AnilDesai.net

MVP Award for 2011

Apr 2

Posted by Anil Desai in General, Virtualization | No Comments

I just received notification that I have been again granted the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award in the area of Windows Server Virtualization! Unless my memory is failing me, this is the sixth year in which I’ve received the award. Thanks, as always, to Microsoft and the MVP program for the award and all of its benefits!

This area of specialization includes a group of virtualization-focused that have in-depth knowledge of Hyper-V, Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) and a lot of related technologies. Obviously, virtualization and cloud computing are popular areas of IT, so it’s especially nice to receive the award this year.

Earlier this year, I had the benefit of interacting with a wide variety of IT experts at the Microsoft MVP Summit in Redmond, WA. I try to attend this event every year, as it’s a great opportunity to network with others and to get some inside information on the future of things from Microsoft. It’s also a good excuse to make it to the Pacific Northwest. So far, this year has presented itself for numerous opportunities to write, speak, and consult on the topic of virtualization strategies and implementations. I hope to keep this up throughout the rest of the year.

For more details, you can visit my profile here: Anil Desai’s MVP Profile.

TEC 2011: Virtualization Approaches and Storage Presentations

Mar 30

Posted by Anil Desai in Cloud Computing, Presentations, Storage, Virtualization | No Comments

As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m scheduled to speak at The Experts Conference 2011 in Las Vegas (April 17 – 20, 2011). I’ll be giving two presentations in TEC’s new Virtualization and Cloud track. My sessions abstracts are below. In addition, Session Abstracts for each of the tracks and the Conference Agenda are now available online. Let me know if you plan to attend or if there’s anything you’d like to see me cover (either in the presentations or on this blog).

Storage Considerations for Virtualization

Key considerations related to successful virtualization deployments revolve around provisioning highly-reliable, cost-effective solutions to meet business and technical needs. The challenge for IT is in consolidating and optimizing infrastructures while staying within budgets. The primary concerns – including storage capacity, performance, and reliability – can drive the success or failure of virtualized deployments.

This presentation begins with recommendations for designing a storage environment based on business and technical requirements and a solid understanding of application workload requirements. Strategies for collecting storage statistics through historical and real-time performance monitoring can provide valuable insight into real requirements. Based on this data, IT departments can compare different storage approaches, including centralized network-based storage, and cloud-based options. Important features to consider include data de-duplication, thin provisioning, high-availability, clustering, and disaster recovery. Attendees will learn methods by which they can best plan for, implement, manage, and monitor storage for virtualization in their own environments.

Evaluating Virtualization Approaches

The term "virtualization" can apply to a broad range of varying technologies, ranging from storage to networks to servers to applications. The primary goal of these approaches is to simplify management, increase efficiency, allow for scalability, and meet reliability requirements. With recent improvements in virtualization technology, the challenge for IT professionals is in deciding which approaches are the most relevant, given specific requirements.

The focus of this presentation is on understanding the technology behind various virtualization approaches, including presentation-, application-, session-, user state-, desktop-, and server-virtualization. The topic will begin with information on understanding business, technical, and service requirements. These details will then be used to compare a wide variety of different approaches to solving common IT problems. Attendees will receive information that will help them choose which approaches make sense in their own environments.

Focus Interactive Webcast: 10Gb Ethernet Campus Design

Mar 9

Posted by Anil Desai in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

It seems that with every new leap in technology, organizations put a greater load on their existing infrastructure. Networking is no exception. From the need to support a broad variety of different types of traffic (including VoIP, mobile devices, video streaming, and good ol’ “standard” network activity), network administrators need to consider their options. Often, the key trade-off with the constraints of standard Gigabit Ethernet is the complexity of managing different types of network traffics. Data centers often have to use a layered approach that can increase management complexity. That’s where 10Gb Ethernet comes in. This technology allows organizations to keep their network flat while provided support for high-throughput applications and network segments.

