AndersonPatricio.ca : System Center

Using SCVMM Placement Rules with Exchange Servers

Anderson Patricio — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:39:36 GMT

Good morning my friends (not a good morning for us Canadians, specially Maple Leafs fans )

If you have Exchange Server running on your Hyper-V/SCVMM environment you may wondering how to make sure that you have same roles in different physical servers to avoid a hardware failure to bring outage to your users. Well, you can use the same post for DCs and all sort of servers.

Read more at source: http://www.andersonpatricio.ca/?p=1147

Cheers,
Anderson Patricio
http://www.andersonpatricio.ca
http://www.andersonpatricio.org (Portuguese)
Twitter: @apatricio

How to Deploy and configure OpsMgr 2012 SP1 – Part 8 - How to Install the first Management Server OpsMgr 2012

Anderson Patricio — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 21:45:02 GMT

Introduction

In this document we will install the First OpsMgr 2012 SP1 on MTLMS01 Server

Installation

Install the First OpsMgr 2012 SP1

Now you are ready to install the first Management Server on server MTLMS01. We will not now install the web console on the server, because we want secure communication with SSL. A certificate must be installed on IIS before to be able to install the Web Console in SSL. We will install later in this series

· Open a session on MTLMS01 Server with the OmAdmin user

· Double click on Setup to start the Installation

· Click Yes

We will use the Installation Log file to follow the Installation. To open the Installation Log file Go to D:\Users\omadmin\AppData\Local\SCOM\LOGS\

AppData is a Hidden Folder, to see this folder.

· Click View

· In the menu select Hidden Items

Now the ApplData folder will appear

To read log in real time we will use the utility Trace32.exe. It is a free tool from Microsoft

· Click Install to begin the installation

Open the Installation log file to fallow the Installation. We can find this log C:\Users\omadmin\AppData\Local\SCOM\LOGS\OpsMgrSetupWizard

· Select Manager Server

· Select Operation Console

Do not select the Web Console, because we will secure the Web Console with SSL later.

· Click Next

· Change the Path to D:\Program Files\System Center 2012\Operations Manager

· Click Next

We can ignore this Warning. For a Production server you must have at minimum 8G of RAM

· Click Next

Be sure that Create the first Management Server in a new management group is selected.

· Type ACGLGroupProduction in Management Goup name. Note This Name is case sensitive

· Click Next

· Select I Have read, understood …

· Click Next

· Type MTLSQL01\OpsMgrOM in SQL Server Name and instance name

If the MS server can connect to the SQL, all other data will be populated automatically. Adjust the Database Size with the value that you got from the Sizing helper. Note It is possible to adjust it later. For the Lab I accept the default 1000

· Validate the information and

· Click Next

· Type MTLRS01\OpsMgrRS in Server Name and instance name. If the MS server can connect to the SQL, all other data will be populated automatically. Adjust the Database Size with the value that you got from the Sizing helper. Note It is possible to adjust it later For the Lab I accept the default 1000

· Validate the information and

· Click Next

· Select to Domain Account for System Center Configuration Service and System Center Data Access

· In Management server action account Type ACGL\OMAA and the password

· In the System Center Configuration service and System Center Access service Type ACGL\OMDAS and the password

· In the Data Reader account type ACGL\OMDWR en the Password

· In Data Writer account type ACGL\OMDWW and the password

· Click Next

· Select No, I am not Willing …

· Select No, I am not willing to participate

· Click Next

· Select Off

· Click Next

· Validate that all information are correct

· Click Install

The global Installation will take about 30 minutes to be completed. You can fallow the installation in the Log file

· Click Close when the Installation finish.

We have Install the first Manager Server 2012 SP1

In the Next Document

In the next document we will validate the Health on the first Manager server on MTLMS01

Cheers,
Alain Laventure
Senior Consultant
Exchange Expert, SCOM Expert and Lync specialist
Allain’s Bio: http://msmvps.com/blogs/andersonpatricio/pages/bio-alain-laventure.aspx

How to Deploy and configure OpsMgr 2012 SP1 – Part 7 - How to validate the communication between OpsMgr 2012 SP1 and the SQL Servers

Anderson Patricio — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 16:44:53 GMT

Introduction

In this document we will validate that from MTLMS01 and MTLMS02 you communicate with both SQL Servers. It is very important that the user OMAdmin can be connect with both SQL servers because OMAdmin will create the Database OperationsManager and the OperationsManagerDW Database during the installation.We will use ODBC Data Access Source to validate if the user can have access to both SQL servers

