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Articles by Timothy L. Warner
Visualizing your server rack with Microsoft Visio 2010
As a Windows systems administrator, you may be required to document the contents of your server racks. The reasons for this documentation are myriad and manifold: Compliance with industry/governmental regulations Compliance with organizational IT policy Theft protection/insurance reimbursement Accountability to stakeholders General industry best practice Microsoft Visio 2010 is a part of the Microsoft Office System suite that is optimized for the visualization of all business processes.
Interacting with the Registry in PowerShell
As Windows system administrators, we come to know the Windows Registry quite intimately. If you’re like me, pressing the Windows key+R, typing regedit, and pressing ENTER is a second-nature way to open the good ol’ Registry Editor. The good news is that Windows PowerShell has had a built-in Registry provider since day one. The bad news is that accessing Registry data programmatically with PowerShell isn’t particularly intuitive.
Install Ansible on Windows
    devops, ansible  Ansible is an open-source configuration management platform from Red Hat. So isn't Ansible a Linux-only solution? While it is indeed primarily for Linux configuration management, you can, in fact, install Ansible on Windows. Ansible is a Python application that was created as a low-overhead, sensible configuration management solution. You can use Ansible to prevent configuration drift and enforce compliance in both local and cloud environments.
How to keep Windows Admin Center up to date
Learn various methods to stay current with Windows Admin Center, the future of Windows Server management. Microsoft’s Windows Admin Center (WAC) is a locally installed, browser-based server management tool that will likely replace both the Server Manager Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) tool and the age-old Microsoft Management Console (MMC) framework. As you can see in the next figure, Windows Admin Center looks good and is informative.
Use Azure Bastion as a jump host for RDP and SSH
    azure, cloud computing, remote desktop services  Azure Bastion is a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) jump host that you can use to connect securely to your Windows Server and Linux virtual machines (VMs) via RDP and SSH.
Azure Virtual Desktop: Getting started
    azure, cloud computing  Azure Virtual Desktop (formerly Windows Virtual Desktop) is a cloud-based virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), terminal services, and remote app solution from Microsoft. After reading this article, you'll understand what Azure Virtual Desktop is, what business value it can bring to your organization, and how you can quickly set up a test environment to explore the product's capabilities.
Understanding Azure service accounts
    azure, cloud computing, security  The purpose of Azure service accounts is to grant permissions to resources in Azure. There are three types of Azure accounts: service principals, managed identities, and user accounts employed as service accounts. A service account in Windows Server is a noninteractive user account that runs a specific service or service component.
Azure PowerShell vs. Azure CLI
    azure, cloud computing, powershell  In your work in Microsoft Azure, should you focus your energies on Azure PowerShell, Azure CLI, or both? This lesson presents a comprehensive comparison of the two primary scripting languages in the Azure cloud. Let me cut to the chase: although neither Azure PowerShell nor the Azure CLI provides 100 percent coverage of all Azure services, they are reasonably in parity with Azure and with each other.
Use Azure Storage for backup
    azure, backup, cloud computing  Because of its relatively low cost and flexibility, Azure Storage is a great target for cloud-based backup. Learn the most efficient ways to perform blob and file data backup in Azure. Azure Storage is a cloud-based, scalable, and durable data storage system provided by Microsoft. It offers four different data storage options: Blobs: Store unstructured data like documents, images, audio, and video.
How to bring back the sharing hand folder icon to Windows Server
Some Windows administrators (myself certainly included) resent Microsoft for removing the 'sharing hand' icon overlay in Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2012. Today I show you two workarounds that you can leverage to more easily identify your file servers' shared folders. Starting in Windows Server 2008 and continuing into Windows Server 2012, Microsoft in their infinite wisdom removed the "sharing hand" icon overlay from shared folders.
Azure Data Studio vs. SQL Server Management (SSMS)
If your Windows systems administration work touches SQL Server products, you need to know when Azure Data Studio is the right fit over the time-tested and venerable SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS). Azure Data Studio and SQL Server Management Studio are tools used for managing and querying Microsoft relational databases, but they have some key differences you should know about. First, let's level the playing field by briefly describing each application.