On that topic, I’ll be co-presenting in the Focus Webcast titled Simplicity Itself: A New Vision for 10 Gigabit Campus Design. Lance Carr, Product Marketing Manager from Juniper’s Fabric and Switching Group will be providing technical details on their solutions and recommendations. Here’s a brief overview of the topic:

Today’s increasing Ethernet network bandwidth demands can easily lead IT organizations towards a path of network topologies that lower performance, reliability, and manageability. When the right network design approach is followed, however, performance and reliability are easy to achieve.

In this live webinar, you’ll hear from a panel of experts as they explain how you can use 10 Gigabit Ethernet to simplify your network topology and make it more supportable than intrinsically complex solutions. You’ll discover:

High performance simplified Network infrastructure that enables uniform user experience.

Enabling events for a 10 Gigabit network infrastructure

How to reduce your operational costs, while scaling your network for today and tomorrow’s business needs

The webcast is free, so be sure to register if you’re interested in new network technology.

Virtualization and Storage Presentations at The Experts Conference

Feb 17

Posted by Anil Desai in Cloud Computing, Presentations, Storage, Virtualization | No Comments

I’m currently scheduled to speak on two topics at The Experts Conference 2011 in Las Vegas (April 17 – 20, 2011). The conference has tracks that focus on Directory Services, Exchange, SharePoint, and Virtualization.

The two topics I’m planning to present are tentatively titled Storage Considerations for Virtualization and Evaluating Virtualization Approaches. I’ll post more details and abstracts here as the conference gets closer.

Mozy Support Nightmares: A Cloudy Forecast for Online Storage and Backups?

Feb 17

Posted by Anil Desai in Cloud Computing, General, Networking, Storage | 5 Comments

Over the last year, I have been frequently asked write and speak about storage and cloud-based service offerings. Remote storage is a compelling technology for consumers and IT departments, and it’s a good starting point for those that might be interested in dipping their toes (or heads) into the more-ethereal-than-Ethernet “cloud”.

Trouble in Cloud City

Several years ago, I wrote a blog post about the virtues and benefits of online backups (see Online Backup Options). Since then, I have recommended cloud-based storage (and, Mozy, in particular) to a rather large number of IT professionals, friends, and family. The idea itself is compelling: Online backups have the potential of simplifying the backup process for most users, while providing secure remote storage. But what happens when something goes wrong? Or if you just have a technical question?

I don’t often highlight specific companies for poor customer service – it’s almost to be expected from many organizations these days – but a recent interaction I had with Mozy’s Customer Support has ended in my completely giving up on trying to resolve what should have been a very simple issue. Without getting into the technical specifics, I have been trying to perform backups of Encrypting File System (EFS)-encrypted local files to the cloud. From the latest information I could find, Mozy supports both local and online backups of EFS encrypted files. That wasn’t my experience, though – I received cryptic error messages and overall backup failures. So, I decided to contact Mozy’s Customer Support, creating a case that included my log files and a detailed description of the problem.

A Little Rain Must Fall…

In summary: It has been over two weeks now, and after three escalations, I’m no closer to resolving the problem. Just about every response I have sent to Mozy (along with requests for escalation) have been ignored. In fact, a US Escalations Customer Support Manager has barely managed to feign any interest in my issue at all. An hour-long phone call with a Level 2 Customer Support technician resulted in his disabling of several necessary services on my primary Windows 7 workstation (I had to keep records of this so I could reverse the changes myself), and poring through log files that provided little useful information. The response to my most recent request for support has been a request for me to (again) restate the original problem (it’s thoroughly documented in their support system – I just can’t get anyone to read it). I do plan to escalate this issue to the Director- or VP-level at Mozy as I somehow hopeful that someone at the organization will care.

