Updated Solutions to Classic Challenges
A personal website dedicated to helping IT professionals review where we've been, where we are, and maybe where we are headed.
A few new images showed up on Azure. Looking through the images, one can now find images for both SQL Server 2019 and SQL Server 2019 CTP. This is an excellent way to test the new software before going live with it in production. One note is that at the time of this writing, the only version of Windows Server 2019 that’s available is datacenter.
Read MoreMicrosoft announced on Sept 10th that Visual Studio Team Services would soon become Azure DevOps. Along with the name change are a few alterations to the service names. VSTS users shouldn't feel too out of place. It feels like the same house with the furniture slightly rearranged. So far, I only see upside to the changes.
Read MoreIn my past, I've worked with NetApp, Equallogic, EMC, and various other NAS/SAN devices. After working briefly with SoftNAS, I can say that anyone familiar with those types of systems will feel right at home. Think of the SoftNAS vm as a "controller" and the local cloud storage as "shelves." The layout and terminology should make sense to anyone with a storage background. That level of knowledge could be comforting to an organization making a transition to the public cloud.
Read MoreI recently decided to try out the SoftNAS virtual appliance in my Azure account. The installation went as smoothly as any other Azure template install. All was good until I tried to login to the web interface. No matter what userid / password combination I tried, I could not get into the web admin GUI. Frustrated by this, I decided to do some digging.
Read MoreSubscribing to Microsoft Visual Studio Professional for 1 year is a great option for anyone considering putting time into Azure as a learning platform. The annual subscription for Visual Studio is $539 and includes $50 in Azure credits. Let that sink in for a second. Microsoft is giving away $600 ($50 x 12 months) worth of Azure for $539.
Read MoreWhen using MS Azure to create Infrastructure as a Service based solutions, choosing an appropriate server type is crucial to not only performance, but controlling costs. B Series Servers might be the right option for your workload.
Read MoreSometimes you need a good set of icons to help create a design. I recently discovered just such a set and it's been a pleasant surprise in multiple ways. Not only are the images in this download available in Visio format, but SVG, PNG, and PowerPoint formats are also included.
Read MoreMy Azure bill was higher than expected. I looked deeper and found a VM in a state that read "Stopped (still incurring compute charges)." Which translated to “I turned my VM off incorrectly.”
Read More