Validate the communication with SQL Servers

Validate that the OMAdmin User can connect to the MTLSQL01 Server from Server MTLMS01

Open a session on MTLMS01 with OMAdmin user
Click Start
Click Administrative Tools
Click Data Source(ODBC)
Click Add

We will have only one choice

Click Finish

Type a description in name
It can be anything
Type MTLSQL01\OpsMgrOM
The SQL name Server with the instance name
Click Next

Leave the default
Here we will use the with Windows NT authentication ( the OMAdmin)
Click Next

Leave the default
Click Next

Leave the default
Click Finish

Click Test data Source

If the user OMAdmin can connect you will get Test Completed Succufully

Click Cancel 3 times to close the SQL Server ODBC Data Source Test

Validate that the OMAdmin User can connect to the MTLRS01 Server From Server MTLMS01

Repeat the same step to connect to the MTLRS01

Open a session on MTLMS01 with OMAdmin
From MTLMS01 To connect to the MTLRS01
Type MTLRS01\OpsMgrRS

Validate that the OMAdmin User can connect to the MTLSQL01 Server From Server MTLMS02

Open a session on MTLMS02 with OMAdmin
From MTLMS02 To connect to MTLSQL01
Type MTLSQL01\OpsMgrOM
Click Next

Validate that the OMAdmin User can connect to the MTLRS01 Server From Server MTLMS02

Open a session on MTLMS02 with OMAdmin
From MTLMS02 To connect to MTLSQL01
Type MTLSQL01\OpsMgrOM
Click Next

In the Next Document

In the next document we will install the first management Server 2012 SP1 server on MTLMS01

Cheers,
Alain Laventure
Senior Consultant
Exchange Expert, SCOM Expert and Lync specialist
Allain’s Bio: http://msmvps.com/blogs/andersonpatricio/pages/bio-alain-laventure.aspx

How to Deploy and configure OpsMgr 2012 SP1 - Part 6 - How to Install Prerequisites for OpsMgr 2012 SP1

Anderson Patricio — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 06:48:28 GMT

Introduction

In this document you will install all prerequisites for OpsMgr 2012 SP1for both management Server MTLMS01 and MTLMS02

Add the OMAdmins Group in the Administrators Local group of all MS Servers and SQL Servers
Install IIS
Install Report Viewer

Install Prerequisites on the MTLMS01 Server

Add OMAdmins group in the Adminitrators Local group

· Open a session on MTLMS01 with OMAdmin user

· Pin the Computer management

· Click Computer Management

· Expand Local Users and Groups

· Open Administrators Local Group

· Add the Omadmins Group in the Administrators Local group if it is not present

· Close Session

Re-open a session with OmAdmin user

· Repeat for MTLMS02 Server

· Repeat for MTLSQL01 Server

· Repeat for MTLRS01 Server

Install IIS for the SCOM 2012 Web console

· Open a session on MTLMS01 with OMAdmin user

We will install on this server the OpsMgr 2012 SP1 Web Console and the IIS need to be installed

· Open power Shell as Run as Administrator

· Type Add-WindowsFeature NET-WCF-HTTP-Activation45,Web-Static-Content,Web-Default-Doc,Web-Dir-Browsing,Web-Http-Errors,Web-Http-Logging,Web-Request-Monitor,Web-Filtering,Web-Stat-Compression,Web-Mgmt-Console,Web-Metabase,Web-Asp-Net,Web-Windows-Auth –Restart

· As we can see no restart is needed Reboot the Server

· Repeat for the MTLMS02 Server

Install Report Viewer

· Open a session on MTLMS01 with OMAdmin user

· Install the Report Viewer controls to all Management Servers. Install them from http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=6442

· Repeat for the MTLMS02

· Repeat for the MTLRS01

In the Next Document

In the next document we will validate that from MTLMS01 and MTLMS02 you communicate with the SQL Server MTLSQL01 and MTLRS01. It is very important that the user OMAdmin can be able to communicate with both SQL because OMAdmin will be used to Install OpsMgr 2012 SP1 and during the installation the Database OperationsManager will be created on MTLSQL01 and the Database OperationsManagerDW will be created on MTLRS01

Cheers,
Alain Laventure
Senior Consultant
Exchange Expert, SCOM Expert and Lync specialist
Allain’s Bio: http://msmvps.com/blogs/andersonpatricio/pages/bio-alain-laventure.aspx

How to deploy and configure OpsMgr 2012 Sp1 - Part 4 - How to Install SQL 2012 Server for Operation Manager Database

Anderson Patricio — Sat, 09 Feb 2013 19:05:58 GMT

Introduction

In this document we will Install SQL 2012 for Operations Manager database. This Database is the Short term Database.

