posted in Cloud, IT, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Powershell, Virtualization, Web, Web, Windows, Windows 10, Windows Server, Windows Server 2016, Work

Well if you are working with Microsoft Azure you may need the PowerShell Modules for automation and some settings which are only available in PowerShell. With the latest releases you can install the Azure PowerShell Module in several different ways.

Install Azure PowerShell

For me using the PowerShell Package Management and the PowerShell Gallery is may the easiest and fastest way to install it. In Windows 10 or a computer with the Windows Management Framework 5 installed, you can use the following PowerShell cmdlets to install it:

Microsoft Azure Resource Manager (new Portal):

And you can use the following command to login:

If you are using it against the classic Azure Portal you can use the following:

And you can use the following command to login:

 

You can also see the Azure PowerShell Modules and versions using the PowerShell Package Management:

Azure PowerShell Module

 

 


Mar162016March 16, 2016March 16, 20162Commentsby Thomas Maurer
Windows Azure Website from Gallery

Migrate your WordPress Blog to Microsoft Azure Web Apps

Posted in Cloud, Hosting, Internet Explorer, IT, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Web, Web, Work

I am running several WordPress websites and I run them on several different hosters, now in the past months I migrated some of them to Microsoft Azure using the Azure Web Apps. In this post you can see how you can migrate a smiple WordPress blog to Microsoft Azure.

First you have to have a Microsoft Azure account and login to the Microsoft Azure Portal. You can now create a new website from gallery, where you can choose WordPress as an option.

Windows Azure Website from Gallery

Windows Azure Website WordPress

You can than start configuring the WordPress website and set it up to use a new database and where it should be located.

Windows Azure Website WordPress configuration

After you created the website, you can go on the link of the website and configure your wordpress site.

Windows Azure Website Dashboard

To be able to upload themes and plugins you have to enable FTP for you account. In you can do this by changing the deployment credentials.

Windows Azure Website Configure FTP

Now what you can to migrate your existing blog to your new Microsoft Azure blog, you can export your WordPress blog and import in in the new WordPress blog running on Windows Azure. In my case I hit a issue with a PHP default setting which was maxupload limited to 2MB, and my WordPress blog export file was bigger than 2MB. Now you can simply change the PHP setting by using a .user.ini..