Cloud Compatibility

One of the most promising aspects of cloud-based service offerings is a reduction in complexity. Rather that relying on complicated application deployments (the story goes), we can leave all of the details to services that are provided off-site. But what about support and compatibility issues? What happens when two or more cloud services vendors decide that their services are incompatible? My case with Mozy might be that type of issue, though it doesn’t seem like there’s any official documentation or support boundaries related to which products can peacefully co-exist on the same system with it and which options are supported. And what if the vendor decides that features and functionality I require aren’t important to them? Sure, I could run into the same problems with local applications, but workarounds are far easier to find when I control both communication endpoints.

Risk Mitigation

I understand that I’m hardly the first person to suffer from poor technical support, but this experience has made me reconsider the risks of cloud-based services in general. I’m hardly an important customer for Mozy, but I am paying for their service and I really do rely on the sanctity of my backups. My typical response to organizations that doubt the cloud is to first compare the reliability of their own datacenter infrastructure against that of an online service provider’s. However, in this case, I’m completely stuck – I either need to reduce security at my file system level, discontinue the use of Mozy (and transfer 25 GB of data to a competing service), or revert to local backups.

All Eggs in One Cloud?

As the entire world moves to a greater reliance on Internet connections and online services, it becomes harder to create fall-back plans and alternatives. It’s simply not practical or cost-effective to expect your service providers to fail you. What’s the point in online backups if I need to have a backup plan for my online backup provider?

That makes me curious: Who else has had a recent experience that has questioned their value in hosted services? Was it downtime, client application issues, availability, poor customer support, or all of the above? And how safe do you feel when your mission-critical IT infrastructure is resting on clouds?

Guest Post: Advantages of the SQL Server Master Qualification

Dec 22

Posted by Anil Desai in Uncategorized | No Comments

One of the more common questions I get are those related to career advice and suggestions for getting started (or moving up in) the field of IT. These questions are really important for those that are trying to make the most of their careers in rather trying times. On that topic, Michele P. Rouse from the SQL Certification Blog recently provided me with some great content that will provide some information on the new SQL Server Microsoft Certified Master qualification. Be sure to check out Michele’s site for more information and advice on various database certifications. – Anil

Will you get advantages from the new easy to get SQL server master qualification?

By Michele P. Rouse (SQL Certification Blog)

In my experience the most notable DB platforms are Microsoft and Oracle. I have come to find that MySQL is trusted in start-up companies and DB people who know this platform will make higher salaries, but I honestly rarely ever run into MySQL in job searches.

One reason I favor MS SQL Server is because it also includes the SSRS BI platform which is powerful and popular. DB folks who know SSRS (SQL Server Reporting Services) have become very sought-after candidates in several companies. Typically, companies end up needing to buy licenses for third-party BI (Business Intelligence) applications which could cost a lot of extra money.

With SQL Server, BI and ETL (extract, transform, load) tools come with the original license. I know that maybe the interest in databases is especially to understand DB construction, however you can’t say for sure when or if you branch out and find out more.

The advantage of SQL is that the language itself is fairly universal. I say fairly because each vendor has added their very own functions and syntax. Microsoft and Sybase both use T-SQL, Oracle uses PL/SQL and MySQL uses ANSI-SQL. Ultimately everything you start learning on one platform could be applied to other platforms.

Becoming a SQL Server Microsoft Certified Master (MCM) is no small task now. Lower than 1 percent of certified professionals hold a Master certification, and even for good reason: In addition to having difficult minimum competencies (5 years SQL Server experience and deep knowledge in all facets of SQL Server), practicing a SQL Server MCM has always come at a significant cost. In fact, that cost has been about $18,500, once you accumulate the necessary three week training and four exams.

The SQL Server MCM certification is the highest technical certification that Microsoft offers to SQL Server professionals. It’s suitable for individuals with five years of hands-on SQL Server experience in critical environments. Competencies include designing and implementing high-performance, scalable enterprise environments and troubleshooting the most challenging SQL Server issues.

Well, at PASS (The Professional Association for SQL Server) this week, Microsoft announced all that is changing. Based on the company, the changes will be in reply to requests from experienced SQL Server professionals who need to earn MCM’s but (go figure) do not have $18,500.

