My Thoughts On IT…

SkyDrive is a file hosting service that enables users to upload and sync files to a cloud storage and then access them from a Web browser or their local device. It is part of the Windows Live online services and allows users to keep the files private, share them with contacts, or make the files public. Publicly shared files do not require a Microsoft account to access.

SkyDrive offers 7 GB of free storage for new users. Additional storage is available for purchase. Users who signed up to SkyDrive prior to April 22, 2012 could opt-in for a limited time offer of 25 GB of free storage upgrade. The service is built using HTML5 technologies and works with any of the new browsers. Files up to 300 MB can be uploaded via drag and drop into the web browser, or up to 2 GB via the SkyDrive desktop application for Windows and Mac.

Free your files! SkyDrive is the place to store your files so you can access them from virtually any device. With SkyDrive for iOS, you can now easily access, manage, and share files on the go. You can also upload photos or videos from your iPhone to SkyDrive.

Features

• Open Office files for reading on your iOS device
• Access all of your SkyDrive content including files shared with you.
• View recently used documents.
• Choose multiple photos or videos to upload from your phone.
• Share your files and photos—send a link in email or get a link you can copy and paste.
• Manage your files—move, delete, rename, or create new folders.
• Open your SkyDrive files in other iOS apps.

Recently Microsoft released a new version of the iOS client for SkyDrive. This new client is a great tool if you use the SkyDrive service.

What’s New in Version 3.0 of the iOS SkyDrive client?

• Updated to support iPhone 5 and iPad Mini

• Download full resolution photos to your iPhone or iPad

• Improved support for opening SkyDrive files in other iOS apps

• Improved support for uploading files to SkyDrive from other iOS apps

• Updated app icons and visuals

• Other bug fixes

Download today from the Apple app store:
https://itunes.apple.com/app/id477537958

Download apps for your other OSs (Windows, Mac, Android, Windows Phone, and iOS)
https://apps.live.com/skydrive?biciid=lhnlink

Build your very own Virtual Network in the Cloud for FREE with the Windows Azure cloud platform, and Enter for a chance to win one of the following fantastic prizes:

• One Grand Prize: Ticket to Tech Ed 2013 North America in New Orleans, LA ( $2,195 retail value ) PLUS a $500 VISA Gift Card.
• Two First Prizes: One of two Microsoft Surface Pro devices ( $899 Retail Value ) 
• Twenty-Five Second Prizes: One of twenty-five Microsoft Certification Exam Vouchers ( $150 Retail Value )

You could win a ticket to Microsoft TechEd 2013, a Microsoft Surface Pro or Certification Exam Voucher!

But Wait! There’s More!

In addition to a chance to win one of the prizes above, EVERY ENTRANT will receive up to 750 compute hours and up to 35GB cloud storage to use as you’d like each month for 90-Days as part of the Windows Azure free trial program.

How To Enter the “Cloud Challenge”

You can enter the Microsoft TechEd “Cloud Challenge” Sweepstakes by completing all of the THREE EASY TASKS below to activate a Windows Azure FREE 90-Day Trial Account ( no subscription obligation or fees required ) and build your Virtual Network in the Cloud.  Be sure to complete the last task to submit your proof-of-completion for entry into this sweepstakes.

• Entries must be received between April 1, 2013 and April 30, 2013 to be eligible. One entry per individual.
• This contest is open to all IT Professionals Age 18 and over that are legal residents of the United States.
• Estimated Completion Time: 15-20 minutes

TASK 1 – Activate a FREE Windows Azure 90-Day Trial

Activate a FREE Windows Azure 90-Day Trial Account to receive up to 750 compute hours and up to 35GB cloud storage to use as you’d like each month for 90-days.  After the free 90-day period ends, there is absolutely no obligation required for a paid subscription.

DO IT: Activate a FREE Windows Azure 90-Day Trial
NOTE: When activating your FREE Trial for Windows Azure, you will be prompted for credit card information.  This information is used only to validate your identity and your credit card will not be charged, unless you explicitly convert your FREE Trial account to a paid subscription at a later point in time.

TASK 2 – Build your Virtual Network in the Cloud

Virtual Networks on the Windows Azure Cloud Platform allow you to define a predictable set of virtualized IP subnets upon which you can place one or more Virtual Machines running Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Linux.  You can even securely connect a Windows Azure Virtual Network to your on-premise environment via a Site-to-Site IPsec VPN tunnel to leverage Windows Azure as a remote datacenter for disaster recovery, online backup, pilots, migrating applications … and MORE!