The long Term Database is the Data Warehouse Database, this Database can be Installed on the same server than the Operation Management Database, but in the Series you will install the data warehouse Database on an another Server MTLRS01

Installation

How to Install SQL Server 2012

Setup is fairly straightforward. This document will not go into details and best practices for SQL configuration. Consult your DBA team to ensure your SQL deployment is configured for best practices according to your corporate standards

· On MTLSQL01, open a session with Administrator

· Add the Omadmins Group in the Administrators Local group of the MTLSQL01 Server

· Close the session

· Open a new session with the OMAdmin user

· Click Setup

· Click Installation

· Click New SQL Server stand-alone …..

· Click Show Details

· Validate that all Status are Passed

· Click OK

· Select Specify a free edition if you have an evaluation or if you have a Serial number

· Select Enter the Product Key and type your Product key

· Click Next

· Select I accept the Licence terms If you want to send usage data to Microsoft

· Select Send feature data to Microsoft …..

· Click Next

· If you want to install this Update Select Include SQL Server Setup Update

· Click Next

The update is downloading and installing

· Click Show Details

· Validate that all status are Passed

· Click Next

· Select SQL Server Feature Installation

· Click Next

This server will be used only by the Operations Manager Database. The short time database The SQL reporting Services will be installed on the other server MTLRS01

· Select Database Engine Services

· Select Full-Text and Extraction ….

· Change the Path to D:

· Replace C: by D:

· Select Management Tools Basic

· Select Management Tools – Basic

· This will install all tool needed to manage SQL Server

· Click Next

· Click Show Details

· Validate that the Status is passed

· Click Next

· Select name Instance

· Type OpsMgrOM as Instance Name If you want you can install SQL without any Instance

· Change the Path to D:

· Click Next

For both Service SQL Service Agent and SQL Server Database Engine

· Select the SRVCSQL user. This user is only a Domain User and this user does not have any Administrators right on the SQL Server

This service must be started and automatically

· Select both Startup Type Automatic

· Click the Collation TAB

You can use the default which is SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS or choose another supported collation

· Click Next

Note the Collation cannot be changed after SQL installation. It is very important to select the collation that is supported

· Select Windows authentication Mode

· Click Add and Select the OMAdmins Group

· Select Next

Or take our company standard

· Click Next

· Click Show Details

· Validate that all Status are Passed

· Click Next

· Click Install

· Installation is beginning

· Validate that all Status are Succeeded

· Click Close

Validate that you can open SQL

On MTLSQL01 Server, your session is open with OMAdmin user

· Press Windows Key

· Select SQL Server Management Studio

· Select MTLSQL01\OPSMGROM

· Click Connect

· Expand the Server

· Expand Databases

Validate that the 4 Databases are created are mounted

Note

Install the Last Service pack and Cumulative roll up for SQL 2012 before to install OpsMgr 2012

In the Next Document

In the next Document we will install the SQL 2012 Server and the SQL reporting Services

The SQL reporting Services will be used by OpsMgr 2012 Reporting Server Role

This is the Long Term Data Warehouse Database

Cheers,
Alain Laventure
Senior Consultant
Exchange Expert, SCOM Expert and Lync specialist
Allain’s Bio: http://msmvps.com/blogs/andersonpatricio/pages/bio-alain-laventure.aspx

How to Deploy and Configure OpsMgr 2012 – Part 3 – Users and Groups required for OpsMgr 2012 SP1

Anderson Patricio — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 18:03:00 GMT

Hi there,

Here is a brief summary for all users and groups required to install Operations manager 2012.