Now, candidates can earn the certification by passing just two exams: the four-hour Knowledge Exam, and a six-hour hands-on Lab Exam, which is obtainable in early 2011.

Fortunately, Microsoft has made some significant changes to the program, including:

The 3-week in-person training has stopped being required. So, if you think like you have what it takes, you’ll be able to march right up and go ahead and take the certification exams. You pay the price of the exams, which can be about $2,500.
There are now only two exams rather than four: 88-970 (Knowledge Exam) and 88-971 (Lab Exam).
To aid SQL Server professionals plan for the exams at a lower cost, Microsoft now offers some free MCM videos.

And you? Do you think the newest MS SQL Certification will assist you in your job?

Who am I ?: Michele P. Rouse is writing for the sql certification path blog, her personal and non-commercial in nature hobby blog targeted at recommendations to offer free info for data base beginners/professionals to enable them to get a new profession.

Focus Interactive Summit: Virtualization–The Ongoing Revolution

Nov 3

Posted by Anil Desai in Uncategorized | No Comments

Virtualization technology has come a really long way in the last few years. Products and features are much more mature, and lessons learned from early adopters have lead to solutions to some of the most common and important problems that IT departments tend to encounter. Still, the majority of existing servers in most environments are not virtualized.

The Focus Interactive Summit on Virtualization – The Ongoing Revolution is an all-day online event that brings speakers and thousands of online attendees together for presentations and live Q & A chats on a variety of topics related to virtualization. Here’s a brief description of the event:

Join us to learn about the latest trends and advances in virtualization, including; server, storage, desktop, and network virtualization and best practices for each.

Many of us find it difficult to attend live conferences due to budget, travel, and other issues. This free online event will be help on Thursday, November 18th, 2010. I’ll update this post with more details as soon as they’re available online.

You can also view my Focus Expert profile on Focus.com to get some more information about my topic.

Update: The agenda is now available on the event web site from the link above (note that all times are stated in the Pacific time zone)

“Habits of Highly Successful South Asians” in Austin: August 24th

Aug 10

Posted by Anil Desai in General, Presentations | No Comments

The Austin Chapter of the Network of Indian Professionals (NetIP) is hosting it’s annual Professional Development event this Saturday, August 28th, 2010 from 10:00am to noon. I decided to take a somewhat different track from other professional development events in putting this one together. Most events have a single or two speakers (or sometimes a panel) of “experts” that will focus on a single topic. While that approach can certainly be helpful, I prefer to hear from a wide range of successful people about their careers, backgrounds, and what they’ve learned. The focus of this event is on having numerous ~10-minute presentations from a wide variety of different backgrounds.

For more details, including a list of speakers and their topics, see the NetIP Austin Web Site and Events Calendar (we’ve got a lot of other stuff going on, as well). If you’d like to attend, please RSVP via our Facebook Event Page. I hope to see you there!

SQL Server 2008 R2 Report Builder 3.0 (RTM)

May 12

Posted by Anil Desai in Databases / SQL Server, Development, IT Tips | 69 Comments

By far, the most popular posting on this site is Visual Studio 2008 & Business Intelligence Development Studio (Troubleshooting). The post currently has over 60 comments. It seems that here’s a lot of confusion about ways in which developers and report designers can get the tools they need to create and manage SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) reports. If you’re trying to work with the Business Intelligence Development Studio (BIDS) with SQL Server 2005 or SQL Server 2008, or you’re planning to use Report Builder 2.0, that post should point you in the right direction.

So now that SQL Server 2008 R2 has been released, what’s the story for report development? Fortunately, it’s not quite as confusing. The primary tool you’ll use for developing reports is Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Report Builder 3.0. You can download it manually using the link to the Microsoft Download site, or you can install it using ClickOnce by loading your Reporting Services web site (e.g., http://localhost/Reports). The download is also available as part of the Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Feature Pack (along with a wide variety of other tools and utilities). Report Builder 3.0 supports the creation of reports for both SQL Server 2008 and the R2 version.

