Posts
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Sovereignty for Sale
Mate, Thatâs Not a Sovereign Cloud⌠This week, the Australian Government proudly announced a $20 billion âsovereignâ investment strategy - not in local startups, not in Australian cloud infrastructure, not even in open-source innovation - but with Amazon Web Services. Thatâs right. Sovereign. With Amazon. Itâs hard to decide whether to laugh or cry. Letâs be crystal clear: Amazon is not sovereign. Itâs a US-based hyperscaler, answerable to Washington, beholden to shareholders, and governed by the CLOUD Act - which allows the US government to access data wherever it resides, as long as it sits under a US company. -
Tin-Foil Kangaroos
Australia Leads the Global AI Freak-Out - What Is It Really Costing Us? Weâre officially the jumpiest mob on Earth An Ipsos Global Advisor survey of 31 countries found 69 percent of Australians feel nervous about AI products and services - the highest âanxiety scoreâ on the planet and nearly 20 points above the global average. While neighbours in Thailand and Indonesia are busy wiring chat-bots to book dinner reservations, weâre busy checking the pantry for extra Cling Wrap. -
The Heat Is On - part 2: Powering the AI Revolution, and the Fallout
In part 1 of this 2-part, we considered the march of liquid immersion cooling to help. Here, we review a hardware aceleration that is alreayd putting 1Mw racks on the horizon. With DCs already using more energy than south australia, the stakes could not be higher! 2025: Blackwell, GB300, and the Liquid-First Era NVIDIAâs GTC 2025 dropped the GB300 NVL72: 72 Blackwell Ultra GPUs, 36 Grace CPUs, and direct-to-chip liquid cooling as standard. -
The Heat Is On - part 1: Cooling the AI Revolution, from Fans to Fluids
Every time you ping ChatGPT, a data centre somewhere gulps more power than your air-con on a 40°C Aussie summer day. AIâs compute hunger is turning data centres into thermal warzones, forcing cooling tech to leap from clunky fans to servers submerged in ocean depths. Now, with AI cranking the thermostat to 11, weâre at a crossroads. Letâs unpack the sprint from air to liquid cooling, NVIDIAâs liquid-first GB300, the ARM vs. -
Merging Infrastructure and AI
A Fluid Transition: Merging AI and Sustainability For as long as I can remember, Iâve focused on designing and delivering Microsoft-based cloud and datacentre solutions. As a Hybrid Cloud SME at Vigilant.IT, I worked on projects that modernized infrastructures and helped organizations adopt cloud-first strategies. My work was deeply entrenched in the Microsoft and Azure ecosystem, and I had the chance to tackle projects ranging from datacentre modernizations, cloud migrations, and to building scalable hybrid architectures. -
Arc resource bridge via powershell
⌠Quick tip - Arc resource bridge via powershell - working for AS HCI 22H2 Setup your powershell environment Install-PackageProvider -Name NuGet -Force Install-Module-Name PowershellGet -Force -Confirm:$false -SkipPublisherCheck Install-Module -Name Moc -Repository PSGallery -AcceptLicense -Force Initialize-MocNode Install-Module -Name ArcHci -Force-Confirm:$false -SkipPublisherCheck -AcceptLicense Define variables for the MOC: $vswitchName="ConvergedSwitch(compute)" $controlPlaneIP="10.10.0.37" $csv_path="C:\ClusterStorage\Volume01\Arc" $vlanID="57" #(Optional) $VMIP_1="10.10.0.38" #(required only for static IP configurations) $VMIP_2="10.10.0.39" #(required only for static IP configurations) $DNSServers=@("10. -
Managing your disparate workload fleet from a simple pane of glass with Azure Arc for Servers
Azure Arc Servers is a feature of Azure Arc that enables organizations to manage servers across different environments, including on-premises, multi-cloud, and edge environments, through a single control plane. This allows organizations to have a consistent management experience across all their servers, regardless of where they are located. At a high level, the various features of Azure Arc Servers, include: Server management: With Azure Arc Servers, organizations can manage their servers using Azure Policy and Azure Security Center, which provide policy-based control, monitoring, and threat protection. -
Azure Local network config with NetworkATC
Network ATC deployment. Recommendations: Use the defaults where possible If unsure, refer to rule #1. This cluster is a 5x node each with 4x 25Gbps adapters. 2x for Compute & Management, and 2x for Storage. I set jumbo across the board. Donât argue, just do it. I use default Vlan IDâs for storage (711 & 712) and use the IPs that get assigen via Network ATC. Yeh my OCD kinda wanted the last octet to align with the host number but at the end of the day, we just want it to work. -
Azure Stack HCI vs Azure Arc - simplified
Azure Stack HCI is a hardware appliance that allows businesses to run their own private cloud infrastructure on their own servers. It is designed for companies that want to keep their data and applications on-premises (i.e., not in the public cloud). With Azure Stack HCI, companies can create their own cloud-like environment for their applications and data, but with the added benefits of Azure services, such as backup, monitoring, and security. -
Azure Stack Hub - Change Azure Subscription Registration
If you find yourself in a scenario where you need to change the registration subscription of an Azure Stack Hub deployment, the below is what you need to do to complete the task.. High level: Gather info or source and destination Remove existing registration Register to new subscription Gather info or source and destination First thing is to get your new subscription ID $NewSubscriptionId = "325*****-****-****-****-********432" Connect to Azure Stack ARM endpoint -
Azure Stack Hub tenant portal missing resource types & properties
Quick tip: Another day in the life of a Cloud Operator Got a call from a user who was in the Azure Stack tenant portal and could access some resource types but not others and when in those resources blades the info was all weird (technical termâŚ) as shown below: I thought it was a cache/auth issue, so I asked the user to open a new browser and try again. -
Azure Security Center: How to Protect Your Datacenter with Next Generation Security
I suggest you check out this Free Webinar by Altaro Azure Security Center: How to Protect Your Datacenter with Next Generation Security Security is a major concern for IT admins and if youâre responsible for important workloads hosted in Azure, you need to know your security is as tight as possible. In this free webinar, presented by Thomas Maurer, Senior Cloud Advocate on the Microsoft Azure Engineering Team, and Microsoft MVP Andy Syrewicze, you will learn how to use Azure Security Center to ensure your cloud environment is fully protected. -
Microsoft MVP again!