User

1.	Create OU OpsMgr 2012	You will create all accounts and groups in this OU
2.	Create a domain account in the domain called *OMAdmin*	This account will be used to install OpsMgr 2012 MS and RS This account will be the first Administrator of OpsMgr 2012
3.	Create a domain account in the domain called *OMAA* Be sure to select User cannot change Password Password never Expires	The OpsMgr 2012 uses the Action Account to gather operational data from providers, to run responses, and to perform actions such as installing and uninstalling agents on managed computers When you discover computers, you use this account by default to install Agent on computer
4.	Create a domain account in the domain called *OMDAS* Be sure to select User cannot change Password Password never Expires	System Center Configuration service and System Center Data Access service account This account is one set of credentials that is used to update and read information in the operational database. Operations Manager ensures that the credentials used for the System Center Data Access service and System Center Configuration service account are assigned to the sdk_user role in the operational database
5.	Create a domain account in the domain called *OMDWW* The Data Warehouse Write Account Be sure to select User cannot change Password Password never Expires	This Data Writer account provided will be assigned write permission on the Data Warehouse an read permissions on the Operation Database
6.	Create a domain account in the domain called *OMDWR* Data Reader Account Be sure to select User cannot change Password Password never Expires	This Data Reader Account will be used to define what user SQL Reporting Service uses to execute queries against the Operation Manager Reporting Data Warehouse. This account is also used for the SQL Reporting Services and IIS Application Pool
7.	Create a domain account in the domain called SRVCSQL Be sure to select User cannot change Password Password never Expires	This account will be used for the SQL Service on both SQL Server
8.	Create a domain account in the domain called OMNOT Be sure to select User cannot change Password Password never Expires	This Notification account will be used to by the notification service
9.	Create a Global Security group OMAdmins	This group Will be used the Full Administrator of OpsMgr 2012
10.	Add OMAdmin, OMAA and OMDAS in the OMAdmins Global group	The OMMA, OMDAS must be Local Administrator of all OpsMgr Servers We will add these Groups in the Global group OMAdmins
11.	The OMAdmins Global group must be member of all Local Administrators group of each Server	Add the OMAdmins Global group to MTLMS01 Administrator Local group
12.	The OMAdmins Global group must be member of all Local Administrators group of each Server	Add the OMAdmins Global group to MTLMS02 Administrator Local group
13.	The OMAdmins Global group must be member of all Local Administrators group of each Server	Add the OMAdmins Global group to MTLMSQL01 Administrator Local group
14.	The OMAdmins Global group must be member of all Local Administrators group of each Server	Add the OMAdmins Global group to MTLMRS01 Administrator Local group

Important: The OMAdmin user must be able to create Database on both SQ Servers because during the installation the OpsMgr 2012 setup will created both Database in SQL, the operation manager Database and the Operation Manager Data Warehouse
After the SQL Installation the OMAdmin user doesn’t need this SQL Right

Additional Details and Information

We will also define some additional information during the deployment process, such as:

Management Group name for Operations Manager will be named ACGLGroupProduction
SQL instance for MTLSQL01 (Operations Manager Database) is going to be called OPSMGROM
SQL instance for MTLSQL01 (Operations Manager Database Warehouse) is going to be called OPSMGRRS

Notification Groups…

At ACGL Corporation (our scenario of this series) we have several teams, such as:

Windows Team
Share point Team
SQL Team
Exchange Team
IIS Team

The following table has the summary of those initial groups that will be used for Notification.

For that, we will create a Universal group and mail enable these groups, (to be able to Mail Enable group in Exchange 2010 the group must be Universal). The group will be also Security group because we will use the same groups to create the OpsMgr Role

1.	Create a Universal Security group WindowsTeam	Mail Enable this group in Exchange 2010 WindowsTeam@acgl.ca
2.	Create a Universal Security group SharepointTeam	Mail Enable this group in Exchange 2010 SharePointTeam@acgl.ca
3.	Create a Universal Security group SQLTeamTeam	Mail Enable this group in Exchange 2010 SQLTeam@acgl.ca
4.	Create a Universal Security group ExchangeTeam	Mail Enable this group in Exchange 2010 ExchangeTeam@acgl.ca
5.	Create a Universal Security group IISTeam	Mail Enable this group in Exchange 2010 IISTeam@acgl.ca

Cheers,
Alain Laventure
Senior Consultant
Exchange Expert, SCOM Expert and Lync specialist
Allain’s Bio: http://msmvps.com/blogs/andersonpatricio/pages/bio-alain-laventure.aspx

How to Deploy and Configure OpsMgr 2012 – Part 2 – Schema Environment

Anderson Patricio — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 16:31:10 GMT

Hi There,

Here is Alain and welcome back to the second articles of this series. For this series, we will use an example network call ACGL.CA with a number of servers in it, which will use throughout this series

Server inventory

All OS Servers will be running Windows Server 2012 and SQL Servers will be running SQL 2012.

