IT Wisdom

Transferring resources to the cloud, active, and often aggressively promoted by Microsoft and other vendors require certain qualifications of specialists capable of adapting to the management of such infrastructure. Despite some panic of some colleagues, who feared losing the role of administrators in the case of a transition to a cloud infrastructure, was confident that under certain conditions, experts in the field in any case will be in demand, having the necessary skills.

Microsoft is launching a new program for Private Cloud Certification , which allows to confirm your ability to work with the decisions of the located in the cloud. In particular, the track “Cloud” certification filed two completely new exam:

• 70-246 , Private Cloud Monitoring and Operations with System Center 2012
• 70-247 , Private Cloud Configuration and Deployment with System Center 2012

Despite the fact that the core exams 70-246 and 70-247  will be announced in a public beta in April at the Microsoft Management Summit , now have the opportunity to begin as pass the necessary tests on WIndows Server 2008 and prepare for the certification of System Center 2012.

Thus, 21 and 22 February will be completely free online training Creating & Managing a Private Cloud with System Center 2012 Jump Start , which instructors will perform the evangelists and product managers Microsoft.

The first day, the deployment and configuration

• Part 1. The notion of private cloud Microsoft
• Part 2. Deployment of infrastructure components
• Part 3. Deploying a private cloud infrastructure
• Part 4. Deployment of security services
• Part 5. Deployment of applications and virtual machines

Day Two, management and operations

• Part 6. Management infrastructure components
• Part 7. Infrastructure Management private cloud
• Part 8. Service Management Safety
• Part 9. Manage applications and virtual machines

Taking into account the composition of the reading course, I recommend to register  and take the time to get acquainted with the training.

On February 21 & 22 we are running a 2-day virtual training event to help the world learn about the upcoming enhancements with Creating & Managing a Private Cloud with System Center 2012 Jump Start.  It is 100% free so register now!

Sign up today at: http://mctreadiness.com/MicrosoftCareerConferenceRegistration.aspx?pid=298

Event Overview

Adopting this exciting new computing paradigm provides a whole new landscape of technology and career direction for IT professionals. Microsoft Learning and the Microsoft System Center 2012 team have partnered to bring you an exciting opportunity to learn what you need to know to deploy, manage and maintain Microsoft’s private cloud solution. Leveraging the popular Jump Start virtual classroom approach, the industry’s most gifted cloud experts will show attendees why this new private cloud solution, based on System Center 2012 and Windows Server, has garnered so much attention. Presenters include Symon Perriman, Sean Christensen, Adam Hall, Kenon Owens, Prabu Rambadran & Chris Van Wesep and there will be a live Q&A during the event.

Event Agenda

Day 1: Deployment & Configuration (Feb. 21)

• Part 1: Understanding the Microsoft Private Cloud
• Part 2: Deploying the Infrastructure Components
• Part 3: Deploying the Private Cloud Infrastructure
• Part 4: Deploying the Service Layer
• Part 5: Deploying the Applications & VMs

Day 2: Management & Operations (Feb. 22)

• Part 6: Managing the Infrastructure Components
• Part 7: Managing the Private Cloud Infrastructure
• Part 8: Managing the Service Layer
• Part 9: Managing the Applications & VMs

Sign up today at: http://mctreadiness.com/MicrosoftCareerConferenceRegistration.aspx?pid=298

I came accross this article, which has some short description of what to expect in the coming release of Microsoft System Center 2012.

Source:  http://www.zdnet.com/blog/datacenter/can-microsoft-system-center-2012-change-the-private-datacenter/1185

Summary: Microsoft’s revamped System Center 2012 looks to manage all your cloud needs from one unified interface.

The definition, business value, and technology benefits of the “the cloud” have been hotly debated in recent months.  Most agree that cloud computing can accelerate innovation, reduce costs, and increase business agility in the market.  In 2012, cloud computing will transition from hype and discussion, to part of every enterprise’s reality, and IT is uniquely positioned to lead this transformation and help business reap the benefits of cloud computing.

Join us for a virtual event designed to help you explore your cloud options. It’s your chance to interact with Microsoft experts and with IT leaders like yourself, who have been putting cloud technology to work in their own organizations. You’ll be among the first to hear the latest private cloud news from Microsoft.

Transforming IT with Microsoft Private Cloud
Approx. Start Time

Private cloud discussion with Microsoft executives: Insights and news

• Satya Nadella, President, Server and Tools Business, Microsoft
• Brad Anderson, Corporate Vice President, Management and Security Division, Microsoft

Register Now for the virtual event
Tuesday, January 17th
8:30 AM PST | 16:30 UTC
Hear from other senior IT professionals about how cloud computing can help you gain maximum competitive advantage with minimal risk.
Learn about Microsoft cloud offerings, including private, public, and hybrid cloud models.
Experience Microsoft private cloud solutions through the Microsoft Technology Center.