Last week I received the exciting news that I had been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for another year. It is an absolute honour to be considered for this amazing award, let alone actually receiving one. If youâve being paying attention to my activities, not that I expect you would have, you may have noticed I have a focus on Microsoft Azure Stack of late. Given that Azure Stack falls under the Microsoft Azure category, I have been awarded in a new category to reflect my community contributions. -
Rename VMs in cluster to match SCVMM naming
Another one from the vaults: If youâve been using Hyper-V clusters with SCVMM, youâll probably notice the cluster resources named a specific way when the VM role is made highly available with SCVMM. example shown below: Now if youâre a bit of a nutter like me, and canât stand the cluster roles that donât have the âSCVMM Resourcesâ naming convention, then the below will update the names to match the SCVMM convention. -
Hyper-V and VMQâs â Mythbusting
Updated in Mar 2023: Ignore the May 2022 update, I was right all along. Microsoft actually change the default VMQ in Azure Stack HCI deployments, so that says all I need to know. **** ALWAYS change base processor to core 2 (or 1 if HT is not enabled) **** Updated in May 2022: For about a year or so now since MS made some tweaks and a growing confidence in the out of the box settings, the optimal position has changed on WS2019. -
MS Ignite Tour - Sydney
Excited to be speaking at Microsoft Ignite The Tour in Sydney. For those coming along, below are my sessions and demo times slots⌠If you see me make sure you come up and say hi! [table id=5 /] -
Adventures of a Cloud Operator: SQL Resource Provider on Azure Stack â Step 1: Deployment
This is for SQL Resource Provider (RP) 1.1.24.0 which is now superseded by 1.1.30.0 literally the next day after I executed the install. The only reason for posting this blog is to give a baseline for my update SQL RP post. The exact same install process will work for any newer Azure Stack deployments just skip the section where I rollback the PowerShell module version This post will cover the deployment of the SQL RP with other posts in the series covering the various other steps and considerations -
Adventures of a Cloud Operator: Highly Available App Service 1.4 on Azure Stack - Step 1: Design considerations
Youâre a cloud operator for an Azure Stack Integrated system and for whatever reason you have the task of deploying the App Services Resource provider⌠In this blog series, Iâm going to take you through the considerations and deployment processes I went through for the App Services resource provider on an Azure Stack Integrated System. This will work on an ASDK but itâd get fairly crowded on your single server instance if you follow the HA design all the way through. -
Adventures of a Cloud Operator: Highly Available App Service 1.4 on Azure Stack - Step 2: Deployment
Youâre a cloud operator for an Azure Stack Integrated system and for whatever reason you have the task of deploying the App Services Resource provider⌠In this blog series, Iâm going to take you through the considerations and deployment process of the App Services resource provider on an Azure Stack Integrated System. This should work on an ASDK but youâre probably going to make life tough for your single server instance. -
Adventures of a Cloud Operator: Setup your Cloud Operator environment - Quick Tip!
Quick tip for all potential Azure Stack Cloud Operators As youâd be aware, essentially the majority of the Azure Stack extended setup requires PowerShell. Not only does managing Azure Stack require PowerShell, it requires specific modules, tools and PowerShell profiles⌠Oh, did I mention Azure Stack management requires PowerShell? This is typically fine, but if youâre anything like me and tend to use your computer (desktop/laptop etc) for many different functions, managing PowerShell profiles and having them all aligned can be a bit of a pain. -
Adventures of a Cloud Operator: Monitoring Azure Stack with SCOM
I recently had the task of enabling monitoring of an Azure Stack Integrated System using System Center Operations Manager. Below I will go through the process of how this is done and what to consider a long the way. Firstly, RTFM Secondly, you probably donât need this blog post as the documentation for this process is spot on! https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-integrate-monitor The SCOM bits (MP and Docco) can be found here: https://www. -
Adventures of a Cloud Operator: Registering Azure Stack as CSP
So, if youâve found your way here you have got yourself an Azure Stack Integrated System and need to register it as a Cloud Solution Provider (CSP). Before we registered we needed to identify the type of subscription we want to use. The choice is a CSP or APSS subscription. This deployment is being registered directly to my company as the CSP reseller so a CSP subscription was the preferred choice. -
SCVMM custom VM properties extended
One day I was working on our fabric and thought it would be nice to be able see which Logical Switch each VM was connected to. So I started to extend my good old datastores script and before I knew it, it had morphed out of control to include Logical Switch, Logical Networks, VM Networks and NIC count. In most enterprise environments this probably wouldnât really add much value, but in the world of multi-tenancy with many shared or customer dedicated clusters an networks, having this kind of information easily available has itâs advantages. -
SCVMM Standalone to Highly Available â what you need to considerâŚ
So you have a standalone instance of SCVMM and you want to make it highly available. Firstly, well done for recognizing the important of SCVMM and embarking on this journey There are many guides out there on the step by step so I wonât reinvent the wheel here. What I will do though is give you some things to think about that have caught out some of my clients along the way⌠-
S2D and CSV balancer - my take on things
The question: To enable or disable CSV balancer in S2D? Before we continue, I want to clarify the Cluster AutoBalancer and CSV Balancer are separate things. Cluster Autobalancer is relating to cluster roles, or in this case the VMâs. CSV balancer is about the CSV storage. Info on each can be found here: Cluster Autobalancer aka VM Load balancing:Â Clustering and High-Availability CSV Balancer, i.e. what we are talking about here:Â Automatic SMB Scale-Out Rebalancing (this is related to SOFS and 2012R2 but gets the info across) -
SCVMM Host Not Responding. Error 2912â WinRM & The request is not supported (0x80070032)
Quick and dirty answer â Windows Updates relating to CredSSP updates for CVE-2018-0886 The fun story time answer Iâve seen this one a few times now so thought it best to share with you all as many clients have gone around and around in circles with this one. The typical story is usually after some sort of maintenance, update cycle, VMM server rebuild or (as was todayâs case) an upgrade to SCVMM 1807⌠Upon restarting VMM many of the hosts go in to a Not Responding state. -
Installing Azure Site Recovery Agent (i.e. running an exe/script) on a Hyper-V host using SCVMM