We will install 2 OpsMgr 2012 Management Servers
We will Install 1 SQL 2008 R2 Server for Operational Database
We will install 1 SQL 2008 R2 Reporting Services and OpsMgr 2012 Reporting Server
We will install 2 OpsMgr 2012 Gateway Servers for load Balancer

We will deploy agents into the internal network and into DMZ. We can install only one SQL server and install both Operation manager database and Operation Manager Data Warehouse on the same server.

Use the Sizing Helper Tool for evaluate how many servers and configuration you will need for your OpsMgr 2012 Infrastructure at this URL

OpsMgr 2012 Schema Environment

In this series we will build together this following OpsMgr 2012 Infrastructure.

Servers configuration

Based on the previous diagram we are going to build the environment and for the LAN portion here is the default values:

Active Directory domain is acgl.ca
CPU and Memory information based on the results of the Sizing Helper Tool
Gateway is 192.168.1.1
Primary DNS is 192.168.1.200
C partitions was configured with 20GB
D Partition based on the recommendation from Sizing Helper Tool, if there is no recommendation then we went to 20GB as well

Here are the servers

Server Name	Server Role	Network	IP
MTLDC01	Active Directory, DNS and PKI Server	LAN	192.168.1.200
MTLSQL01	SQL Database Operation Database	LAN	192.168.1.203
MTLRS01	SQL Database Data Warehouse and OM Reporting Server	LAN	192.168.1.204
MTLMS01	Operation Manager 2012	LAN	192.168.1.201
MTLMS02	Operation Manager 2012	LAN	192.168.1.202

We will also have servers located in the DMZ (Agents and OpsMgr Gateway Servers) and these servers share these following characteristics:

They are not part of the domain, they are in a workgroup mode
CPU and Memory information based on the results of the Sizing Helper Tool
Default gateway is 192.168.2.1
Primary DNS is 192.168.1.200
C partitions was configured with 20GB
D Partition based on the recommendation from Sizing Helper Tool, if there is no recommendation then we went to 20GB as well

Server name	Role	Network	IP
MTLGW01	Operation management Server	DMZ	192.168.2.201
MTLGW02	Operation management Server	DMZ	192.168.2.202

In our next article …

In the following article of this series we will be going over these following key points:

All users and groups needed for OpsMgr 2012 installation
All Groups for notification
Management Group Name
SQL Service Account
All users Membership

Cheers,
Alain Laventure
Senior Consultant
Exchange Expert, SCOM Expert and Lync specialist
Allain’s Bio: http://msmvps.com/blogs/andersonpatricio/pages/bio-alain-laventure.aspx

How to Deploy and Configure OpsMgr 2012

Anderson Patricio — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 18:43:00 GMT

Hello my friends,

Please join me to welcome the fellow Canadian IT Pro Alain Laventure as he presents his first article here with us starting a journey to deploy and configure System Center Operations Manager 2012.

In this series, I will give you a best practice guide how to build a full OpsMgr 2012 environment from scratch and here is an overview of the upcoming posts:

Design OpsMgr 2012 Environment

Create Architecture document
- OpsMgr 2012 Schema Environment
- OpsMgr 2012 Server Configuration
- Planning Capacity
- Users needed for OpsMgr 2012 Installation
- Other users and group Needed for Notification and Roles

Deploy OpsMgr 2012 Environment

Install the first SQL for OpsMgr 2012 Operational Database
Install SQL Reporting Service and the Warehouse Database
Configure the SQL Reporting Service
Install the first OpsMgr 2012 sever
Install the second OpsMgr 2012 server
Install OpsMgr 2012 Reporting Server Role
Install the Last cumulative update on all servers role
Validate the OpsMgr 2012 environment Health

Configure OpsMgr 2012 Environment

Install and configure the OpsMgr 2012 Web Console
Install the OpsMgr 2012 Console on Workstation
Deploy OpsMgr 2012 agent to all Windows servers
Configure the notification
Configure the Role for Administration delegation
Configure the Management Pack No Seal Backup

Import and Fine Tune Managements Pack

Import the Windows management Pack
Import Management Pack for DNS
Import management Pack for DHCP
Import management Pack for IIS7
Import Management Pack for AD 2003, 2008, 2008R2 and 2012
Import Management Pack for Exchange 2003, 2010 and 2013
Import Management Pack for Lync 2010 and 2013
Import Management Pack for SQL 20005, 2008 and 2012
Import management Pack for Share point 2007, 2010 and 2013

Install and Configure OpsMgr 2012 Gateway Server (DMZ)

Prepare certificate for Agent and Gateway
Install and configure the OpsMgr Gateway 2012 Server
Install the OpsMgr 2012 agents on the servers in the DMZ

Create Management pack with the authoring console

Install the Authoring console
Install the XML Editor
Create a new class with the Authoring Console
Create a new Management pack with the authoring console

Stay tuned as we move forward on this series.