Complete the steps in this task to sign-in to the Windows Azure Management portal and quickly provision a new Virtual Network in the cloud.

1. Sign-in to the Windows Azure Management Portal with the Microsoft account credentials used in the prior task to activate your free 90-day trial.
2. On the bottom toolbar, click the +New button, then select Network | Virtual Network | Quick Create. 
   
   Creating a Virtual Network using Quick Create
   
3. On the Quick Create form, complete the following fields of information:
   - Name: xxxlabnet01 ( where “xxx” is replaced by your initials ).
   - Address Space: 10.—.—.—
   - Maximum VM Count: 4096 [CIDR: /20]
   - Affinity Group / Region: East US
   - Connect to Existing DNS Server: None
   - Subscription: 3 Month Free Trial
   
   Virtual Network Quick Create Form
   Click the Create A Virtual Network button to create your new Virtual Network on the Windows Azure Cloud Platform!

Congratulations! You now have a new virtual network that you can use to connect multiple virtual machines together on the Windows Azure Cloud Platform.  Learn more about using your new Virtual Network with our FREE Online Training at http://aka.ms/AzureVMTraining.

TASK 3 – Submit Proof-of-Completion

Complete the steps in this task to submit your proof-of-completion entry into the Microsoft TechEd “Cloud Challenge” Sweepstakes for a chance to win one of the exciting prizes listed above.

1. Sign-in to the Windows Azure Management Portal with the Microsoft account credentials used in the prior task to activate your free 90-day trial.
2. On the Windows Azure Management Portal page, Click on the ALL ITEMS link on the left navigation panel.
   
   Windows Azure All Items Page
3. Press the PrtScn ( Print Screen ) function key on your keyboard to copy an image of this page to your PC clipboard.
4. Click on THIS LINK to create a new email message addressed to the sweepstakes team at CloudChallenge@microsoft.com
5. IMPORTANT: In the body of the email, include this exact text:
   “I’ve completed the Microsoft TechEd Cloud Challenge for Windows Azure Virtual Networks.”
6. IMORTANT: Paste the image copied in Step 3 into the body of the new email message created  above.
7. Click the Send button in your email client to submit the email message as your proof-of-completion and sweepstakes entry.

Upon submitting your entry, you will receive a confirmation email within 24-hours.

I am hosting two ITcamps in Chicago next week: One on Monday and one on Tuesday. They will be held in the Multi-Purpose Room (MPR) at the Microsoft Technology Center (MTC) in the Aon building 2nd floor. You are welcome to join me for slides in the morning and hands on labs in the afternoon. We start a 9am and end by 4pm.

It is a one day class – the same content on both Monday and Tuesday.
To sign up just choose one of the links below:

Monday March 25th at the Aon Center:
http://www.microsoft.com/click/services/Redirect2.ashx?CR_CC=200173728&CR_EAC=300071694

Tuesday March 26th at the Aon Center
http://www.microsoft.com/click/services/Redirect2.ashx?CR_CC=200173728&CR_EAC=300071695

>>>>>>>>

Event Detail:

It is shaping up to be a fun day and I am looking forward to seeing you there. Here is the agenda for the day http://mythoughtsonit.com/2013/03/itcampspring-2013/.

If you plan to participate in the hands on labs then here is what you should bring to make it easy.

For the two Hyper-v Labs:

· You need a laptop that runs Hyper-v.
This can be Windows 8, Server 2008R2, or Server 2012 locally installed or using boot from vhd
(For boot from vhd: Here are details on how to get that working: http://sdrv.ms/YKUq0t)

· You need the Server 2012 Evaluation vhd file
Download that file here:

http://www.microsoft.com/click/services/Redirect2.ashx?CR_CC=200115709&CR_EAC=300068693

For the two Server 2012 labs in Azure:

· You need a machine that can run the Microsoft remote desktop client
(Mac, Windows, Linux) It is built into Windows,

· A Windows Azure Trial Subscription:
Sign up for a Free Azure 90 Day Trial
http://aka.ms/AzureFree

Have a great weekend and I will see you next week at the Microsoft Technology Center MPR – 2^nd floor of the Aon building.

