• Usernames: Don’t use admin, root, etc… these will not always error until much later - use your own name (but please remember it!).  Hopefully you have a best practise around this already.
• Passwords: must be complex, again don't use common ones as they wont work (later on)
• Storage Account: Has to be created in lowercase, you can create it but the templates WON'T work later
• Account used when logging on when running the installation becomes the Stack Admin account. Any other accounts in the Azure AD Tenant can log on and become a Tenant. Think carefully about the password!
• Use Boot from VHD (a.k.a native boot) where possible https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh825691.aspx, using the VHD supplied in the MAS download.
• Disable all non-connected NICs - it wont use them but could cause a problem!
  • In Powershell you can use: Get-NetAdapter | where {$_.Status -eq "Disconnected"} | Disable-NetAdapter
• Leave time on US time for the POC - its assumed, and we know it works

• Reduce business risk with new layers of security built into the operating system.
• Drive datacenter efficiency with software-defined compute, storage and networking.
• Drive innovation with Windows Server and Hyper-V containers, Nano Server, and more.

• Explore the “Ten Reasons You’ll Love Windows Server 2016” blog and video series
• Register for the Windows Server 2016 webinar on May 5.
• Visit our Windows Server 2016 web page
• Follow our new Windows Server channel on Channel 9
• Download the evaluation: Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview
• Find marketing materials for use with your customers on the Microsoft Partner Network.
  • Windows Server 2016 Datasheet
  • Windows Server 2016 e-book
  • New decks and infographics

• Increase efficiency with simplified workflows and easier to use consoles
• Unlock new Windows Server 2016 capabilities for the software-defined datacenter
• Find broader support for heterogeneous environments, including Linux, Hyper-V, and VMware
• Access new capabilities for analytics, reporting, and orchestration in the cloud using native integration with Operations Management Suite

• Announcement blog
• See it in action: Microsoft Mechanics System Center 2016

• Visit our System Center 2016 web page
• Download the evaluation: System Center 2016 Technical Preview

Remote Desktop Manager

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=21101

Windows Server Catalogue

https://www.windowsservercatalog.com/

Microsoft Virtual Academy

https://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/

Has it really been two years since my last post?  Anybody left who hasn't removed me from their feed?

Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows® 7 with SP1 enables IT administrators to manage roles and features that are installed on computers that are running Windows Server® 2008 R2, Windows Server® 2008, or Windows Server® 2003, from a remote computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows 7 with SP1.

https://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=7d2f6ad7-656b-4313-a005-4e344e43997d

https://blogs.technet.com/b/josebda/archive/2011/04/04/microsoft-iscsi-software-target-3-3-for-windows-server-2008-r2-available-for-public-download.aspx

Ever wondered what Microsoft supports when you run a guest OS in a cluster on VMware, Elden makes it all clear over on the clustering blog

https://blogs.msdn.com/b/clustering/archive/2010/07/27/10042799.aspx

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/solutionaccelerators/dd537566.aspx

The new Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit 5.0 is now available for download!  MAP 5.0 is an agentless tool designed to simplify and streamline the IT infrastructure planning process across multiple scenarios through network-wide automated discovery and assessments. This Solution Accelerator performs an inventory of heterogeneous server environments and provides you with usage information for servers in the Core CAL Suite and SQL Server, SQL Server 2008 discovery and assessment for consolidation, Windows 2000 Server migration assessment, and a readiness assessment for the most widely used Microsoft technologies—now including Office 2010.

Is your organization spending valuable resources planning its IT infrastructure? Download the MAP Toolkit 5.0, and let this tool do the heavy lifting for a wide variety of your IT planning projects.

Next steps:

·         Download the MAP 5.0 Toolkit.

·         Help us spread the word—share the download link with your friends.

·         Send your comments to the MAP team.

·         Visit the MAP Team blog for more news on the MAP Toolkit and other IT planning Solution Accelerators from Microsoft.

MAP Toolkit 5.0 Key Features and Benefits

What's new with MAP Toolkit 5.0?