If you’re moving to (or testing) the RTM version of SQL Server 2008 R2, Report Builder 3.0 is likely the best way to get acquainted with the new features of this release. And, thankfully, the migration process should be much simpler than it was for previous versions of SSRS. A great resource for more information is the MSDN SQL Server 2008 R2 Reporting Services Forum. Or, if you have any questions, feel free to post them here.

Microsoft Thrive: IT Pro of the Month!

Apr 12

Posted by Anil Desai in General, IT Tips, Presentations, Systems Admin, Virtualization, Webcasts | 4 Comments

It’s no secret that IT professionals and their organizations have been significantly affected by the downturn in the economy. Those of us that have been through the so-called “dot-com” days can see how much things can change within a few years. Fortunately, at least some companies are developing resources to help IT professionals weather the downturn. I’d go a bit further in saying that these otherwise dismal times can provide significant opportunities for those that are willing to invest in their skills and their profession.

The Microsoft Thrive web site is a free resource that is designed to help IT professionals in a variety of ways. For example, the site includes the following goals and areas:

Advance Your Career
Enhance Your Technical Skills
Align IT with Business

Some of the content is Microsoft-focused, but much of it applies to just about any area of IT specialization.

I’m honored to say that I’ve been chosen as the Thrive IT Pro of the Month (see Thrive IT Pro of the Month: Anil Desai)! I recorded a brief (~9 minutes long) presentation that covers, among other things, some recommendations for IT pros to get ahead, how IT pros can demonstrate their value, details on technology-focused topics and even a mention of the importance of hobbies.

The entire audio presentation is available from download using the previous link. Here’s an excerpt from the written transcript:

As an independent consultant, I’m fairly diversified in the area of IT. I’m also used to the ups and downs in the IT industry, starting from the dot-com days in the late 1990’s to today. I use a variety of different specializations to fill in the inevitable downtime between projects. So, I’m fairly fortunate in that I’ve been able to maintain my business through the recent crunch.

However, the downturn in the economy has certainly had an impact on my clients, especially in the area of prioritization. Many organizations have focused on cost-cutting and many organizations have removed or scaled-back many of their non-essential projects. Those changes can sometimes translate into lay-offs, increased work for remaining staff, and short-term changes at the expense of long-term gains.

All of this provides some serious challenges (as well as some opportunities) for IT professionals. One change is that it really puts the emphasis on IT professionals’ ability to work as a strategic part of their businesses. I’ve heard it said that people know when IT departments are doing their jobs when they don’t know that IT departments are doing their jobs. The idea here is that IT is traditionally seen as a behind-the-scenes force (or sometimes just as a cost center). Business leaders might feel that IT provides little strategic value to the overall business.

Tough economic environments bring this issue to the forefront: IT professionals must understand overall business goals and must be able to apply the right technical solutions to solve business problems. And, they need to demonstrate their value within and outside of their IT groups. For those IT pros that have been able to focus on just the technical aspects of their skillset, this is a good time to branch out into the rest of the business world.

Feel free to e-mail me if you’d like the entire transcript. And please post here if you have any questions, comments, or recommendations for your IT peers.

SQL Saturday in Dallas: May 22, 2010

Apr 8

Posted by Anil Desai in Databases / SQL Server, Development, Presentations, Windows Server | No Comments

SQL Saturday is a series of free single-day conferences that’s being held throughout the United States. Here’s some basic information about the conference from the web site:

We started SQLSaturday in 2007 as a platform for free one day training events for SQL Server professionals. We focus on local speakers, providing a good variety of topics, and making it all happen through the efforts of volunteers. Whether you’re attending one or thinking about hosting your own, we think you’ll find it’s a great way to spend a Saturday.

Events are currently scheduled through October, 2010 (see the site for details on dates and locations). Also, if you’re interested in speaking at one of the events, be sure to submit your session early.