Regards,

Brian

Are you trying to delete a users profile directory or an old Windows folder and it is a pain to remove? Or do you have spyware that installed itself and you are have a tedious process of deleting these files from the GUI? I have put together the commands I use to delete those pesky undeletable files. I am not talking about locked files but the ones where you have to take ownership and then give yourself rights to even when running as administrator.

Warning!!! Only do this if you know what you are doing – you can cause problems on your machine if you don’t know what your doing.

First start an elevated prompt: Click <Start>; type CMD; right click CMD program; choose “Run as administrator”. Now change to the directory you want to work in and then:

Presentations from today

Session 1 – Windows Azure Overview
http://sdrv.ms/13FJKrj

Session 2 – Azure Virtual Machines
http://sdrv.ms/XQzho3

Lab files:
http://aka.ms/vmlab

Where to get your PowerShell CLI and Node.js command line interface to Azure: (note: get the CLI not the sdk)
http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/downloads/

Mac Instructions on using Node.js to setup your lab:
http://blogs.technet.com/b/keithmayer/p/w8adcloudlabmac.aspx

This is post 12 of 20 in a series of how to’s on Virtualization with Microsoft Hyper-v. For a full list of posts in this series please see Dan Stolts’s original post (o of 20) located here:
http://itproguru.com/expert/2013/03/become-a-virtualization-expert-with-20-days-of-server-virtualization-virtexpert-itproguru-part-0-of-20/

Live Migration
Live Migration is the Microsoft Hyper-v feature where you move a running virtual machine from one physical host to another physical host while the VM continues to run. That’s right without any downtime or service outage. Cool hunh? Yes, for those of you who know VMware, it is like vMotion.

You can download the Free Microsoft Hyper- V server 2012 Here:
http://aka.ms/HypervFree

Prior to the 2012 version of Hyper-v you needed to setup a failover cluster to enable Hyper-v Live Migration. You also needed to have shared storage to use this feature. With Hyper-v 2012 this technology now adds the ability to move running VMs between non-clustered hosts as well as clustered hosts. Further in addition to iSCSI and Fiber Channel you can now host your shared files on SMB 3.0 file shares.  But – the goodness doesn’t stop there, this tech is like the ginsu knife – there’s more… Your files don’t need to be on shared storage. They can just exist on local attached disk and you can still move running Virtual machines between stand alone Hyper-v hosts with Shared Nothing Live Migration.

The high availability that hyper-v offers by allowing you to move VMs from host to host without downtime allows you to physically update your hosts as well as patch them with no downtime to the VMs. When used in a failover cluster you can have virtual machines automatically start on another host when the physical host that they are running on fails. Unfortunately when a reboot is needed on a VM, from say patching it, there is not magic high availability bullet and the VM must be rebooted.

Live Migration Process

In the Live Migration Process the virtual Machine memory is copied form the source machine to the destination machine. First the configuration is copied to the destination server and then the memory is copied. Once the memory is synchronized the network connections can be moved to the destination and the source machine can be removed from ram. When combined with shared storage this is all that is needed to move a running Virtual Machine.

Live Storage Migration

Live Storage Migration works by syncing the VHD or VHDX files between the source and destination storage locations. For more on this technology see my earlier post on Step by step – Storage Live Migration.

Shared Nothing Live Migration

Now if we add together both the Live Migration and the Storage Migration processes we get Shared Nothing Live Migration. This is where we can move a running VM from host to host without using shared storage.

Here is how the process works. First we sync the virtual hard disks between source and destination servers. Then we sync the virtual machine’s memory between the source and destination servers. When we get the two running VMs in sync then we move the network. Lastly delete the source VM.

In the video below I show a 2 minute demo of moving a DOS machine running Duke Nukem from server Hyperv2 to Hyperv1 and then back again. The reason I used a DOS machine was because the disk is small and so it storage migrates quickly. Moving one of my server 2012 boxes takes a tad bit longer as it needs to copy more data in the storage migration phase. The power of moving running VMs between any Hyper-v host is truly a game changer.
-Brian

I work with Remote Desktops a lot. I was demonstrating Server 2012 from an RDP session last week and I couldn’t get the display to go full screen. I knew there was a super secret key combination to toggle back and forth between a window and full screen, but I couldn’t remember it. A quick “google” search on Bing didn’t show it. So here is a post that I hope helps when people search for this…

To go full screen from a remote desktop RDP session use the key combination:

<CNTL> <ALT> <BREAK>