ashleyknowles

  • Server Posterpedia Windows 8 Application

    Server Posterpedia Windows 8 Application

    You’re designing a new SQL Server infrastructure for a client, but can’t remember if that high availability solution topology requires shared storage or not, and need to quickly look it up without searching through TechNet. How? With this application! Some genius has combined all of Microsoft’s server architecture posters into a handy Windows 8 application…

  • Windows 8 Without a Tablet? Nonsense!

    Today, Microsoft launched Windows 8 to the masses. And I’m frustrated. Over the past year, I have had the opportunity to play with Windows 8, blowing away my daily work laptop and installing the new operating system at each release – beta, release preview, consumer preview, and RTM. Yes. A laptop. Not a touch screen…

  • Windows 8 Promo Videos

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tgKEgI42WA8

  • Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V Architecture Reference

    Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V Architecture Reference

    I was lucky enough to pick one of these up in hard copy form at TechEd Australia 2012!! Very useful reference! Download the full copies from Microsoft here – http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29189&ocid=aff-n-we-loc–ITPRO40886&WT.mc_id=aff-n-we-loc–ITPRO40886

  • Recovering a RAID5 Array on the Intel C600 Controller

    Like everyone else in this digital age, my PC is full of stuff which, if I lost, would be beside myself. Pictures of my kids and all of those memories have a special place set aside on my RAID 5 array. A special place I had intended to backup but kept forgetting to setup. And…

  • What’s New in Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V

    I recently attended TechEd 2012 on the Gold Coast, and was pretty spoilt for choice as to what technologies I wanted to learn more about. I have an infrastructure background, and recently completed the MCITP Virtualisation Administrator certification for Windows Server 2008 R2, so Hyper-V was still fresh in my mind and one of those…

  • System Centre Orchestrator 2012: why you should be using it

    Firstly, what is Orchestrator? Orchestrator is a new member of the Microsoft System Centre suite, previously badged System Centre Opalis or Opalis Integration Services, and commonly referred to as SCO or SCORCH. Orchestrator is quite simply, a workflow engine. You define the workflow, it goes off and executes it. Workflow? Isn’t that a business thing?…

  • Digital Travel

    I recently had the opportunity to work in Melbourne for 10 months, where I was able to fly back to my home town of Brisbane every week, with a short 2 week stint in London. Keeping track of airline bookings, accommodation, and frequent flyer programs can really become over the top for those new to…

  • MCSE Private Cloud Certification

    MCSE Private Cloud Certification

    Released a few months ago, Microsoft have re-vamped their certification for the 2012 suite of products, introducing, most notably, the MCSE Private Cloud certification. For all the MCITP’s, this shouldn’t come as bad news, requiring exorbitant amounts of further study and certification. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. MCITP SA and EA’s automatically receive the…

  • Enable Intel VT-x & EPT in VMWare Workstation

    Enable Intel VT-x & EPT in VMWare Workstation

    Following on from my previous post, I forgot that VMWare doesn’t turn this on by default. You absolutely require passthrough of the Intel VT-x and EPT bits to the VM if you want to run Hyper-V. As shown in the screenshot below, it’s a quick drop down setting. You require this in addition to the…