PowerToys for Windows 10 and Windows 11
If you haven't yet begun using the PowerToys tools for Windows 10 and 11 to accelerate your workflows as a Windows system administrator, you should. Let Tim show you how and why. In my experience, most Windows system administrators tweak their workstation environments for maximum comfort and efficiency. Depending on how long you've worked with Windows, you might remember the old PowerToys. These free utilities, aimed at power users, make some mundane operating system actions easier to accomplish.
Azure Recovery Services vault: Ironing out the confusion
    storage, azure, cloud computing, backup  Microsoft Azure offers a variety of backup and disaster recovery solutions. Let Tim iron out some common confusions about these entities and services: Azure Recovery Services vault, Azure Site Recovery, Azure Backup, and Azure Backup vault. In addition, you will learn important concepts for working with the Azure Recovery Services vault: Azure region dependency, content portability, and deletion workflow.
Check Azure VM status with PowerShell
The Get-AzureRmVM PowerShell cmdlet leaves a bit to be desired. Learn how to obtain the detailed status of your Windows Server and Linux virtual machines (VMs) in Azure by using Azure PowerShell and some administrative scripting skills. In today's tutorial, I assume you have already installed and configured Azure PowerShell on your administrative workstation. Our goal is simple: we need "at-a-glance" details concerning the running state of all VMs in our current Azure context.
Regex in VSCode
Learn how Visual Studio Code (VSCode) implements regular expressions (regex) to help you perform your complex pattern-matching duties more effectively. In addition, I will introduce a few useful regex extensions to VSCode. In this post, I assume you're already familiar with regular expression (regex) syntax, and you want to know more about how regex is implemented in VSCode. It turns out that this is quite an interesting story, with lots of conflicting information online.
Migrate a SQL Server Database to Azure SQL Database
    azure, cloud computing, database  Learn how to assess and migrate your on-prem SQL Server databases to Azure SQL Database by using Microsoft's Data Migration Assistant and Azure Migrate products. Your business plans to rehost its primary internal ASP.NET line of business (LOB) web application to Microsoft Azure. Currently, the data backend comprises a SQL Server database. Your task is to assess this database's readiness for Azure SQL Database and then actually perform the migration.
GitHub Copilot for the Windows systems administrator
Learn how the AI-powered GitHub Copilot pair programming engine can accelerate your Windows administration work by providing intelligent suggestions while you type. Why would you, a Windows systems administrator, want to use an artificial intelligence (AI)-based pair programming engine like GitHub Copilot? Well, let me answer that question by asking another question: How many of the following languages and command-line interfaces (CLIs) do you use in your daily work?
Work in Microsoft Azure with Visual Studio Code (VS Code)
    azure, cloud computing, devops  Learn the many ways you can make your Microsoft Azure work easier by integrating with Visual Studio Code (VS Code), Microsoft's free, open-source, cross-platform code editor. I hope by now you've moved from the Windows PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (PowerShell ISE) to Visual Studio Code for your administrative automation. Accordingly, your business might rely on the Microsoft Azure cloud a lot more than it has in years past.
Local elections 2022 preview: Hammersmith & Fulham
Hammersmith & Fulham residents will head to the polls on Thursday 5 May between 7am and 10pm as part of the nationwide local elections. So if you are living in this constituency here’s everything you need to know about who’s running, what to expect and how to vote. Hammersmith & Fulham is currently divided into 16 wards with a total of 46 councillors. However in the upcoming election this has been adapted due to boundary changes. There are now 21 wards with a total of 50 councillors to be voted in.
PowerShell Script Analyzer - A free static code analysis tool
Microsoft’s PowerShell Script Analyzer (PSScriptAnalyzer) module allows you to perform static code analysis on PowerShell scripts. Author Recent Posts Timothy Warner is a Microsoft Cloud and Datacenter Management Most Valuable Professional (MVP) who is based in Nashville, TN. Check out his Azure and Windows Server video training at Pluralsight, and feel free to reach out to Tim via Twitter. Static code analysis refers to reviewing and refactoring code without actually running it.