From time to time I have the requirement to deploy/update a basic app or run a script on my Hyper-V hosts. This is relatively simple using remote PS session or if you have SCCM managing your fleet. But sometimes you need to just push something out fast and luckily SCVMM can assist. My use case is to run an update for the Microsoft Site Recovery Services Agent on my hosts. I would do this periodically. -
Another S2D build blog... with a SCVMM twist (public draft)
WORK IN PROGRESS Editors Note: this is still a working document as my priorities have to be on other work right now, but in the interest of sharing I have made this available now⌠If you find any issues or errors let me know - thanks for reading! There are many S2D build blogs out there and I donât want to just add to the list but given Iâm doing this build with SCVMM and SCOM integration I thought Iâd run through the additional steps. -
SCVMM console crashes when opening VM host properties
Error: âVMM cannot use [Logical Switch] to create a virtual switch a there are no uplink port profile sets present on this logical switchâ Environment: SCVMM 1801. Symptom, right click on a Hyper-V host and after a couple of seconds the below error. After clicking OK, VMM crashes. The fix that worked for me. First check the host group of the problematic hosts. In this deployment, they live in host group âTenant HCIâ -
S2D on HPE Gen10 LFF - The BOM
A few months ago we placed an order for some slick HPE Gen10 hardware to replace our existing storage service. Our trusty Server 2012 R2 Storage Spaces with DL360 Gen8âs and DataON enclosures has served us well, very well, but itâs time to move on to the latest and greatest⌠âThe SANKillerâ At the time of writing this (10 of April 2018), although theyâve very recently added 2 more SFF configs, HPE have not published a WSSD certified solution for Gen10 LFF chassis. -
Azure Application Gateway with WAP and HTTPS using PowerShell
So over the last year or so Iâve had a lot of fun extending client environments to Azure. One of the methods Iâve used has been leveraging Azure Application Gateway (AAG) with Web Application Firewall (WAF) to protect these services. The AAGâs with WAF have been a very fast and cost effective way for clients to deploy fast and protected services to Azure without the requirement for expensive 3rd-party WAF appliance licenses. -
Blown away - I received a Microsoft MVP award
Today I was received an email advising that Iâd been awarded the Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award from Microsoft in Cloud and Datacenter Management. Needles to say, this was a very humbling moment. I am still at a loss for words, so I donât really have anything more to add here other than sharing with you the very first use of my brand new logo :) Cheers Daniel -
Unable to delete duplicate cluster resource for Hyper-V VM
Quick tip: You find yourself with duplicate HA roles for a virtual machine and youâre unable delete the problematic resource⌠Symptoms: Duplicate cluster roles for a virtual machine. When attempting to delete, you get the error: Error code: 0x8007012f The file cannot be opened because it is in the process of being deleted. Firstly, why does this happen? This can happen if an admin uses Failover Cluster Manager (even after theyâve been specifically instructed many times not too) to enable HA for a VM, then goes to SCVMM and uses the Migrate Virtual Machine and enable HA. -
SMA Runbook to set VM custom property... (or run PS script)
A word⌠Having worked with many clients over the years, the commonality between many of them an under-utilization of automation. Even the biggest of Microsoft shops fall short when it comes to automation, regularly being confused about the options they have and often fear of introducing a new tool to their organisation. As a Hyper-V data center operator, I leverage automation as often as I can. This has been a concept we have tried to foster since the days of having scores of scripts triggered from scheduled tasks⌠-
All-Flash and Storage Spaces Direct
An interesting solution brief of Hyper-Converged Infrastructure from DataOn got my cogs ticking on a topic that has bugged me for a while⌠All-Flash storage. Firstly, this DataON solution is a seriously slick contender⌠a 3M IOPS 4-node HCI in 8U. The tech geek in me would be quite pleased to have that bad boy driving services on my platform. But is it necessary? Ultimately, that is a question that only you can answer based on your requirements, but after deploying several Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) and Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) solutions from various vendors over the last 12 months, I wanted to share my thoughts on this All-Flash phenomenon. -
Light up your Hyper-V Datacenter in minutes with OMS
In a recent project, the management were keen to see some dashboards and insights into their organizations shiny new infrastructure. Whilst SCOM gives some great data and statistics, itâs not overly helpful in demonstrating the high level view to management out of the box. This is where Microsoft Operations Management Suite (OMS)Â steps in.. Background: This engagement included a new Hyper-converged platform (Hyper-V and Storage Spaces Direct) managed and monitoring with System Center (SCVMM and SCOM), so we had a great foundation to light up OMS and some chosen solutions. -
Quick tip - Disabling ISO Media Sharing in SCVMM
Hello there! I often get asked if itâs possible to disable VMM users from âsharingâ ISOâs from the library when attaching to a VM. You can do this via applying a pre-configured Capability Profile and the Cloud and Virtual Machines. Note: Capability Profiles can only be assigned to Clouds, not to Host Groups Create a Capability Profile Name that means something to you Tip: In the capabilities we can scope the settings or range of many items within the profile. -
Managing a Hyper-V Datacenterâ Converged Networking and RDMA
Server 2016 brings great new feature called Switch Embedded Teaming (SET). A great overview of SET can be found in this TechNet article. But to summarize, SET basically allows a Virtual Network Adapter to access the features available by RDMA. I wonât go into too much detail on RDMA, there are essentially three types RoCE, iWarp and Infiniband. RoCE is the most common and requires that Datacenter Bridging (DCB) be enabled on your switches as well as the windows feature with the same name being installed. -
Managing a Hyper-V Datacenter - Extra thoughts & tuning
I will add to this post over time with anything I can recall that has helped in the tuning of the many environments Iâve worked on⌠Edited: 30/11 - Thoughts on Dynamic Optimization Before I continue, as usual Iâll try not to repeat what you can already find out there, so here are some tips that have been helpful over the years. Be sure to investigate whether each of the tips mentioned are valid for your version of hypervisor as a couple of these posts have aged: -
Managing a Hyper-V Datacenter - Host Networking - Teaming
