RunAs Radio

While at TechDays in Toronto, Richard talks to Rodney Buike about virtualizing desktops. Rodney digs into how Citrix's XenDesktop can let you use Windows 7 applications on your iPad! The conversation also explores the use of application virtualization to minimize storage use and simplify software updates, as well as an approach to using desktop virtualization to keep older workstations up and running for longer. VDI is coming of age, and Rodney digs into how to get things done.

Richard talks to Rick Claus just before lunch on the second day of TechDays Toronto about diagnosing problems with DNS. Rick admits that much of his session was derived from Mark Minasi's session on DNS - but Rick adds his own twist. The conversation dives into the tools you can use to understand what's happening with DNS on your machine and the common problems that crop up with DNS. It's a tour back to the fundamentals of networking!

Richard flies solo at TechDays Toronto talking to Tom Moreau about some of the new T-SQL features in the next version of SQL Server, code named Denali. Tom waxed poetic about sequences and their advantages (and disadvantages) compared to identity columns. Other features Tom digs into include Lead and Lag and the new Throw feature that further extends the Try Catch capabilities in T-SQL.

While at TechDays Toronto, Richard talks to Jeff Woolsey about virtualization in the SMB space. Jeff walks through a scenario where a branch office with three servers in different roles sets up Hyper-V, uses P2V migration to virtualize the existing roles into the hardware and then repurposes the hardware to create failover and redundancy. The conversation continues into the role of Cloud and even a sneak peek of how Server 8 will make Hyper-V even more important to the equation!

Richard and Greg talk to Geoff Citron about the choices IT pros can make today around running applications on-premise, with a hosting provider or in the Cloud. Geoff discusses how small hosting providers are thriving in a Cloud world by providing great customer service and customizing services for their customers.

Richard flies solo to talk to Mike Laverick about VMWare. Mike starts out talking about the history of virtualization, from the early days of virtualization for testing into the later generation production virtualization. The conversation moves into the upcoming release of VMWare vSphere 5, including a discussion about the rather controversial new licensing model. Mike also talks about the relationship between virtualization and the Cloud, and the role of virtualization in disaster recovery.

Richard and Greg talk to Susan Bradley and Kevin Royalty about the latest edition of servers from Hewlett Packard specifically made for Small Business Server. Susan and Kevin talk about the ultra-small form factor of the HP ProLiant MicroServer, priced with Small Business Server Essentials for under a thousand dollars. You can see more about MicroServers and SBS at the SMB MVP Community Roadshow at http://mvptour2011.sbsmigration.com/.

Richard and Greg talk to Tim Barrett about Microsoft Windows MultiPoint Server. Originally for the academic market only, MultiPoint Server is now available for small businesses, allowing up to 20 users to share a single computer simultaneously via Remote Desktop. Tim talks about using MultiPoint to provide access to applications for iPads and other third party devices, as well as extending the life of older PCs. You can learn more about MultiPoint at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/multipoint/. Tim's blog is at http://www.nogeekleftbehind.com/ and he also mentioned a tour where you can see MultiPoint in action at http://mvptour2011.sbsmigration.com/.

Richard and Greg talk to the one-and-only Rhonda Layfield about the beta 1 of Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2012. MDT 2012 is a free tool for doing operating system, driver and software deployments. Rhonda talks about how MDT is becoming more closely integrated with System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM), to the point that you need to use MDT with SCCM to do zero touch deployment. The conversation digresses into a series of discussions around fundamentals of IT, talking a bit about networking, user profiles, disk performance and more - a good chat with a good friend about what matters in IT!

While at the Build conference in Anaheim, California, Richard sat down with Mark Minasi to get his first impressions of Windows Server 8. What happens next is almost an hour of high speed brain dumping, so hold on to your hats. For even more information about Windows Server 8, check out Mark's newsletter (which you should be subscribing to anyway).