I’ll be presenting two SQL Server sessions (details below) at SQL Saturday Dallas 2010. As of this writing, it looks like there are nearly 500 registered attendees. It should be a great event!

SQL Server Basics for non-DBAs

Despite the importance and value of relational databases, many developers and administrators often have only a basic understanding of how they work. This session covers the basic architecture of SQL Server, including basic installation and configuration of the server. The focus will be an overview of the most important topics, including: Managing database storage, performing regular database maintenance, managing security and data protection. Finally, we’ll conclude with some best practices for managing database schemas and objects. Attendees are encouraged to bring their server and database management questions.

Reporting Services: Development and Deployment

This session will begin with a brief architectural overview of Reporting Services and details on getting up and running with Reporting Services. Then, we will look at demonstrations of creating new reports by building connections and data sets using Report Builder and Visual Studio. Reporting design features including parameterization, dynamic drill-downs, matrix reports, charts, and sorting will be provided.

MVP Award for 2010

Apr 5

Posted by Anil Desai in General | No Comments

I’m happy to report that I have again received the Microsoft MVP Award in the area of “Windows Server – Virtualization”! Thanks to everyone at Microsoft for the recognition and the excellent benefits that are part of the program.

For more details, please visit Anil Desai’s MVP Profile page. It includes links to my upcoming events, presentations, publications, and related details. The MVP web site is also a great place to search if you’re looking for an IT pro with a specific area of expertise.

Austin CodeCamp 2010: May 15, 2010

Apr 5

Posted by Anil Desai in Databases / SQL Server, Presentations, Windows Server | No Comments

The Austin .NET User Group (ADNUG) is holding it’s free, annual technical event in mid-May. Austin Code Camp 2010 will include dozens of technical sessions that are focused on programming methodology (such as Test-Driven Development) and practices. Here’s some basic info from the conference web site:

The Austin .Net User Group is proud to sponsor it’s fourth Annual Code Camp

This is one day FREE conference For The Community, By the community.

The Conference is on May 15, 2010 at St Edward’s Professional Education Center from 8 am to 5 pm. Click the link on the Location Tab for additional information about St Edward’s.

If you’re planning to attend, please be sure to use the site’s Session Voting page. This will give organizers and speakers some help in planning room assignments and will help speakers tailor their presentations for audience size.

I’ll also be presenting two sessions at this year’s event. Below are the details. Feel free to respond here if you have any questions or comments on the topics, and I hope to see you there!

SQL Server Reporting Services: Develop & Deploy Reports

This session will begin with a brief architectural overview of Reporting Services and details on getting up and running with Reporting Services. Then, we will look at demonstrations of creating new reports by building connections and data sets using Report Builder and Visual Studio. Reporting design features including parametrization, dynamic drill-downs, matrix reports, charts, and sorting will be provided.

Next, we’ll look at deployment details, including scheduling reports, configuring caching, creating snapshots, and managing security. Time permitting, the presentation will include a demonstration of using Report Viewer controls within ASP.NET and Windows Forms applications. The session is intended for developers that have basic familiarity with report development (in any technology) and a basic understanding of SQL.

Practical SQL Server Performance Monitoring & Optimization

Developers can dramatically improve performance by monitoring and analyzing real world queries. This session covers SQL Server monitoring at various levels to the most impactful performance improvements. The presentation will start with an overview of different optimization tools and techniques and will be based on practical examples of real-world performance monitoring and troubleshooting. Details include the use of server monitoring tools, SQL Profiler, the Database Tuning Advisor, and analyzing query plans, Dynamic Management Views, and related methods. The overall emphasis will be on solving practical, real-world database performance problems.

This session assumes that attendees have basic familiarity with SQL Server and with writing database queries.