There are many discussion topics around host networking that need to be considered. I will extend this post over time to include what I can, but many of these are dependent on your requirements. Some of the considerations include: Teaming options (this post) Converged design QoS policies SDN architecture Security & Edge Networking Switch high availability VMQâs and RSS Teaming options Typically when discussion teaming options we need to determine our teaming mode and the algorithm used. -
Managing a Hyper-V Datacenter - overview
I have been wanting to put a series together for a while now on the many aspects to consider when running a Hyper-V platform. So here we are.. As usual I want to avoid step-by-step installs as there are plenty on the internet, so I will link the useful ones and comment on any variances I recommend or points that need a little more consideration. This series will be organic and I will evolve over time. -
Mythbusting: The truth about blades
Hi all, this has been a long time coming but I wanted to share my thoughts and experiences on virtualization, Hyper-V and blades. Before we get started, I wanted to put this in context and give some reasoning as to the purpose of this post. Over the last 5 or 6 years, Iâve been closely working with many service providers and enterprises in designing, configuring and supporting Hyper-V and System Center environments, and an interesting and often polarising discussion topic that regularly surfaces is blades vs racks. -
Quick tip: Add second NIC to ARM VM using PowerShell
This is one I use regularly, so thought it might come in handy for you.. Assumption here is you are connected via PowerShell to your intended subscription.. A few key points: The VM will need to be stopped to execute Check the Azure VM sizing to see how many NICs you can attach I have a pre-created Network Interface with my desired settings #Using OGV to target your objects $RG = Get-AzureRmResourceGroup | ogv -PassThru $NIC = Get-AzureRmNetworkInterface | ogv -PassThru $VM = Get-AzureRmVm | ogv -PassThru #The actual adding of the NIC to the VM $VM = Add-AzureRmVMNetworkInterface -VM $VM -Id $NIC. -
S2D performance: 2-way mirror vs 3-way mirror
How many mirrors? Over the past few months weâve deployed several Storage Spaces Direct solutions, and one question that seems to pop up is the expected performance difference for a 2-way mirror vs a 3-way mirror. The obvious answer is a 2-way will out-perform a 3-way, but by how much? I wonât go into the resiliency or design decisions or when either option is preferred, this is purely from a performance based perspective. -
Export DHCP and import Reverse DNS zones using PowerShell
Had a fun one for a client recently whereby they were standing up some new DNS servers for a segment of their network. The forward lookup zones were very easy, import csv and PowerShell them in without much fuss at all.. Next came the Reverse DNS Zones. Now letâs just say that their documentation wasnât as up-to-date as it could have been, so the fun began when trying to go about importing them without having a reliable source of truth to go by. -
Configuring a network team for a logical Switch in SCVMM
Had a few queries from clients and colleagues who get confused on the workflow for creating a Logical Switch and Port Profile. This quick post is to just run through that process. More info on the design decisions around Logical Network Definitions Host Groups etc. can be found here. This walks through making a Port Profile, Creating a Logical Switch and defining Virtual Network Adapters to build a converged network adapter on your hosts. -
DPM 2016 and SQL 2016 - Error 4387
Scenario: SQL01 - SQL 2016 RTM install (At this point in time I still recommend SQL2014 for DPM2016) DPM01 â Data Protection Manager 2016 RTM install When âcheck and installâ get the below error. Clicking on OK then closes the installer How did we get here? Install SQL 2016 RTM on SQL01. Setup remote access for DPM01. Install DPM Prereqâs on SQL01. attempt to Install DPM 2016 RTM⌠and baboom⌠Error 4387. -
On the go Hyper-V performance with OMS Log Analytics & PowerBIâŚ
Hi there, I have been wanting to share my fun times had with the Capacity and Performance solution in OMS for a while now, but have struggled to find the time.. Luckily for you I found a few moments today to have another tinker and got a little over excited and extended past OMS, but onto PowerBI and an Android device.. So a quick run down on what weâll cover (at varying levels) in this post: -
SMA Runbook: SCVMM Logical Networks into HP OneView
This SMA Runbook will add any new or missing logical network definitions (i.e. VLANâs) in SCVMM and to HP OneView appliance. As well as having a âworking SMA deploymentâ, the prerequisites for this Runbook are 5 SMA Variables (Assets) which are: VMMServer HPOneViewAppliance HPOneViewUsername HPOneViewPassword HPOneViewLoginDomain We use Active Directory to authenticate to our OneView. If you use local credentials you can remove this from the Runbook or set the variable to âLocalâ. -
Expose the Azure Stack TP3 Portal through NAT
Another quick one! :D For those playing with the Azure Stack TP3 POC deployment that want to make the portal available without having to logon to the console VM. This extends on from the work Ruud Borst did for TP2.. I suggest you read the full article which can be found here: https://azurestack.blog/2016/12/expose-portal-azurestack-through-nat/ Same rules apply around the certificate etc. Let me know if I have missed any ports. Enjoy! Dan -
Add networks to HP OneView 3.00 using REST API via PowerShell
I recently had the task of creating a PowerShell script to call REST API for adding Networks to an uplink set in HP OneView. A quick overview of the environment. Our enclosures have 4x FlexFabrics, 2 used to plumb an access port to the LOMs and 2 used as trunks to create the Virtual Switch teams. The vSwitch uplink sets are labelled Switch_A and Switch_B Each Vlan we connect is plumbed to each switch and named accordingly. -
Create empty custom Management Pack from SCOM via PowerShell
Found this one in my toolkit recently and thought Iâd share. Itâs a little old so the code could do with some optimizing.. What it does: Prompts the script runner for a client number and then asks them to confirm the name for new management pack. If the operator types âyesâ (highly sophisticated coding) then a new management pack will be created with the desired naming convention Our naming convention in this particular environment is to have all 3 client numbers at the beginning of the management pack name. -
Create empty overrides Management Pack for SCOM via PowerShell
Along the same line as this post, the below will create an empty overrides management pack based on a source management pack and client number These are meant for the SCOM operators to use for consistent management pack naming. Enjoy Dan! $ManagementServer = "SCOM01" $orgmanagementpackname = read-host "Enter Search Criteria" ### # Find the managementpacks which fit the filter documented in $orgmanagementpackname ### $managementpackslist = Get-SCOMManagementPack -ComputerName $ManagementServer |where{$.DisplayName -like "$orgManagementPackName" -and $. -
Disable all alerts for a SCOM management pack using PowerShell