Check The Event Link

http://www.microsoft.com/business/events/en-us/PrivateCloudExec/#fbid=ZALPym445Ne

Memory is a critical resource to Microsoft SQL Server workloads, especially in a virtualized environment where resources are shared and contention for shared resources can lead to negative impact on the workload. Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 introduced Hyper-V Dynamic Memory, which enables virtual machines to make more efficient use of physical memory resources. Hyper-V Dynamic Memory treats memory as a shared resource that can be reallocated automatically among running virtual machines. There are unique considerations that apply to virtual machines that run SQL Server workloads in such environments. This document provides insight into considerations and best practices for running SQL Server 2008 R2 in Hyper-V Dynamic Memory configurations on Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1.

To review the document, please download the Running SQL Server with Hyper-V Dynamic Memory – Best Practices and Considerations document.

Microsoft released Linux Integration Services Version v3.2 for Hyper-V , the set of drivers that enable synthetic device support in supported Linux running under Hyper-V.

Supported guest operating systems for Linux Integration Services 3.1 for Hyper-Vinclude:

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 6.0 / 6.1 on x86 / x64 (up to 4 vCPU)
• CentOS 6.0 x86 / x64 (up to 4 vCPU)

For other Linux systems supported by Hyper-V, ie:

• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 10 SP3 / 11
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5.x

Use the previous version of the drivers: Linux Integration Services 2.1 for Hyper-V

Once installed on a virtual machine with supported Linux operating system, Linux
Integration Services for Hyper-V offers the following features:

• Supported drivers : Linux Integration Services supports network controllers and storage controllers, IDE and SCSI, which are specially developed for Hyper-V.
• Fastpath Boot Support for Hyper-V : Boot devices can take advantage of the block Virtualization Service Client (VSC), which increases productivity.
• Time Synchronization : The clock inside the virtual machine will remain synchronized with the clock on the server virtualization.
• Integrated closing : Virtual machines running Linux can be locked from the Hyper-V Manager or System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) using the command “Shut Down”.
• Support for Symmetric Multi-Processing (SMP) : Supported Linux systems can use up to 4 virtual processors. Note: SMP support is not available for 32-bit systems running Linux guests running on Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V or Hyper-V Server 2008.
• Heartbeat : Allows the detection of server virtualization and virtual machine is running and responding.
• Exchange of information by the KVP (Key Value Pair) : For information about running a virtual machine running Linux can be obtained through the exchange of information by Key Value Pair – server functionality of Windows Server 2008 virtualization.

Download here the files here:

Linux IC v3.2.iso
Linux Integration Services v3.2 Read Me.pdf 

Microsoft Virtual Academy released a  new course for System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012

This course focuses on how using System Center Virtual Machine Manger 2012 can help your business build, deploy, and maintain a private cloud. After completing these three modules you will have learnt about the Virtual Machine Manger 2012 product, and the features it utilizes to build and support the virtualized and physical resources that are part of your private cloud infrastructure. The course will also expose you to cloud computing at the business level, from the perspective of Virtual Machine Manger 2012, and show how to extend that knowledge to the technical level. The last module will show you how to manage applications within your private cloud using Virtual Machine Manger 2012 to deploy, update, and manage them. At the end, we will have illustrated how using Virtual Machine Manger 2012 as part of your private cloud infrastructure will benefit both your organization and the IT Pro.

Overview of Virtual Machine Manager 2012

This module explains how enterprise datacenters are evolving, and the evolution toward highly virtualized infrastructures. We explain how VMM 2012 enables you to evolve your infrastructure to the cloud by giving you a set of management tools to allow you to manage the environment, both the underlying physical infrastructure and the virtualized infrastructure. We will show you how VMM 2012 fits with Microsoft’s cloud and datacenter management vision, to deliver common management experiences across private and public clouds. Illustrating how to deliver IT as a Service on your terms with flexible, management across your hybrid environments.

Using VMM 2012 to Configure a Private Cloud

Through this course, you will see how using VMM 2012 to provision your private cloud infrastructure and applications can deliver a flexible and cost-effective infrastructure. This course will teach you the basics of deployment and upgrading your virtual environment, the fundamentals of fabric management, and private cloud usage scenarios. By taking this course and learning the fundamentals of building and delegating clouds, you will be able to better provision and optimize your application services and virtualization management practices.

Modelling and Maintaining Virtualized Services in VMM 2012

In this module you will learn the benefits of modeling and maintaining virtualized services in VMM 2012. After completing the course, you will understand the benefits of services in VMM 2012. We will show you this by providing a detailed overview of the services lifecycle, and how using the new Service Designer in the product can help you to create, and customize deployments. This will enable you to better deploy services to the private cloud, and ensure repeatable and predictable updating of a service. Overall, this will increase the capabilities and benefits to your organization and to the IT Professional.