Windows Server 2012 Release Candidate (RC) marks a major milestone in Microsoft’s foray into the virtualization world. While Microsoft have always been leaders in management technologies, an area where VMware was weak, Microsoft now have the hypervisor which exceeds VMware capabilities.

Facts and Figures: Hyper-V vs. vSphere 5

Thought I’d share some interesting information from the recently released Competitive Advantages document.

Mind-blowing, isn’t it?

*VDI comparisons were made taking VMware View into account.

Got Windows 8 Consumer Preview (64-bit) installed on my Lenovo X220 Tablet.

Some pointers for those who are seeking to accomplish a similar feat:

• Install all latest drivers from the Lenovo website even if Windows 8 detected the devices. (Windows 7 drivers are OK) Some of the drivers posted on the Lenovo site are as recent as May 2012. Things like display rotation, Bluetooth, SD Card reader, etc. do not work after the Windows 8 installation till you download and install the drivers.
• The fingerprint reader doesn’t work (yet).
• You need to install the Lenovo button driver to make the hardware buttons on the screen work (the screen rotation button, power button and CTRL+ALT+DEL button). There is also a 32 bit version available.
• Both the Lenovo Screen Reading Optimizer and the ThinkVantage Active Protection System need to be installed for screen rotation to work. The screen rotation options will remain disabled till the Active Protection System is installed. The Active Protection System is supposedly an “airbag” for your hard drive.
• Although the compatibility check in Windows 8 setup suggests that the touch screen is not designed for Windows 8, it is my personal experience that the touch capabilities work pretty well.
• Don’t forget to install the ThinkVantage Power Manager application to get deeper insight on your battery power. I’ve seen that in battery saver mode, I can get around 7 hours of battery life.

The release preview for Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 client operating system is now available! Download the Windows 8 Release Preview (RP) today.

Windows 8 delivers a fast, fluid, no-compromise experience and shared updates that are available in Windows 8 RP, including (but not limited to):

• New Metro style Bing Travel, News and Sports apps.
• Gaming and Music Xbox apps that integrate with your Zune pass.
• Improvements to the Mail, Photos, and People apps that initially debuted with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview.

In addition to new apps from Microsoft and from others through Windows Store, customers testing Windows 8 RP will also experience tens of thousands of refinements across the product, such as increased personalization options for the Start screen, improved multi-monitor support, refinements to the way people find and download apps through the Windows Store, and new Family Safety features among many, many others. A touch-friendly, secure and power-optimized Adobe Flash Player is now fully integrated into IE10 and it’s also the first browser to feature Do Not Track “on” by default, giving customers more choice and control over their privacy.

I have been running Windows 8 Consumer Preview on my Lenovo X220 Tablet PC for work, and the experience has been extremely stable and highly addictive. I will be upgrading to RP shortly. If you have not tried Windows 8 yet, you should now!

With the announcement of the Release Candidate (RC) for Windows Server 2012, Hyper-V now supports:

• Up to 320 Logical Processors Per Host
• Up to 4 TB of Memory Per Host
• Up to 64 Virtual Processors Per VM

This is in addition to the huge scalability updates that were already at announced in Windows Server 2012 Beta which are:

• Up to 1 TB of memory per VM
• Up to 64 TB per virtual disk
• And up to 255 virtual disks per VM for a maximum of up 16,320 TB (or 15.93 Petabytes) per virtual machine
• Up to 64 nodes in a cluster
• Up to 4000 VMs in a cluster

Take a moment to let these numbers sink in! These numbers are amazingly overwhelming. Scale and performance are no longer a factor for virtualizing a workload. ANY WORKLOAD.

These numbers are UNMATCHED in the industry. And yes, Windows Server 2012 exceeds VMware capabilities across the board.

We support a number of non-Microsoft guest operating systems including Linux, CentOS and others. For Microsoft workloads, there’s simply no better way than using Microsoft Hyper-V and managed with Microsoft System Center.

We now have a number of customers in Qatar who are on the early adoption list for Windows Server 2012.

Fasten your seatbelts and wait for RTM!

Over the past few days I have been reviewing e-learning content on Microsoft Virtual Academy (MVA). I was amazed by the wealth of training content available on MVA for the Private Cloud.

So, what is MVA?

MVA is a fully cloud-based learning experience focusing on Microsoft Cloud Technologies. MVA provides its users with a virtual university experience: the student can select a track and study the material and then do the self-assessment. Students on MVA can get access to all the information, statistics and advancements of their training career, allowing them to maintain a long-term relationship with Microsoft. Learning through MVA is free of charge, and you can study the contents at any time and at your own pace.

Configuring and Deploying Microsoft’s Private Cloud

After completing this private cloud specialization, you will have an understanding of Microsoft’s vision for cloud computing, from the business perspective to the technical level. The 8 modules are divided into four core courses covering:

1. Private Cloud: Infrastructure Management

• Module 1: Configure and Deploy Private Cloud Infrastructure
• Module 2: Monitor and Operate Private Cloud Infrastructure

2. Private Cloud: Infrastructure Components

• Module 1: Configure and Deploy Infrastructure Components
• Module 2: Monitor and Operate Infrastructure Components

3. Private Cloud: Service Delivery and Automation

• Module 1:; Configure and Deploy Service Delivery & Automation
• Module 2: Monitor and Operate Service Delivery & Automation

4. Private Cloud: Application Services Management

• Module 1: Application Services Management, Configuration, & Deployment
• Module 2: Application Services Management, Operation, & Management

During the 8 modules of this specialization, you will be introduced to all the elements of building the Microsoft private cloud. You’ll learn how to optimize and deploy the private cloud starting at the infrastructure layer. You’ll also be introduced to advanced virtualization management features and the concept and implementation of the System Center’s private cloud application service model.