So use this wisely⌠This script will use Out-Gridview to prompt the operator for the management pack to disable the alerts for and the override management pack to save those overrides in. Enjoy! Dan First, the script to do this for all monitors: Import-module operationsmanager $SCOMServer = "<SCOMServerName>" New-SCOMManagementGroupConnection -ComputerName $SCOMServer $MPSource = get-scommanagementpack -ComputerName $SCOMServer | where {$.Sealed -eq $True} | Out-GridView -Title "Select a single SOURCE Management Pack" -PassThru $MPOverride = get-scommanagementpack -ComputerName $SCOMServer | where {$. -
SCVMM and Datastores
Was cleaning out some old PS scripts recently and found this one in my toolkit. This one will appease some of those out there who came to Hyper-V from another virtualization technology and are familiar with the term datastore⌠We use SOFS storage so our VM paths are all SMB shares but Iâve included the CSV path split for those still running CSVâs to the nodes. What this gives you is a quick view into which storage device each VM lives on: -
Create empty Management Pack from SCOM via PowerShell
Found this one in my toolkit recently and thought Iâd share. Itâs a little old so the code could do with some optimizing.. What it does: Prompts the script runner for a client number and then asks them to confirm the name for new management pack. If the operator types âyesâ (highly sophisticated coding) then a new management pack will be created with the desired naming convention Our naming convention in this particular environment is to have all 3 client numbers at the beginning of the management pack name. -
Updating uri's for HA WAP deployment via PowerShell
Another quick one, just to shareâŚ. :) For a HA WAP deployment you will need to update each service of the pertinent url to ensure they are using the NLB endpoint rather than going direct to one of the servers.. This is one that catches a few people out when deploying a HA WAP environment. Bitâs of the below are scribed from other sources (they escape me right now so apologies for the lack of a references) but found that they didnât work. -
Applying updates (cab & msu) by batch file
Another one from my toolkit.. Basically run this batch file from a folder with the required update files and it will install them all. Once it is finished it will prompt for any input to restart the server. Enjoy! Dan @ECHO OFF SETLOCAL ENABLEEXTENSIONS ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION FOR /R "%~dp0" %%A IN (-KB.msu) DO ( CALL :SUB %%~nA ECHO= Installing KB!KB_NUM! >NUL TIMEOUT /t 3 WUSA "%%A" /quiet /norestart) ECHO= == Press any key to restart == >NUL PAUSE SHUTDOWN. -
Hyper-V Cluster LBFO method for VM Guest switches â Hyper-V Port is best!
Just a quick note to share my experience in NIC teaming algorithm with 2012 R2 hosts and Hyper-V and hopefully dispel some myths.. Many documents/blogs recommend the load balancing algorithm to be Dynamic by default. In my experience this is not the optimal configuration. For NIC teams that are used for VM Guest networking, the Load Balancing Algorithm should be set to Hyper-V Port by default. Every Hyper-V environment I have built in the last few years has performed significantly better using Hyper-V Port as the preferred load balancing algorithm. -
SCOM assessment in OMS â getting it going
Firstly, make sure you have: Admin access to your SCOM environment SCOM management servers are added to your Ops Inslights portal. Enabled the SCOM Assessment solution Then go to the SCOM assessment configuration tile Download the PS1 I ran from one of my SCOM management servers At this point it connects to the named MS Press 1 to set the Run As account This is where some might get stuck. You have to enter the display name of a run as account that is already in your Operations Manager deployment. -
SCOM 2016 Console âAn object of class ManagementPackFolder with ID xxxxxxxââ SC 2016 bug - FIX
EDIT: an unofficial fix is appended below :) Fast publish⌠So, if any of you are using SCOM 2016 and have recently deployed the console, you may be getting this error below: An object of class ManagementPackFolder with ID On the sick client, you will find the following in event viewer Essentially, itâs a clash locally with the SCSM (Service Manager) Console.. Uninstall SCSM and SCOM Console 2016 will work immediately. -
Azure Connector for WAP(Pheonix) fails to create VM âError in CheckCheckVmCreation()â
Another quick one (becoming a habit..) In deploying and testing Azure Connector for Windows Azure Pack found here, deploying a virtual machine can sometimes fail with an obscure status message of: âError in CheckCheckVmCreation()â This is because the parameters of the resource creation are rejected. In the below example, I faced this because my lab password did not meet the required complexities. Running the the process using the same account in Azure, I am faced with a minimum password complexity error -
NVGRE Rebuild â Warning 26926
Had a quirky one recently where by a client was rebuilding a NVGRE gateway (as per this post) failed with the below warning. Warning (26926) Unable to set up Remote Access server to support multi-tenancy mode. (Remote Access server and the host are not configured for multi-tenancy. Fix the issue in Remote Access server and retry the operation.). Recommended Action Fix the issue in Remote Access server and retry the operation. -
SCVMM DataSize Property
Quick Tip!! So I was asked to create a custom property that gives a quick overview of the total size for the virtual disks on a VM So, leveraging of my DataStore script, I came up with the below.. Enjoy Note: This assumes you have created your custom property already $VMS = Get-scvirtualmachine Foreach ($VM in $VMS) { $DZ = $null $dzprop = Get-SCCustomProperty -Name Datasize $DataSize = Get-SCCustomPropertyValue -CustomProperty $dzprop -InputObject $VM IF ($DataSize. -
Hyper-V 2012 R2 NVGRE Gateways Rebuild
Fast publish⌠will revisit later Scenario: Existing NVGRE gateways manual deployed. Working fine for ages. NAT resources failed to come online HyperV Network Virtualization Gateway role failed FOCM below Cluster resource xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx of type âNatâ in clustered role âHyperV Network Virtualization Gatewayâ failed The Windows NAT Driver service failed to start due to the following error: The property set specified does not exist on the object So, I decided I wanted to rebuild my gateways and reconnect them⌠but how? -
PowerShell Tools â Create an ISO
Brilliant little tool Hrisan Dzhankardashliyski at Powershell.com http://powershell.com/cs/media/p/49052.aspx Edit: updated the script block to enable copy & paste :D
Author: Hrisan Dzhankardashliyski # Date: 20/05/2015 # Inspiration from # # http://blogs.msdn.com/b/opticalstorage/archive/2010/08/13/writing-optical-discs-using-imapi-2-in-powershell.aspx</a> # # and # # http://tools.start-automating.com/Install-ExportISOCommand/</a> # # with help from # # http://stackoverflow.com/a/9802807/223837</a> $InputFolder = "" function WriteIStreamToFile([__ComObject] $istream, [string] $fileName) { # NOTE: We cannot use [System.Runtime.InteropServices.ComTypes.IStream], # since PowerShell apparently cannot convert an IStream COM object to this # Powershell type.
