RunAs Radio

Databases still need to be reliable, but what does that look like in 2017? Richard chats with Allan Hirt about how he makes databases reliable today. The conversation also turns to how reliability works with the Linux version of SQL Server - clustering is definitely different when you change operating systems! Alan also digs into what the cloud brings to the table - on-premises databases are never going away, and have certain advantages in some scenarios, but you better have a plan for how the cloud fits in, even if only for disaster recovery. The importance of data in an organization isn't going away any time soon!

Desired State Configuration continues to evolve, are you? Richard chats with Missy Januszko about her work (with Don Jones) on The DSC Book. DSC is short for Desired State Configuration, and a key part of PowerShell and the Windows Management Framework. Missy talks about how DSC is a key part of creating 'cattle' style infrastructure, where servers can be replaced on demand and changes are handled through code, not mouse-clicks. The conversation digs into the limits of the 'cattle-ness' of servers and what moves easily to the model and what doesn't. The DSC Book is a 'forever' book from LeanPub and is routinely updated!

Here come the acronyms! Richard chats with Cameron Fuller about Microsoft Operations Management Suite (OMS), the cloud-based instrumentation, diagnostics and automation tool from Microsoft that is all the rage - and not just for cloud related products! Cameron talks about being able to feed any kind of log data into OMS for analysis. The conversation then turns to the on-premises System Center Operations Manager and its role in providing deep analytics into specific Microsoft products, and able to push that data to OMS for a comprehensive view. All these products work together!

Still on the fence about moving services to the cloud? Richard chats with Tim Warner about the on-going evolution of the cloud and the increasing pressure that IT folks feel to incorporate it into the infrastructure strategy of an organization. The conversation starts out with budgeting when it is time to talk about buying new hardware and renewing co-lo space. How does the cloud fit in? Tim talks about what services move easily to the cloud but admits that hybrid is permanent. Is the cloud eliminating IT jobs? It sure doesn't seem like it!

So what is a reporting ecosystem? Richard chats with David Pless about the modern Microsoft reporting ecosystem, which can involve SQL Server Reporting Servers, Excel and the new Power BI tools. David talks about how you can work from the space you're most familiar with, and still be able to move data and reports between the different tools. But they aren't the same - different tools for different purposes. Power BI is the relative new comer and brings the power of the cloud to reporting, but the latest offerings are also available on-premises as well. Lots of reporting choices!

Turn off SMB1! Richard talks to Ned Pyle about the ongoing battle to retire SMB1, a 30-year-old file transfer protocol at the heart of recent malware attacks. While there are patches to eliminate the vulnerability, the best patch is removing the protocol entirely. Already on the schedule for deprecation, Ned talks about how ransomware like WannaCry has accelerated the process. Windows hasn't depended on SMB1 since 2006, the challenge other devices and software - some are current. Patch your systems, be safe and turn off SMB1!

Azure is growing, and Azure Stack is taking orders! Richard chats with Aidan Finn about his work with companies implementing Azure and looking at Azure Stack. Azure Stack is Azure, but it's your own private Azure - you run it where you want. What you don't choose is what hardware (just how much) and any of the configuration, since that is handled by Microsoft. You're always patched at the same level that public Azure is. Does Azure Stack make sense for you? Aidan digs into the various reasons why you might need your own private hybrid cloud!

Lots of news around NanoServer - what's it all mean? Richard chats with Jason Helmick about NanoServer - but first, a quick discussion around a comment from a listener on the ongoing evolution of PowerShell. This ties nicely into the broader topic of Microsoft getting opinionated about how NanoServer should be used, which is to say, designed for containers. Jason talks about containers being light-weight virtual machines with configuration-as-code at their core. Microsoft is picking containers as a key approach to delivering services, does it make sense for you to jump aboard?

Windows 10 has been out for two years now, are you ready to move? Richard chats with Steve Thomas about the latest tools Microsoft provides to help you migrate your clients over to Windows 10. Steve talks about the Windows Upgrade Readiness tools that are part of Operations Management Suite. Not using OMS? Don't worry, there's a free version available for Windows Readiness. OMS brings your readiness evaluation to the cloud, checking against all sorts of hardware configurations and the organization's software library. But as always, it's the homegrown apps that represent the biggest challenge - and there are an array of options for solving that!

Change is scary, how do you keep people from resisting? While at the DevOps Enterprise Summit in London, Richard sat down with fellow Kiwi Rob England to talk about his experiences bringing DevOps practices to very conservative organizations - like the New Zealand government! The conversation starts out with the idea that DevOps is not just for unicorns, that is, companies that are all about leading edge technologies. DevOps works for horses too, it just has to be approached the right way.