Cheers,
Alain Laventure
Senior Consultant
Exchange Expert, SCOM Expert and Lync specialist
Allain’s Bio: http://msmvps.com/blogs/andersonpatricio/pages/bio-alain-laventure.aspx

Quick Hint: SCOM – Managing Agent Proxy using PowerShell

Anderson Patricio — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 19:49:09 GMT

How can manage agent proxy in a SCOM agent using PowerShell?

PowerShell makes everything easier, right? To list all agents using names with wildcards we can use the following cmdlet where in this post all my locations share the site code on their names:

Get-SCOMAgent *POA*

If the previous cmdlet brought the servers that you were expecting, then we can go ahead and enable the agent proxy for all those servers using the following cmdlet:

Get-SCOMAgent *POA* | Enable-SCOmAgentProxy

If you want to disable based on the initial cmdlet, just run the following cmdlet:

Get-SCOMAgent *POA* | Disable-SCOmAgentProxy

Cheers,
Anderson Patricio
http://www.andersonpatricio.ca
http://www.andersonpatricio.org (Portuguese)
Twitter: @apatricio

System Center Service Pack 1 (BETA) for Exchange Administrators

Anderson Patricio — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 18:01:09 GMT

In the new Service Pack 1 (still in BETA) for System Center 2012 the entire family of products receive new features however for us messaging administrators the Orchestrator received 2 new Integration Packs for Exchange, as follows:

o Exchange Administrator Integration Pack for Orchestrator in System Center 2012 SP1.

o Exchange Users Integration Pack for Orchestrator in System Center 2012 SP1.

More information: http://blogs.technet.com/b/infratalks/archive/2012/10/10/new-features-in-system-center-2012-sp1-part-1-of-2.aspx

System Center 2012 SP1 (BETA) download:http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=34607

Cheers,
Anderson Patricio
http://www.andersonpatricio.ca
http://www.andersonpatricio.org (Portuguese)
Twitter: @apatricio

Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V Component Architecture Poster

Anderson Patricio — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 01:27:26 GMT

This poster provides a visual reference for understanding key Hyper-V technologies in Windows Server 2012. This Hyper-V poster focuses on Hyper-V Replica, networking, virtual machine mobility (live migration), storage, failover clustering, and scalability. You can find previously published posters here: • Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1 Hyper-V Component Architecture• Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V Component Architecture• Windows Server 2008 R2 Feature Component Poster • Windows Server 2008 Component Posters

Get it here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29189

Cheers,
Anderson Patricio
http://www.andersonpatricio.ca
http://www.andersonpatricio.org (Portuguese)
Twitter: @apatricio

MSExchange.org – PowerShell 101 for Messaging Administrators and IT Pros

Anderson Patricio — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 00:04:08 GMT

Hello folks,

Long time no see, a lot of work and Eurocup 2012 makes this blog to slow down for a little but we are still here! This week the fourth article of my series was published at MSExchange.org and this new series we talk about PowerShell 101 where the idea is to show the readers how to create their own scripts and understand basic concept of PowerShell.

Here is the list containing all articles published so far:

PowerShell 101 for Messaging Administrator and IT Pros (Part 4)
http://www.msexchange.org/articles_tutorials/exchange-server-2010/management-administration/powershell-101-messaging-administrator-pros-part4.html
PowerShell 101 for Messaging Administrator and IT Pros (Part 3)
http://www.msexchange.org/articles_tutorials/exchange-server-2010/management-administration/powershell-101-messaging-administrator-pros-part3.html
PowerShell 101 for Messaging Administrator and IT Pros (Part 2)
http://www.msexchange.org/articles_tutorials/exchange-server-2010/management-administration/powershell-101-messaging-administrator-pros-part2.html
PowerShell 101 for Messaging Administrator and IT Pros (Part 1)
http://www.msexchange.org/articles_tutorials/exchange-server-2010/management-administration/powershell-101-messaging-administrator-pros-part1.html

Cheers,
Anderson Patricio
http://www.andersonpatricio.ca
http://www.andersonpatricio.org (Portuguese)
Twitter: @apatricio

Getting started with Cloud Computing

Anderson Patricio — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 22:42:36 GMT

Hi folks,

I would like to share with you guys a really nice summary about Cloud Computing using Microsoft Technologies. Enjoy it!