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SCOM - Service Monitor & Remediation
How to create a custom service monitor and automatically restart it For this little demo, we will be using the Print Spooler service and targeting Windows Operating System This will target all version of Server and Client OS but I wonât go into rollups here In SCOM Console Authoring > Monitors > Create a Monitor > Unit Monitor Take a look at the varying out of the box options, many different monitor types available. -
WAP - Deploying a VM Role, some VM's prompt for product key
Simple one that new WAP users often miss when deploying VHDâs for VM Roles. When deploying a VM role with multiple instances, some instances get stuck during deployment with the VM waiting for a product key to be entered. Although the solution is clearly discussed here on TechNet I find that new WAP admins typically overlook this setting when importing a new vhd/vhdx template and loose a bit of time troubleshooting. -
Quick migrate multiple VM's using PowerShell
As users of System Center Virtual Machine Manager would know, trying to quickly live migrate multiple VMâs can be a slow and tedious task. Whilst I always recommend to user of VMM to use the Migrate Virtual Machine function or the Start Maintenance Mode options, sometimes I need to react quickly and the normal VMM way isnât fast enough. This is where PowerShell comes in⌠$VMS = Get-SCVirtualMachine | ogv -passthru $VMHost = Get-SCVMHost | ogv -passthru ForEach ($VM in $VMS) { Move-SCVirtualMachine -VM $VM -VMHost $VMHost -HighlyAvailable $true -RunAsynchronously -UseDiffDiskOptimization } Hope this helps! -
Migrate Logical Networks from VMM to VMM with PowerShell - The Export
Fast publish! Had to migrate logical networks from an existing VMM 2012 instance into a new shiny VMM 2012 R2 deployment. This is the export from the existing VMM. The import script will follow shortly: Import-Module virtualmachinemanager # all Logical network definitions $LogicalNetsdef = Get-SCLogicalNetworkDefinition Foreach ($def in $LogicalNetsdef){ foreach ($SubnetVlan in $def.SubnetVLans){ $data=[ordered]@{ LogicalNetworkName = $def.LogicalNetwork.Name Name=$def.Name Subnet=$SubnetVlan.Subnet VlanID=$SubnetVlan.VLanID } $Obj=New-Object -TypeName PSObject -Property $data Write-Output $Obj } } Enjoy! -
Install Windows Features in Bulk with PowerShell
Quick Tip: Install Windows Features with PowerShell in bulk Using my current favourite PowerShell feature, Out-GridView, we can easily and quickly install windows features with a little gui.. The command: Get-WindowsFeature | Out-GridView âpassthru | Install-WindowsFeature You will get an ogv window with the ability to select items to âpassthruâ Select a single or multiple item (via ctrl + click) and hit OK. When done, all your new features will be installed. -
Deleting Virtual Network fails due to assigned IP address - SCVMM
Had a request today where a tenant was trying to delete a virtual network but they received an error saying there were dependent IP addresses but they have no IP addresses listed in the network. Using my current favourite PowerShell feature, Out-GridView, we can quickly script the revocation of the naughty IP address.. Note: Change the VMM variable to suit your environment So I ran the below to find the IP. -
Physical, Logical & Virtual Networks in a Microsoft Cloud OS Environment
I had to give an overview of our Cloud OS network topology to our support and engineering guys to help them understand at high levels how it all fitted together. The below diagram hopefully demonstrates the 3 layers â physical, logical and virtual â and more importantly how the fit together. Some notes: We have a dedicated Hyper-V cluster for the fabric management domain. We also have a standalone Hyper-V host that has a VM for DC and DPM. -
Adding existing VMâs to WAP Subscription using PowerShell
Edit: added Cloud parameter to the script. Deploying WAP for clients, they start creating new clouds, plans and subscriptions which is great!! But how do they add existing VMâs to new users in WAP? EasyâŚ.. you guessed itâŚ. PowerShell! So I canât take the credit here, my sources are found here & here. Ok, thatâs out of the way.. here it is⌠Requirements: You must have an existing tenant account That tenant must have an existing VM (I usually just kick off a quick VM deployment in WAP and delete it once done) I like to use Out-GridView to keep the script portable. -
Change default PHP settings in Windows Azure Pack (IIS WebFarm)
Had a user try to upload a theme to a Wordpress site they had published using Windows Azure Pack but were getting a file exceeded size limit error as exampled below. âThe uploaded file exceeds the upload_max_filesize directive in php.iniâ Typically you would just go into the php.ini located on the local webserver but how do I do this in a WAP Websites WebFarm? PowerShell of course!!! Ok, I do this from the websites controller server: -
Migrate multiple VMâs from one Hyper-V cluster to another Hyper-V cluster with different Logical Switch using PowerShell.