ü  Heterogeneous server environment inventory

ü  Software usage tracking for Windows Server, SharePoint Server, System Center Configuration Manager, Exchange Server, and SQL Server

ü  Microsoft Office 2010 readiness assessment

ü  SQL Server discovery and assessment for consolidation

ü  Windows 2000 Server migration assessment

The MAP Toolkit 5.0 includes the following new features:

Heterogeneous Server Environment Inventory: Know what’s in your IT environment. The Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit performs a network inventory of IT assets remotely without the use of agents, identifying heterogeneous server environments consisting of Windows Server and Linux operating systems, including those running in a virtual environment. MAP 5.0 also automates the discovery of Linux-powered LAMP stacks.

Software Usage Tracker: Right-size your IT environment with MAP Toolkit 5.0, and simplify your software license management and compliance processes. MAP 5.0’s new usage tracking feature provides consistent software usage reports for key Microsoft server products: Windows Server, SharePoint Server, System Center Configuration Manager, Exchange Server, and SQL Server. Run updated reports whenever you need to accurately assess current software usage and client access history in your environment. This reduces time and administrative costs for managing your server and client access licenses (CALs) and helps you to streamline the management of your software assets.

Microsoft Office 2010 Readiness Assessment: Streamline your migration to Office 2010 with MAP 5.0’s hardware compatibility proposal document. The MAP Toolkit provides readiness details and specifics of your IT infrastructure inventory, including hardware and OS requirements and upgrade recommendations for planning a seamless deployment of Office 2010. The actionable recommendations and assessments presented shorten the time it takes to plan your Office 2010 migration and prepares your IT environment for Office 2010 deployment and migration scenarios.

Database Discovery for SQL Server Consolidation: MAP 5.0’s new database discovery feature gives you the information you need to optimize your database resources and investments. MAP helps you simplify database administration and provides wide-ranging details of databases and server instances—information you can utilize for consolidation. Use the MAP Toolkit’s proposals to better utilize hardware and database resources, reduce administrative costs, and streamline your software licensing needs—all essential for cost-effective IT planning and operations.

Windows 2000 Server Migration Assessment: As support for Windows 2000 Server ends soon, MAP 5.0’s Migration Assessment feature helps you prepare for migration to Windows Server 2008 R2 by assessing the Windows 2000 Server environment and legacy workloads in the form of proposals and reports. The MAP Toolkit’s actionable recommendations help you to understand the potential business impact of maintaining legacy workloads and the benefits of migrating to the robust Windows Server 2008 R2 environment. With migration to Windows Server 2008 R2, you’ll be able to utilize the increased IT flexibility and efficiency from such technologies as Hyper-V and Remote Desktop Services, as well as tap into power-savings features to decrease TCO.

…if you do then the beta of SP1 can be downloaded from here: https://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/sp1.aspx as announced at the Partner conference in Washington DC, see the Windows Server blog for more details.

Highlights of the two key features:

Dynamic memory lets Hyper-V administrators pool available memory on a physical host and dynamically distribute it to any virtual machine(s) running on that host. So as the workloads on that physical workload change, requiring more or less memory, Dynamic Memory will let administrators change the memory allocation to their VMs without service interruption. For a deeper look at Dynamic Memory check here.

RemoteFX enhances Microsoft desktop virtualization. RemoteFX lets Windows Server 2008 R2 administrators provide an even richer and user-transparent desktop virtualization experience. RemoteFX delivers rich content, independent of any graphics stack, to server-hosted virtual and session-based desktops, allowing them to support any screen content, including full-motion video, portable graphics stacks such as Silverlight, and 3D applications. Because it can use virtualized graphics on the server and advanced codecs , RemoteFX can deliver those experiences to a much wider array of target devices, including standard desktops and laptops but also an emerging slew of thin clients. You'll also be able to forward the USB ports of the local client to the virtual machine being accessed on the device - just like you can forward the local printer over RDP today.

There have been a few names over the last few months for this technology, the final name is now Center Virtual Machine Manager Self-Service Portal 2.0

Links and more details can be found on the Virtualization portal https://www.microsoft.com/virtualization/en/us/private-cloud.aspx

Today customers can begin their journey to the private cloud by deploying the Microsoft products and technologies they know and trust. The flexible and familiar platform and tools you use today will become the foundation for your private cloud. Going forward, Microsoft will deliver richer private cloud capabilities for your use in subsequent releases of Windows Server and System Center.