What is the System Reserved Partition?
In recent versions of Windows, a special hidden partition exists, the so called System Reserved Partition, to support BitLocker full-drive encryption, the boot configuration database, and the Windows Recovery Environment (RE). How can we view this partition? How does the partition contents actually work? In this blog post we answer both of those questions. Author Recent Posts Timothy Warner is a Microsoft Cloud and Datacenter Management Most Valuable Professional (MVP) who is based in Nashville, TN.
Using multiple module versions in PowerShell 5
Prior to Microsoft's release of the Windows Management Framework (WMF) version 5, we had no formal PowerShell support for multiple versions of the same PowerShell module. Author Recent Posts Timothy Warner is a Microsoft Cloud and Datacenter Management Most Valuable Professional (MVP) who is based in Nashville, TN. Check out his Azure and Windows Server video training at Pluralsight, and feel free to reach out to Tim via Twitter.
Install PowerShell remoting over SSH
PowerShell 7.x supports SSH for cross-platform remoting. Learn how to configure and test PowerShell remoting between Windows, Linux, and macOS systems. Author Recent Posts Timothy Warner is a Microsoft Cloud and Datacenter Management Most Valuable Professional (MVP) who is based in Nashville, TN. Check out his Azure and Windows Server video training at Pluralsight, and feel free to reach out to Tim via Twitter.
Azure health services: Track Microsoft cloud outages and maintenance
Get familiar with Azure Status dashboard, Azure Service Health, Service Health Alerts, Azure Resource Health, and Azure Resource Graph to ensure you're never surprised by a planned or unplanned outage that could affect your Microsoft Azure deployments. Author Recent Posts Timothy Warner is a Microsoft Cloud and Datacenter Management Most Valuable Professional (MVP) who is based in Nashville, TN.
Interact with Azure Cosmos DB with PowerShell
Learn how to perform core administrative tasks on the Azure Cosmos DB using Azure PowerShell. Author Recent Posts Timothy Warner is a Microsoft Cloud and Datacenter Management Most Valuable Professional (MVP) who is based in Nashville, TN. Check out his Azure and Windows Server video training at Pluralsight, and feel free to reach out to Tim via Twitter.
Powerline: Customize your PowerShell console
Learn how to customize your PowerShell console to display meaningful metadata in your Windows command shell with Powerline. Author Recent Posts Timothy Warner is a Microsoft Cloud and Datacenter Management Most Valuable Professional (MVP) who is based in Nashville, TN. Check out his Azure and Windows Server video training at Pluralsight, and feel free to reach out to Tim via Twitter.
What's the difference? Azure AD registration vs. Azure AD join
In Microsoft Azure-based endpoint management, when would you choose Azure AD registration versus Azure AD join? Read on and find out! Author Recent Posts Timothy Warner is a Microsoft Cloud and Datacenter Management Most Valuable Professional (MVP) who is based in Nashville, TN. Check out his Azure and Windows Server video training at Pluralsight, and feel free to reach out to Tim via Twitter.
PowerShell v5 vs. PowerShell v7-Which to use and when
Windows systems administrators who are newer to PowerShell may feel confused as to which PowerShell version to use and when. Let's differentiate Windows PowerShell v5.1 from PowerShell v7 and iron out any potential difficulties.
Understand the UPN and sAMAccountName User Account Attributes
The user principal name (UPN) and SAM account name user naming attributes in Active Directory are often confused by administrators. After all, aren't we past Windows NT domains and single-label names? Let's sort out the mystery right away. When I entered the information technology (IT) industry in 1998, I worked with Windows NT 4.0 domains and domain-joined Windows NT 4.0 Workstation client systems. Microsoft created the Security Account Manager (SAM) database to store user account information.