Another fast publish! (I really should get back and clean these upâŚ) Recently upgraded one of our Hyper-V clusters and had to migrate workloads to a new Hyper-V cluster. The naming conventions of our logical switches etc were different so when migrating a VM using Hyper-V manager we were prompted to choose the new logical switch. Handling this via PowerShell in isolation is simple enough using this script but I wanted to do a whole stack of VMâs at once. -
Import subscribers into SCOM via PowerShell
Quick post A client had an existing monitoring system and exported the subscriber address list to CSV. They wanted some names updated to reflect the DC and existing name, also some subscribers had multiple addresses in the form of an array so I had to get a little creative with PowerShell. The script I used is below: $File = "C:\Temp\import.csv" $Subscribers = Import-CSV $file $Scomserver = "scomserver" ForEach ($Subscriber in $Subscribers) { $SubscriberName = $Subscriber. -
VM Template network settings for WAP
Quick scribble: add images and detail 3 steps Template > NIC > Set Connected > Set static IP & Static MAC > OK Template > NIC > Set No Connected > Confirm static IP & Static MAC > OK Template > NIC > Set Connected > VM Network None > Confirm static IP & Static MAC > OK Do in each template AND hardware profile Deploying in WAP should work with or without a virtual network. -
SCVMM 2012 R2 - Refresh Host Cluster - Error (25122)
Fast publish (this is becoming a common phrase) so be kind⌠When refreshing host cluster in VMM, for some reason we started to see the below error in VMM: Error (25122) The specified address ((AllocatedIPAddressData#e449) { id = 6ea8ddba-b8a7-43f6-856e-0a4d35076681, LastUpdatedTimestamp = 3/24/2015 5:55:17 AM }) is already allocated by the pool (IPPool-LNet-Mgmt). This address should be assigned to only a single entity. Recommended Action Resolve to which entity this address is allocated. -
Live Migrating VMâs with Powershell from VMM to VMM with different Logical Switch
Another quick & dirty fast publish: When live migrating a VM from one Hyper-V to another Hyper-V when the virtual switch names are different, using the GUI you get a prompt to select the swtich on the target host. Using Powershell âMove-VMâ fails and there is no option to specify the target switch name. A way around this is using the Compare-VM cmdlet. Below is part of a quick and dirty script that achieved my goal. -
Setting the URLâs for WAP Admin & Tenant sites with PowerShell using variables
Edit: have updated the script This is a PowerShell script I use as a template when building WAP instances. Essentially, either edit variables in the script or use the read-host option. I prefer the set variables but the read-host is handy⌠well, it was onceâŚ
Collect URLS & Ports $URL = read-host "Domain Name?" Write-Host -ForegroundColor Yellow "Specify hostnames for each service" $TenantSite = read-host "Tenant host? (i.e. wap)" $TenantAuth = read-host "TenantAuth host?
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Windows Azure Pack - URLs & Ports
This is for editing the Windows Azure Pack URLâs and Ports. Works as of WAP for Server 2012 R2 UR5. Modify your variables accordingly. I have each WAP site on an individual server for a scaled deployment so this sets all the sites to use the 443. #Set Variables $WAPDB = "WAPDB" $AdminSite = "wapadmin.domain.com" $AdminAuth = "wapauth.domain.com" $Tenant = "wap.domain.com" $TenantAuth = "waplogon.domain.com" #Run on Tenant Site Import-Module -Name MgmtSvcConfig Set-MgmtSvcFqdn -Namespace "TenantSite" -FullyQualifiedDomainName $Tenant -Port 443 -Server $WAPDB #Run on Tenant Auth Site Set-MgmtSvcFqdn -Namespace "AuthSite" âFullyQualifiedDomainName $TenantAuth -Port 443 -Server $WAPDB $ConnectionString = "Data Source=$WAPDB;Initial Catalog=Microsoft. -
Set Agent Proxy Default setting - SCOM 2012 R2
Run this on any server that has the SCOM Console installed. add-pssnapin "Microsoft.EnterpriseManagement.OperationsManager.Client"; new-managementGroupConnection -ConnectionString:scomserver.domain.com; set-location "OperationsManagerMonitoring::"; Set-DefaultSetting -Name HealthService\ProxyingEnabled -Value True Totally stole this from the SCOM aficionado - Kevin Holman. His post is here Cheersâ Dan -
Hyper-V - Create VM powershell script
Hi, Powershell script to create a VM after prompting the user for various settings. The script then attaches an ISO which is a boot media for an MDT server that is built tp push a particular task sequence resulting in a failry automated VM deployment. I normally do this type of stuff with VMM etc but the client only has Hyper-V and wanted it automated as much as possible. $VMName = Read-Host "Enter VM Name (Press [Enter] to choose Server01)" if ($VMName -eq "") { $VMName = "Server01" } ; if ($VMName -eq $NULL) { $VMName = "Server01" } $StartupMem = Read-Host "Enter VM Startup Memory in GB's (Press [Enter] to choose 1GB)" if ($StartupMem -eq "") { $StartupMem = 1024MB } ; if ($StartupMem -eq $NULL) { $StartupMem = 1024MB } if ($StartupMem -ne 1024MB) { $StartupMem = [int]$StartupMem * 1073741824 } $MinimumMem = Read-Host "Enter VM Minimum Memory in GB's (Press [Enter] to choose 512MB)" if ($MinimumMem -eq "") { $MinimumMem = 512MB } ; if ($MinimumMem -eq $NULL) { $MinimumMem = 512MB } if ($MinimumMem -ne "512MB") { $MinimumMem = [int]$MinimumMem * 1073741824 } $MaximumMem = Read-Host "Enter VM Maximum Memory in GB's (Press [Enter] to choose 4GB)" if ($MaximumMem -eq "") { $MaximumMem = 4096MB } ; if ($MaximumMem -eq $NULL) { $MaximumMem = 4096MB } if ($MaximumMem -ne 4096MB) { $MaximumMem = [int]$MaximumMem * 1073741824 } do { $Storage = Read-Host "Which storage do you want, SATA 'D' or SSD 'H' (Press [Enter] to choose 'D')" if ($Storage -eq "") { $Storage = "D" } ; if ($Storage -eq $NULL) { $Storage = "D" } if (($Storage -ne "D") -and ($Storage -ne "H")) { Write-Host "Incorrect valude entered, please enter 'D' or 'H'" } } until ($Storage -eq "D" -or $storage -eq "H") $VDisk1 = Read-Host "Enter VM System (C:) Hard Drive in GB's (Press [Enter] to choose 60GB)" if ($VDisk1 -eq "") { $VDisk1 = 60GB } ; if ($VDisk1 -eq $NULL) { $VDisk1 = 60GB } if ($VDisk1 -ne 60GB) { $VDisk1 = [int]$VDisk1 * 1073741824 } $VDisk2 = Read-Host "Enter VM Data (D:) Hard Drive in GB's (Press [Enter] to choose 60GB)" if ($VDisk2 -eq "") { $VDisk2 = 60GB } ; if ($VDisk2 -eq $NULL) { $VDisk2 = 60GB } if ($VDisk2 -ne 60GB) { $VDisk2 = [int]$VDisk2 * 1073741824 } $VMSwitches = @(get-vmswitch) #clear variable for testing $VMSwitch = "" $VMNetwork = "" do { For ($i = 0; $i -le $VMSwitches. -
SCVMM 2012 R2 - Refresh Host Cluster - Error (2912)
- Fast publish post - be nice.. In my Cloud OS demonstration environment recently I had a host in the cluster reporting âNeeds Attentionâ status and refreshing the host cluster failed with âerror 2912â. The Hyper-V Host was in âNeeds Attentionâ status and performing any functions from VMM were failing. Job summary example below: _Error (2912) An internal error has occurred trying to contact the server.domain.net server: : . WinRM: URL: [http://server.