Public Cloud computing means that the infrastructure to run and manage the applications users are taking advantage of is run by someone else and not you. In other words, you do not buy the hardware or software to run your email or other services being used in your organization – that is done by someone else. Users simply connect to these services from their computers and you pay a monthly subscription fee for each user that is taking advantage of the service. Examples of Public Cloud services include Office 365, Windows Intune, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, Hotmail, and others.

Private Cloud computing generally means that the hardware and software to run services used by your organization is run on your premises, with the ability for business groups to self-provision the services they need based on rules established by the IT department. Generally, Private Cloud implementations today are found in larger organizations but they are also viable for small and medium-sized businesses since they generally allow an automation of services and reduction in IT workloads when properly implemented. Having the right management tools, like System Center 2012, to implement and operate Private Cloud is important in order to be successful.

So – how do you get started? The first step is to determine what makes the most sense to your organization. The nice thing is that you do not need to pick Public or Private Cloud – you can use elements of both where it makes sense for your business – the choice is yours. When you are ready to try and purchase Public Cloud technologies, the Microsoft Volume Licensing web site is a good place to find links to each of the online services. In particular, if you are interested in a trial for each service, you can visit the following pages: Office 365, CRM Online, Windows Intune, and Windows Azure.

For Private Cloud technologies, start with some of the courses on Microsoft Virtual Academy and then download and install the Microsoft Private Cloud technologies including Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V and System Center 2012 in your own environment and take it for a spin. Also, keep up to date with the Canadian IT Pro blog to learn about events Microsoft is delivering such as the IT Virtualization Boot Camps and more to get you started with these technologies hands on.
Finally, I want to ask for your help to allow the team at Microsoft to continue to provide you what you need. Twice a year through something we call "The Global Relationship Study" – they reach out and contact you to see how they're doing and what Microsoft could do better. If you get an email from "Microsoft Feedback" with the subject line "Help Microsoft Focus on Customers and Partners" between March 5th and April 13th, please take a little time to tell them what you think

Cloud Computing Resources:

Microsoft Server and Cloud Computing site – information on Microsoft's overall cloud strategy and products.
Microsoft Virtual Academy – for free online training to help improve your IT skillset.
Office 365 Trial/Info page – get more information or try it out for yourself.
Office 365 Videos – see how businesses like yours have used Office 365 to transition to the cloud.
Windows Intune Trial/Info – get more information or try it out for yourself.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online page – information on trying and licensing Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.

Additional Resources You May Find Useful:

Springboard Series
Your destination for technical resources, free tools and expert guidance to ease the deployment and management of your Windows-based client infrastructure.
TechNet Evaluation Center
Try some of our latest Microsoft products for free, Like System Center 2012 Pre-Release Products, and evaluate them before you buy.
AlignIT Manager Tech Talk Series
A monthly streamed video series with a range of topics for both infrastructure and development managers. Ask questions and participate real-time or watch the on-demand recording.
Tech·Days Online
Discover what's next in technology and innovation with Tech·Days session recordings, hands-on labs and Tech·Days TV.

Cheers,
Anderson Patricio
http://www.andersonpatricio.ca
http://www.andersonpatricio.org (Portuguese)
Twitter: @apatricio

Maintaining High Availability for Microsoft.com

Anderson Patricio — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 18:36:16 GMT

Hi folks,

Microsoft released a document about high availability at Microsoft.com website and how they structure their environment and the most import how they monitor it.

If High Availability is one of your favorite topics this article is a must read.

Microsoft.com is a large and heavily visited site, yet it maintains high availability ratings because of a carefully planned infrastructure, team collaboration, and use of technology for maintenance, monitoring, and change management.

Download the article at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=84c59af0-da50-49bf-84e3-dd3f5bd6c0cd

Cheers,
Anderson Patricio
http://msmvps.org/Blog/AndersonPatricio
http://www.andersonpatricio.org
Twitter: @apatricio

Operations Manager Management Pack for Exchange 2010

Anderson Patricio — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 23:06:43 GMT

This .chm file contains management pack alerts and topics for Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 . You can use the procedure topics in the file to help resolve the alerts generated by the Operations Manager Management Pack.