After completing all of the modules you will have an understanding of:

• How using Microsoft System Center 2012 can help you build, deploy and manage a private cloud infrastructure.
• How System Center 2012 incorporates tools to deploy, update, and manage applications within your private cloud.
• System Center 2012’s new abilities to deploy, update, and manage applications within your private cloud.
• How using new components of System Center 2012, specifically the Orchestrator and Service Manager components, enable you to deploy, update, and manage service offerings within your private cloud.
• How applications are deployed and managed in the Microsoft private cloud.
• How to use new capabilities in System Center 2012 to deploy your applications as services.

I highly recommend this training for all IT Pros as an excellent means of updating your skills and build your readiness to face new challenges as cloud computing evolves.

Moving to cloud-enabled solutions means IT Professionals and Developers need a deeper and broader set of skills, and they need to be current on the latest technology solutions.  As cloud-enabled solutions transform IT in organizations, it is important for technology professionals to enhance their on-premise skills to unleash the potential of Microsoft technology solutions.

That’s why Microsoft has reinvented its certification program—to certify a deeper set of skills that are mapped to real-world business context. Rather than testing only on a component of a technology, IT Professionals and Developers are now tested on more advanced skills and a deeper understanding of the technology.

And just as Microsoft continually updates the certification exams to cover the latest skills, certified professionals will be required to recertify every two to three years.

The certifications have been reinvented to focus on technology solutions and the appropriate related skill level:

• The Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA) level is the prerequisite certification necessary to get the Expert level certification. 
• The Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) is Microsoft’s flagship product for those who want to lead their company’s journey to the cloud.   It is the destination for established IT Professionals who have expertise working with Microsoft technology solutions.  The Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD) is the destination for established Developers who have expertise developing solutions with Microsoft tools. 
• After people have achieved their Expert level certification, Microsoft Certified Solutions Master (MCSM) is for the select few who wish to further differentiate themselves from their peers.

To learn more about Microsoft Certification Paths Go to MCSE overview page.

Use the System Center Operations Manager 2012 Sizing Helper to help plan hardware capacity for deployments.

The SCOM 2012 Sizing Helper is basically an Excel macro sheet, which sizes your SCOM implementation based on inputs you provide, including Management servers, database/data warehouse servers etc.

Partners should use this while sizing customer designs, and customers can use this for their in-house deployments and upgrades of Operations Manager.

Screenshots below.

A Day in the Life: IT Professional

I stumbled upon this new feature while searching for prayer times yesterday on Bing. The picture on the left side changes based on the current prayer time.

Only one out of every 5 datacenters in the world are operating efficiently, as per new research from IBM.

Out of 300 data centers surveyed in the IBM study, conducted by IDC, only 1 in 5 are operating efficiently.

Furthermore, nearly 80 percent of the 300 CIOs and IT leaders were found to be behind in making the most of their IT investments.

The study found that only 21 percent of companies surveyed are operating data centers at the highest level of efficiency. These optimized companies are able to spend 50 percent more of their IT budget on new projects and innovation to make their organizations more successful.

The vast majority – some 62 percent are somewhat efficient. And another 17 percent are operating at a basic level.

IBM took a look at the top performing data centers and identified the key characteristics that enabled those companies to be more efficient than others. Here are four tips to a smarter data center:

1. Have a plan that aligns with business goals and keep it current.
2. Optimize your current server, storage, network and facilities assets to maximize capacity and availability.
3. Design for flexibility to support changing business needs.
4. Use automation tools to improve service levels and availability. Less manual manipulation means faster response times.

Shijaz’s take:

My take on this? This represents a HUGE opportunity for organizations to re-evaluate their own datacenters and reflect on their IT spending. What percentage of your IT budget are you using for new projects, and how much of it goes into operating and managing existing infrastructure?

And how can Microsoft help? Look closely above at the 4 characteristics of highly efficient datacenters.

1. Planning: Microsoft’s Private Cloud offering includes components like Operations Manager and Service Manager that help you make better informed decisions based on real statistical data from your own datacenter compared to SLAs that are defined with the business.
2. Optimize your infrastructure to maximize capacity and availability. Microsoft’s Private Cloud solution helps you achieve that. You are able to capture your available assets into a “shared pool” of resources, that can be dynamically provisioned when your business application needs it. In other words, dynamic optimization, better utilization, more efficiency.
3. Flexibility: Microsoft’s Private Cloud offering helps you achieve that degree of agility and flexibility to adapt to the changing needs of the business. Business application owners can request the infrastructure services to power their application, and be totally abstracted from the complexity of underlying hardware. What’s more, the datacenter now is able to allocate more resources for the application when needed, delivering utmost flexibility.
4. Automation: Microsoft’s Private Cloud offering includes components like Service Manager, Virtual Machine Manager and Orchestrator (Opalis) that work together to provide you a highly automated datacenter based on workflows and run-books that you define, triggered automatically as conditions change in your environment.

To know more about how Microsoft’s Private Cloud offering can help you achieve highly efficient datacenters, contact me.