Testing File Server Performance

Measuring file server performance can be a little tricky.  In this post, we are going to look at each of the components that affect the speed clients can read/write to a file server.  After gathering baseline stats, we'll look at 2 different ways to test the performance of a file server: using the Windows Explorer file copy UI and using the diskspd command line tool.  We'll find that the speed shown in the Windows Explorer file copy interface isn't a reliable measurement of the disk throughput on the backend.

by Mitchell Grande Sep 5, 2018

Domain Controller Selection

The process of a Windows client selecting an Active Directory domain controller isn't too complex but is often not fully understood.  Let's look at the way a member server chooses a DC and how this affects applications.

by Mitchell Grande May 17, 2018

Tech Talks - What the Edge has to do with the Cloud

In this episoide of Tech Talks, Nathan Lasnoski, discusses what the Edge has to do with the Cloud.

by Nathan Lasnoski Apr 12, 2018

Tech Talks - Azure Iaas, Paas, Containers

In this episode of #techtalks, Nathan Lasnoski walks through how a business can use Iaas, Paas, and Containers to quickly scale up and down with demand, and deliver everything from simple cloud-based apps to sophisticated, cloud-enabled enterprise applications.

by Nathan Lasnoski Feb 15, 2018

Tech Talks - How to Transition from a Traditional Organization to a Cloud Organization

In this episode of #techtalks, Nathan Lasnoski walks through how a traditional organization can go through a successful adoption of cloud services through a cohesive triangle of technology, business and organization.

by Nathan Lasnoski Feb 8, 2018

Windows Subsystem for Linux – A High Level Overview

You can now run Linux command-line tools directly on windows, without use of Virtualization applications.

by Scott Poling Aug 14, 2017

Starting from scratch with Windows 10 Anniversary Update

With the release of Windows 10 Anniversary update, many of us will be upgrading to it. But many of us will also be installing it from scratch. You can cut down the time your machine is out of service by automating application installation with a simple script.

by Carl Schweitzer Aug 1, 2016

Microsoft BI Announcements from SQL PASS Summit 2015

SQL PASS started off with a bang following the Keynote. There was new type of session introduced this year called the “Foundation Sessions”. The first of these session types presented was for BI and was led by James Phillips, Microsoft’s CVP of BI (and now more).

by Seth Bauer Oct 31, 2015

Viewing and Applying Configurations in Azure Automation DSC

I’ve recently been talking about declarative configuration management using PowerShell DSC (platform) and Azure Automation DSC (tooling).  In the previous post we discussed how to get started learning about these concepts, as well as how to spin up your Azure Automation DSC instance.  In this post we’ll cover the capabilities of adding new Azure virtual machines, applying configurations, and viewing configurations.

by Nathan Lasnoski Sep 14, 2015

Testing File Server Performance

Measuring file server performance can be a little tricky.  In this post, we are going to look at each of the components that affect the speed clients can read/write to a file server.  After gathering baseline stats, we'll look at 2 different ways to test the performance of a file server: using the Windows Explorer file copy UI and using the diskspd command line tool.  We'll find that the speed shown in the Windows Explorer file copy interface isn't a reliable measurement of the disk throughput on the backend.

by Mitchell Grande Sep 5, 2018

Patching Windows Server 2016

The patching strategy for Windows Server 2016 has changed fairly significantly since 2012 R2, and understanding these changes is crucial to managing this operating system effectively.  Here, we'll review the new cycle of patch releases and how to make sure your servers stay up to date.

by Mitchell Grande Nov 29, 2018

Getting Started with SSH on Windows Server 2019

Windows Server 2019 introduces a built-in SSH Server, provided as a version of OpenSSH.  The base configuration of this new feature is fairly easy.  In this post, we'll wak through getting it setup and connecting to it.

by Mitchell Grande Feb 8, 2019

Domain Controller Selection

The process of a Windows client selecting an Active Directory domain controller isn't too complex but is often not fully understood.  Let's look at the way a member server chooses a DC and how this affects applications.

by Mitchell Grande May 17, 2018

Active Directory Replication Troubleshooting

With Active Directory having a decentralized database, healthy replication is extremely important to ensuring it functions correctly.  Replication problems can lead to all sorts of issues, including authentication failures, machines falling off the domain, or worse.  Let's take a look at some ways to diagnose and troubleshoot basic replication problems.

by Mitchell Grande Oct 4, 2018

Active Directory during DR Tests

Due to their central role in a Windows environment, including Active Directory domain controllers in a disaster recovery test will nearly always be required.  However, how do you ensure that the DCs function correctly, and safely, in a DR environment without having any impact on production?  Let's look at the best practices around Active Directory in a DR test.  These ideas apply to both on-premise replication to a secondary site and replication to Azure using Azure Site Recovery.

by Mitchell Grande Nov 15, 2018

Active Directory Upgrades: Additional Features

Upgrading your domain and forest functional levels is a simple task once the new domain controllers are in place and the old ones are decommissioned.  But what about the features that take advantage of the upgraded functional levels?  There are two important things to do as a domain is upgraded to the 2008 and 2008 R2 functional levels: migrate SYSVOL to DFS replication and enable the AD Recycle Bin.

Although these features have been available for a long time, it’s good to revisit items like these occasionally.  Although many domains are using them, there are plenty of environments that have yet to take advantage.

by Mitchell Grande Dec 13, 2018

Key-based Authentication for OpenSSH on Windows

Windows Server 2019 has more native support for SSH via OpenSSH.  Here, we'll take a look at how to configure key-based authentication with OpenSSH on Windows.

by Mitchell Grande May 23, 2019

Reverse Engineering the Azure DevOps REST API

How to reverse engineer the JSON formatting required for REST API interactions with Azure DevOps

by Matt Sidwell Apr 3, 2019

Terraform 101

A brief introduction to the basics of Terraform

by Matt Sidwell Feb 6, 2019