Connection errors when migrating from Visual SourceSafe (VSS) to Team Foundation Server (TFS) using VSSConverter (Error TF31002)

Feb 11

Posted by Anil Desai in Development, IT Tips | 9 Comments

If you haven’t yet heard, the Release Candidate (RC) version of Visual Studio 2010 is now available to MSDN Subscribers. Personally, I was waiting for this release to move my primary development environment over to the new version. Overall, the installation and setup process was easy enough on two of my development machines. The biggest problems I ran into were related to migrating my dozen or so development projects from Visual SourceSafe to Team Foundation Server. I know I’m a bit behind the curve, but I’m an independent developer, and I was actually happy enough with VSS.

Using VSSConverter

The VSSConverter.exe utility is Microsoft’s command-line tool for migrating Visual SourceSafe repositories to Team Foundation Server. The utility includes analyze and migrate modes and is driven by XML-based configuration files. The process was simple enough and is documented in the following MSDN articles:

Migration Errors

The basic process went well until I got to the step of actually performing the migration. That’s when I encountered the following dreaded TF31002 error:

I checked my server name, port, and other settings numerous times but still couldn’t get it to work. Web searches provided some basic troubleshooting information, but nothing relevant to my issue. All diagnostics that I ran (including the Best Practices Analyzer from the Team Foundation Server Power Tools) reported that everything was OK.

The Solution…

I finally stumbled upon the solution in an old bug reported via Microsoft Connect. The defect report is titled VSSConverter cannot connect to the Team Foundation Server and offers the following problem description and solution:

When trying to migrate a Source Safe database to TFS2010 the VSSConverter tool exits with the following error:
TF60070: Unable to connect to the Team Foundation Server: ‘http://ts01:8080/’. Please ensure that the Team Foundation Server exists and try again.
The Team Foundation Server exists but at http://ts01:8080/tfs (default installation) The VSSConverter tool is unable to access this location.

UPDATE!
There is a new configuration option in the TeamFoundationServer element to specify the collection to which the sourcesafe database should be merged. It’s nowhere to be found in the documentation yet.
The solution is to add collection="tfs/DefaultCollection" to the TeamFoundationServer to specify which collection should be used.

After adding the “collection=” attribute, the migration worked flawlessly. It took about an hour to transfer all of my code and versions, but everything looks good now. The migration process could be simpler, but (if I’m lucky), I’ll only have to do this once. I hope this helps some of you that might have run into the same problem.

Live Webcast: Data Center Cost-Efficiency, Security and Compliance

Feb 2

Posted by Anil Desai in Management, Presentations, Systems Admin, Webcasts | 1 Comment

IT operations groups and datacenter managers are always searching for new ways to reduce costs while still meeting security, configuration, and compliance requirements. Fortunately, there are numerous methods by which organizations can achieve these goals. On February 25th, I’ll be presenting a free, live webcast on the topic of The 2010 Data Center: Driving Cost-Efficiency, Security and Compliance. Here’s an overview of the topic from the webcast’s web site:

Thursday, February 25, 2010
10AM PST / 1PM EST

With the new decade comes new opportunity to implement the best technologies and practices for IT. Join this FREE live webinar to learn how to cost-effectively plan, implement and manage a 21st century data center to drive greater efficiency, security and compliance.

You’ll hear from leading experts about ways organizations are leveraging technologies such as virtualization and configuration management to build flexible, resilient, cost-efficient and high-performing data centers for 2010.

Join now to:

• Get a blueprint to plan and implement IT best practices to modernize, consolidate, and secure your technology environment
• Hear how to cost-effectively drive improved security and compliance across your IT infrastructure while staying agile and competitive
• Learn about the benefits of a combined solution for configuration assessment with configuration change auditing for improved data center operations

The presentation is arranged by Focus.com and is sponsored by TripWire. I’ll begin the presentation with an overview of technical best practices. Then, Barak Engel from EAmmune will provide specific information on products, technologies, and approaches you can use to achieve these goals. We’ll wrap up by taking live questions from the audience. The entire webcast should last under an hour.