George Cerbone's blog https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/gcerbone/feed.xml Thoughts on infrastructure architecture Wed, 17 Apr 2019 03:20:34 GMT en-US hourly 1 How long is a piece of string? https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/gcerbone/how-long-is-a-piece-of-string Fri, 21 Sep 2007 08:33:00 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/gcerbone/2007/09/21/how-long-is-a-piece-of-string/ A raging email thread on one of our internal aliases led me to an old blog entry about self-locking kangaroos.

We have the same kind of thing in architecture.  I am often asked "What is the best way to..." or its logical corollary "Take a look at this architecture and make sure there is nothing wrong with it."  These kinds of questions are what I used to call "How long is a piece of string" questions.  Without extra context, it is really tough to answer them.  It's like asking "Which is a better car for me... a mini-van, or a roadster?"

In architecture, we call this additional context functional and non-functional requirements.  Tools like PBA can make it easier to identify thse requirements.  As architects, we look at the context and try to make smart trade offs.  But there is rarely a "best" answer to most of these problems.

]]> Web 2.0 thoughts from the boss https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/gcerbone/web-2-0-thoughts-from-the-boss Fri, 14 Sep 2007 14:13:04 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/gcerbone/2007/09/14/web-2-0-thoughts-from-the-boss/ Dan has written a great post on Web 2.0 and why young(er) folks seem to "get" it more easily.

I've learned two things:

1) I am old.  Thanks, Dan.  :)

2) I've often said that technology is much more a reflection of sociology then anything else.  That's why so many problems in the enterprise are so hard, and so many "tech" projects fail.  To paraphrase Jim Collins..."First figure out what you want people to do, then figure out how to make them do it."

]]> Enterprise Authorization https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/gcerbone/enterprise-authorization Thu, 13 Sep 2007 11:31:17 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/gcerbone/2007/09/13/enterprise-authorization/ Curt Devlin has written a great article on enterprise authorization.  This is a really thorny problem that is going to get worse as enterprises become more and more virtual.]]> Sun to sell Windows https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/gcerbone/sun-to-sell-windows Thu, 13 Sep 2007 10:39:00 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/gcerbone/2007/09/13/sun-to-sell-windows/ I never thought that I would see the day that Microsoft and Sun would have become so close, but Sun is going to sell servers pre-installed with Windows.

It's good to see...I've always thought Sun was a great company.

]]> Will Microsoft Become Facebook for the Enterprise? https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/gcerbone/will-microsoft-become-facebook-for-the-enterprise Thu, 13 Sep 2007 09:40:00 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/gcerbone/2007/09/13/will-microsoft-become-facebook-for-the-enterprise/ Great article from CIO on some really innovative social networking work that Wachovia is doing.

]]> Death of the Datacenter https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/gcerbone/death-of-the-datacenter Mon, 10 Sep 2007 17:08:00 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/gcerbone/2007/09/10/death-of-the-datacenter/ I've believed for a long time that the "Datacenter" as it exists today is a doomed entity, which needs to become a logical construct rather than a physical construct. Apparently, Forrester agrees. I agree with the first part of the conclusion, that pervasive networking will be a key driver going forward. I'm not so convinced that it immediately leads to desktop virtualization.

]]> First MCA board https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/gcerbone/first-mca-board Thu, 23 Aug 2007 12:21:00 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/gcerbone/2007/08/23/first-mca-board/ I recently got the opportunity to serve on my first MCA board in Atlanta, GA.  Congratulations to all of the candidates that achieved the certification.

One thing that stood out for me....we need to find a way to better prepare candidates.  We had several folks who were very close to the bar, and I think that with a little more prep, they would have been able to achieve the cert.

To that end, I am working with some other MCAs to put together a set of resources for prospective candidates.  Look for some more info here soon.  And if anyone who is pursuing the certification has ideas on what they would like to see, let me know that, too.

 Edit: Corrected spelling.  Thanks, Mom!

]]> Green Datacenter Initiative https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/gcerbone/green-datacenter-initiative Thu, 23 Aug 2007 12:18:00 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/gcerbone/2007/08/23/green-datacenter-initiative/ One thing that has been on my mind lately...how can folks reduce the amount of power that they are consuming in the datacenter.  Very few architects look at power efficiency as a first-class system quality.

In my mind, this is something that is going to take a while to solve.  It is roughly analogous to security as a system quality.  Infrastructure architects can build firewalls, set up traffic monitors, but at the application layer architects have to consider security important and architect their solutions with that quality in mind.  It's the precise same problem with power.  We will see initial stabs from the infrastructure side of the house, but it will be a while before apps are power aware.

I think that green is the next big thing in the datacenter, and not just because of environmental concerns.  Power is expensive and getting more so.  Power cost quickly dwarfs acquisition cost.  Architects need to consider these things when they design systems.

]]> MSDN Financial Services Industry Center https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/gcerbone/msdn-financial-services-industry-center Mon, 18 Dec 2006 13:47:00 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/gcerbone/2006/12/18/msdn-financial-services-industry-center/ Check out the MSDN Financial Services Industry Center, run by Mike Walker.  Excellent content!

http://msdn.microsoft.com/FinServArch

]]> Windows PowerShell... https://docs.microsoft.com/archive/blogs/gcerbone/windows-powershell Wed, 15 Nov 2006 12:41:37 GMT https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/gcerbone/2006/11/15/windows-powershell/ ...has relased to the web!

Download is available here:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/technologies/management/powershell/download.mspx

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