With proper preparation, anyone can pass a certification exam
This feature first appeared in the Winter 2019 issue of Certification Magazine. Click here to get your own print or digital copy. In the 20-plus years since I entered the information technology (IT) industry, I have taken and passed more than 200 IT certification exams. Over the same period, I have helped tens of thousands of students to become certified. I say this not to brag, but to qualify my experience and state with authority that my certification preparation strategy works.
Building up your ability to communicate effectively is vital to career success
This feature first appeared in the Winter 2020 issue of Certification Magazine. Click here to get your own print or digital copy. Yeah, I guess I’m old. I’ve worked in the information technology (IT) industry since 1997, which means I’ve been at it for more than 20 years. It seems like only yesterday that I was a wet-behind-the-ears newbie with idealistic visions of how IT worked in the real world. Not everything I’ve learned in going on three decades is directly related to technology.
Exam Ref AZ-300 Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies
Home > Topics > Certification & Training > Server Certifications 9780135802540 Book List price: $44.99 Add to cart We're temporarily out of stock, but order now and we'll send it to you later. Free shipping This eBook includes the following formats, accessible from your Account page after purchase: EPUB The open industry format known for its reflowable content and usability on supported mobile devices. MOBI The eBook format compatible with the Amazon Kindle and Amazon Kindle applications.
Certification is a great gateway to a Linux-focused and Linux-fueled career
This feature first appeared in the Fall 2019 issue of Certification Magazine. Click here to get your own print or digital copy. In my experience as a systems administrator, I often run into colleagues who tend to either a) advocate strongly for Linux and opensource software, or b) rail stridently against it. I’m sure some of these operating system biases (Windows vs. Linux vs. macOS, for instance) are rooted in what’s most familiar and comfortable for the administrator.
Join a Debian Linux server to an Active Directory domain
    active directory, deployment, linux  Learn how to bind a Debian Linux-based server to an Active Directory (AD) domain without purchasing third-party software. Let's imagine that you manage a fleet of Debian Linux servers in your Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) environment. Your goal is to join the Linux systems to the domain to make possible truly centralized user, group, device, and resource management.
Use Windows Admin Center with PowerShell
Learn various ways to interact with Windows Admin Center by using PowerShell. Are you using Windows Admin Center (WAC) yet? If not, why not? This free Microsoft web-based utility represents the next generation of on-premises and cloud server management! Here, look: The more recent WAC builds offer much more robust PowerShell support. And some PowerShell community members, chief among them Microsoft MVP Ravi Chaganti, develop useful PowerShell extensions to WAC's core functionality.
The new Azure PowerShell Az module
Consider switching your Microsoft Azure PowerShell development work to use the new cross-platform Az module. Let's learn how to do this efficiently. Azure PowerShell has undergone quite a bit of change over the last handful of years. With the old Azure Service Management (ASM) application programming interfaces (APIs), we had a single, monolithic module named (appropriately enough) Azure.
Configure Active Directory for high accuracy time synchronization
Make sure you understand the basics of time synchronization in Active Directory, and learn how to meet the need for greater time accuracy throughout your domain The Kerberos v5 protocol uses timestamps as part of its fundamental definition. The reason for this is to prevent "replay" attacks on your network.
Sudo for Windows
With the help of Run as and Sudo for Windows, you can run applications that require elevation and administrator rights. Learn about the differences between these solutions to elevate apps. In general, do you operate your Windows client computers by using a standard user account or an administrative account? Least-privilege security states that you should operate your computers using a standard user account.
Make Visual Studio Code look and behave like PowerShell ISE
Microsoft is no longer actively developing the PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE). In this tutorial, you'll quickly get up to speed with using Visual Studio Code in many of the same ways you used the ISE. You may have heard the news that Microsoft is no longer actively developing the PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE).
Regex and PowerShell
PowerShell implements the .NET Framework's regular expression (regex) engine and allows you to perform tightly focused string data searches. There's an old information technology (IT) joke that runs something like this: "I had a technology problem, and I decided to use regular expressions to solve it. Now I have two problems." Regular expressions represent an enormously powerful method for searching string data.
