RunAs Radio

Where did Azure SQL come from and where is it going? Richard chats with Bob Ward about his new book, Azure SQL Revealed. The conversation starts out at the beginning of SQL Server in the 90s, all the way to SQL 2005, when the first discussions of a database in the cloud happened at Microsoft. Bob talks about the early days of SQL Server for Windows Azure that eventually became Azure SQL. Today Azure SQL works from the simplest of SQL Server workloads to some of the biggest hundred terabyte hyperscale servers - have a read!Links:Pro SQL Server for LinuxSQL Server 2019 RevealedAzure SQL RevealedCosmos DBAzure PostgreSQLAzure SQL Elastic PoolsAzure SQL HyperscaleAzure Arc

The Pandemic has moved a lot of applications into the cloud. Are you automating the deployment? Richard chats with Steve Buchanan about the ever-advancing tooling for Infrastructure-as-Code. ARM Templates are the standard approach to IaC for Azure, but they can get complex. Terraform is HashiCorp's tool for IaC that utilizes ARM Templates under the hood. But as Steve says, it takes time for new features of Azure to surface in Terraform. And Microsoft is developing Bicep as a new domain-specific language for IaC over ARM as well. What do you choose?Links:Microsoft 365 Desired State Configuration with Nik CharleboisTerraformAnsibleChefPuppetAzure Resource ManagerAzure Cloud ShellAzure BicepPulumi

Artificial Intelligence is here to stay - how did this happen? Richard chats with Amy Boyd about where artificial intelligence came from, starting back in the 1950s - and how it was overpromised and under-delivered, resulting in an AI winter. And this cycle happened more than once! But along the way, some interesting technology developed that leads us to the modern era of AI, where cloud computing and huge data sources have created conditions for some really remarkable software - and a great story!Links:Shoe DogAzure Cognitive Services

The pandemic has accelerated the move to the cloud - but it's not the only reason to migrate. Richard talks to Sonia Cuff about the effects of the pandemic on business transformation. Sonia talks about the response to the pandemic, such as working-from-home and moving to the cloud, as an adaptation to the crisis: Not transformation. The transformation part comes later, as you dig deeper into the new world the pandemic has brought you to. Can you go beyond surviving, and actually thrive?Links:COVID-19 Did Not Lead Your Digital Transformation

You're moving virtual machines to the cloud - how do you keep them organized and maintained? Richard chats with Samuel Erskine about all the things Azure provides to make the life of a virtual machine better. The conversation starts on organization, using dynamic groups and tags to identify servers - not the machine names! Samuel digs into patch management and monitoring as well. Virtual machines are not going away; keeping them organized and maintained continues to be a crucial part of the job!Links:Sam's Books on AmazonSam's Blog Series on IaaS ManagementPhoenix ProjectAzure AnalyticsAzure Update Management

Is the deployment of IPv6 impacted by the pandemic? Richard talks to Ed Horley about how IPv6 deployment has continued through the crisis - and also how enterprises continue to lag behind home services when it comes to IPv6! Ed discusses the latest data around IPv6 usages showing that work-from-home has actually increased the amount of IPv6 traffic because the majority of consumer ISPs now provide IPv6 services. This leads to an interesting discussion on the instrumentation of IPv6 traffic for business. If you're not using IPv6 in your work network, you likely aren't watching what traffic moves across it!Links:National Suicide Prevention LifelineCrisis Services CanadaPractical IPv6 for Windows AdministratorsIPv6 Fundamentals 2nd EditionIPv6 BuzzIPv6 Deployment Stats

What does it take to get started with data science? Richard talks with Ayodele Odubela about her new book on learning data science. Ayodele talks about how often data science starts out just defining a good question to ask - and how that question evolves as you learn more. The example explored is getting new customers - which starts with understanding what customers you already have. Often we are unconsciously filtering potential customers, so knowing what bias you have in data is key - as is improving the quality of the data you collect! Visit Ayodele's web site (links below) and use the code RunAs to get a 50% discount on her book!Links:Getting Started in Data ScienceJulia Computing

Ever had a conversation take a twist you didn't expect? Richard talks to Lauren Malhoit about the state of networking during the pandemic. The conversation evolves into a broader view on IT in the pandemic, thinking longer term, and that the changes we're making today are not going to magically disappear with the virus. While it may not be the conversation planned, it is two experienced IT folks sharing their tales of coping in these challenging times!

Windows can protect itself from exploits – but you need to turn it on! Richard talks to Chris Jackson about his recently published document about exploit protection. Chris talks about the long list of mitigation strategies that exist inside of Windows to stop arbitrary code (read: malware) from executing. Each strategy comes with the risk of breaking your application. You need to apply the mitigations on an application-by-application basis, and with some testing around it. But if you want to make your Windows desktops more secure, these exploit protections are enormous!Links:Enable Exploit ProtectionMicrosoft Security BaselinesImage File Execution OptionsEnable Code IntegrityMicrosoft Defender Advanced Threat ProtectionAppCompat ShimsExploit Protection Reference

Enterprise Mobility is no longer optional! Richard talks to Richard Hicks about his work during the pandemic around remote connectivity. The early days of the pandemic were a scramble to get folks working from home, often needing to scale up VPN services. Now that a few months have gone by, other problems have appeared: Are the remote workstations getting patched? How do you know? What about self-service password changes with remote machines? Richard digs into the details of not being on the local network and how you can tune up your remote connectivity to bring back all the goodness!Links:Defender Advanced Threat ProtectionAlways On VPNNetMotionWindows AutopilotDirectAccessRichard's Blog on Forced Tunneling