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SCOM 2012 R2 - Moving the operationsmanager DB from SQL server to new SQL Cluster
Moving SCOM 2012 R2 operationsdatabase to SQL Cluster. Process derived from this TechNet article http://technet.microsoft.com/en-au/library/hh278848.aspx Quick overview of the environment Versioning of my environment: System Center Operations Manger 2012 R2 w/ Update Rollup 4 SQL Server 2012 SP1 CU8 Windows Server 2012 R2 Existing servers and role: OM01 - Management Server OM02 - Management Server OM03 - Management Server OMSDB\OMDB - Operations Database Server / SQL Server 2012 SP1 OMSDW\OMDW - Data Warehouse Server / SQL Server 2012 SP1 -
Windows Azure Pack - change web sites default domain - Web Sites v2 update rollup 4
I recently had a POC WAP environment where the client wanted the web sites default domain changed. Ordinarily you canât do this through the web ui nor is it recommended.. But that does not mean itâs not possible.. As the title suggests, this change applies to Windows Azure Pack Web Sites Version 2 - Update Rollup 4. More info found here - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2992029 Firstly, take a look at the config: -
WAP Usage does not work. Last ID never changes. SQL Named instances.
This is a fast publish! We were working with WAP and had an issue on one of our deployments not getting usage information. Never had this issue in previous deployments but identified that our SCOM DW SQL is on a Named Instance on this deployment. The fix that worked for me with SQL Named instances to change the connection string to use âTrusted Connectionâ. My environment: SCOM MS Server = SCOM01. -
MDT 2013 - Windows region settings for Australia
So this fast-publish post is more of a reference page for the regional settings for Australia based Windows deployments Locale, keyboard and language settings for Australia. This is a basic oobe.xml file found under c:\windows\system32\oobe\info\default\1033 12 1033 0c09:00000409 AUS Eastern Standard Time true Technet reference for these settings: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-au/library/dn621901.aspx Language: 1033 (Full list found here) Location: 12 (Full list found here) Locale: 1033 (Full list found here) Keyboard: en-AU: United States - English (0c09:00000409) (Full list found here) Hope this helps my fellow aussies. -
SCOM 2012 R2 - Custom Monitor and Alert (WMI Leak)
Recently had a client request to monitor for WMI leaks and receive alerts when the WMI process starts to consume resources. Obviously there are other methods for monitoring and/or reporting on this, but in environments without access to these tools or the freedom to apply hotfixes (Yes, I have a client s with these types of restrictions), this method is suitable to their needs. Iâve blogged a performance rule here but if you want to receive an alert, below will achieve this for you. -
SCOM 2012 R2 - WMI Leak Collection Rule
Create a rule to view the memory usage of WMI process in Windows 2008/2008 R2 (and 2012/2012 R2) agent managed computers. As described here by Kevin Holman, there is a known WMI (KB981314) leak in 2008 R2 and Win 7 operating systems. For those who want a to monitor and alert for this, here is how to do it. (Note: Obviously there are other methods for reporting on the presence of the hotfix but for those without the luxury, this will be a nice little help) -
SCOM 2012 R2 - Enable Agent Proxy
Just a quick note on how to enable agent proxy via PowerShell Assumptions in this scenario: SCOM 2012 R2 - UR3 Using Operations Manager Shell You want all Agents with proxy enabled Some basics: Get-SCOMAgent Letâs limit our scope.. Get-SCOMAgent | where {$.ProxyingEnabled -match $False} Letâs enable the proxy for all listed agents Get-SCOMAgent | where {$.ProxyingEnabled -match $False} | Enable-SCOMAgentProxy Check the Agents again.. Get-SCOMAgent | where {$_.ProxyingEnabled -match $False} -
MDT 2013 - Windows 8.1 & disable Hibernation
Disabling hibernation is simple enough (âpowercfg.exe -h offâ) but how would we do this in MDT. As with all things MDT, there is often more multiple ways to achieve the same goal. The two methods I would use are by the modifying the unattend.xml as described here or using a command line step in the deployment sequence. A recent MDT project found the clients needs were more aligned with the task sequence step option. -
MDT 2013 - Win 8.1 Reference Image automation
Using MDT 2013 I wanted a sequence that automatically installs, sysprepâs and captures my reference image. For ease of management, I choose to have a dedicated MDT Deployment Share for my reference build process and use Powershell wherever possible. A more detailed process using the GUI can be found here Steps: Install ADK 8.1 Install MDT 2013 Install and configure WSUS Build the reference build share Configure build sequence Execute sequence in a VM Downloads required: -
Powershell script to set speaker volume
On a recent MDT project the client requested to finish all builds with volume set at 30%. Being committed to doing everything in Powershell, I jumped on the book of knowledge looking for some inspiration. As luck would have it, I found this response from knuckle-dragger that performed the complete task perfectly for me. Below is the PowerShell script that meets my clients âneedâ⌠Function Set-Speaker($Volume){ $wshShell = new-object -com wscript. -
MDT 2013 - USB Boot and drive letter management
A recent MDT project a client was using USB media to do the builds. This is easy enough to accomplish but something they couldnât handle was during the build, the USB drive gets assigned D and devices with optical drives ended up with E and so forth⌠This wasnât acceptable for various reasons in their environment so we had to force the USB builds to assign an appropriate drive letter. -
SCCM 2012 R2 - Move reporting services db to another volume on same server
Simple task today. I want to relocate my SQL Reporting Services DB to another drive/volume on the same server. Overview steps: Stop the SCCM Site Stop Report Services Detach and move files Attach files in new location Start Report Services Start SCCM Services Done Detailed steps: Stop the SITE %Sccminstalldir%\bin\x64\0000409\preinst.exe /stopsite Backup Report Server encryption keys In Report Services Configuration Manager > Encryption Keys > Backup Choose an appropriate location