Configure SSH-based PowerShell Core remoting between Windows and Linux
    mac, powershell, powershell core  In this tutorial we set up cross-platform SSH-based remoting with PowerShell Core 6.0 and test it on Windows Server and Linux servers.
Move an Azure VM to another virtual network (Vnet)
Moving a Windows Server or Linux virtual machine (VM) in Azure between virtual networks isn't as easy as you might think at first glance. In Microsoft Azure, the virtual network (Vnet) is the fundamental communications boundary in an Azure subscription. Migrate an Azure VM to another subnet Within a virtual network, it is trivially easy to move a Windows Server or Linux VM between subnets.
Veeam Backup & Replication for VMware and Hyper‑V 9.5: New features
Veeam updated their industry-leading data backup and replication software for Microsoft Hyper-V and VMware vSphere. Learn what's new and what's improved in Veeam Backup & Replication version 9.5. Latest posts by Timothy Warner (see all) It seems like I reviewed Veeam Backup & Replication v9 only yesterday, but it's actually been more than a year (January 2016, specifically) as of this writing.
Training Know-How
Consider going to the head of the class as a Microsoft Certified Trainer. This briefing tells you how. The Microsoft Certified Trainer, or MCT, is the drill instructor of Microsoft’s Training and Certification division. These are the people whose job it is to train the rest of us on Microsoft’s new technologies and products and turn us into networking mavens.
PowerShell remoting between Windows and Linux
With the advent of PowerShell v6.0, the PowerShell engine is now available on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Learn the status of Windows–Linux PowerShell remoting. Author Recent Posts Timothy Warner is a Microsoft Cloud and Datacenter Management Most Valuable Professional (MVP) who is based in Nashville, TN. Check out his Azure and Windows Server video training at Pluralsight, and feel free to reach out to Tim via Twitter. set winrm/config/ServiceDid you get the memo that Microsoft Loves Linux?
Exam Ref 70-744 Securing Windows Server 2016
This eBook includes the following formats, accessible from your Account page after purchase: EPUB The open industry format known for its reflowable content and usability on supported mobile devices. MOBI The eBook format compatible with the Amazon Kindle and Amazon Kindle applications. PDF The popular standard, which reproduces the look and layout of the printed page. This eBook requires no passwords or activation to read.
Visual Studio Code (VSCode) as PowerShell script editor
I am ready to use Microsoft’s free editor Visual Studio Code (VSCode) for my PowerShell projects. What is your favorite editor? Which tool do you use to write, edit, and debug your Windows PowerShell scripts? It could be any of the following, or even another program: Originally, I wasn’t too impressed with Microsoft’s Visual Studio Code—a free, open-source, cross-platform editor—when I used the initial versions.
Sign your PowerShell scripts to increase security
By the conclusion of this article, you’ll understand how to obtain a code-signing certificate and apply it to your PowerShell scripts. Let’s get started! As you probably know, PowerShell has some built-in safety features regarding script execution. First, by default, the .ps1 file type associates with Notepad. This prevents a user from inadvertently executing a PowerShell script by double clicking, say, an e-mail file attachment.
Windows PowerShell: When to Choose Workflow Versus Script Functions
Windows PowerShell gives systems administrators so many options for solving our network management problems, it can sometimes be challenging to decide which method is most effective. Take workflows, for instance. In my experience, not many Windows sysadmins have a realistic understanding of how the PowerShell workflow, well, works. A workflow in general terms is a predefined business process. The process, whatever it is, consists of a series of steps (activities) that accomplish a given result.
Efficient Windows PowerShell Administration with WMI and CIM
Let's imagine that you and I started a business manufacturing and selling network interface cards (NICs). Industry standards would be pretty important to us, right? How could we make it easier for our Ethernet NICs to work natively with systems based on, say, Windows, Linux, and OS X? What about compatibility with different network architectures, protocols, and client/server applications?
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