Download it from here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=e3141f70-3552-4dd6-80ac-97ee9cda8a39

Cheers,
Anderson Patricio
http://msmvps.org/Blog/AndersonPatricio
http://www.andersonpatricio.org
Twitter: @apatricio

Exchange 2010 clusters can be protected by multiple DPM servers

Anderson Patricio — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 13:59:30 GMT

The DPM Team blogged about Exchange Server 2010 DAG protection and DPM where nodes can be protected by different DPM Servers.

I like to draw attention to something that may not be well known and surprise some. You probably are familiar with the 'rule' that all protected hosts within a cluster must be protected by the same DPM server! This is does not apply to Exchange 2010 and is formally documented here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff399324.aspx .
You still get the warning that all nodes must have a DPM agent installed but can be safely ignored for Exchange 2010. In that context you may also want to take a peek at a related blog on resolving alerts; http://blogs.technet.com/b/dpm/archive/2010/06/04/automatically-resolving-alerts-such-as-resume-ownership.aspx

With other workloads including Exchange 2007 CCR the application store is considered to be shared across nodes in the cluster. DPM protection is not per definition fixed to a single physical node (although recommended for Exchange 2007 CCR). To maintain a single view on recovery points for a data source that from time to time could synchronize data using different nodes, these must belong to the same DPM server.

Cheers,
Anderson Patricio
http://blogs.msexchange.org/patricio
Twitter: @apatricio

TechNet Virtual Lab: Monitoring Exchange 2010

Anderson Patricio — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 13:20:03 GMT

Hi folks,

A nice Virtual Lab to master SCOM 2007 R2 monitoring an Exchange Server 2010 environment.

After completing this lab, you will be better able to create a distributed application model, define a Service Level Objective against an Exchange Server, generate a Service Level Tracking Summary Report, and configure and verify a dashboard.

Check this out at: https://cmg.vlabcenter.com/default.aspx?moduleid=85b3088b-172e-4c91-9801-3e92169b235b

Cheers,
Anderson Patricio
http://msmvps.org/Blog/AndersonPatricio
http://www.andersonpatricio.org
Twitter: @apatricio

New DPM 2010 whitepaper: How to protect Exchange 2010

Anderson Patricio — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 14:24:54 GMT

Hi folks,

DPM Team published a new white paper about How DPM 2010 can protect Exchange Server 2010, check this out: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=be885d26-25e5-41ff-afc8-506414aed960

Cheers,
Anderson Patricio
http://msmvps.org/Blog/AndersonPatricio
http://www.andersonpatricio.org
Twitter: @apatricio

Webcast: DPM 2010 Release Candidate preview

Anderson Patricio — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 14:00:16 GMT

Hi folks,

System Center Team will present a 300 level webcast about DPM 2010 RC preview. If you are looking for a robust software to protect your entire environment, then this webcast is for you.

The DPM team will be demonstrating how to protect/restore of several products and Exchange Server 2010 is included on that list. :)

TechNet Webcast: Get Ready for Data Protection Manager (DPM) 2010 Release Candidate (Level 300)

Start Date: Thursday, January 14, 2010 9:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada)

Duration: 90 Minutes

Audience(s): IT Generalist

Link to register: http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?culture=en-US&EventID=1032437132

Cheers,
Anderson Patricio
http://msmvps.org/Blog/AndersonPatricio
http://www.andersonpatricio.org
Twitter: @apatricio

Technorati : DPM 2010, Release Candidate, webcast
Del.icio.us : DPM 2010, Release Candidate, webcast
Zooomr : DPM 2010, Release Candidate, webcast
Flickr : DPM 2010, Release Candidate, webcast

Exchange Server 2010 Management Pack (x86) Release Candidate

Anderson Patricio — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 21:54:00 GMT

The Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 management pack is designed for monitoring Exchange Server 2010 events, collecting Exchange component-specific performance counters in one central location, and for raising alerts for operator intervention as necessary. You will need System Center Operations Manager 2007 to run and monitor Exchange Server 2010 with this management pack.

Get it from here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=a0047276-553c-4054-afc9-ec3b4ececf3c#tm

Technorati : Exchange Server 2010, RC, SCOM
Del.icio.us : Exchange Server 2010, RC, SCOM
Zooomr : Exchange Server 2010, RC, SCOM
Flickr : Exchange Server 2010, RC, SCOM