Which Is The Right Virtualization Solution For You – VMware or Hyper-V

You have a new project – to update a couple of outdated Servers. These servers are running Windows Server 2003 and they have database server role configured on each one and the company budget is very limited.   Why not consider Virtualization for your new project? Compressing the most value and reducing the costs of software, hardware and applications is a great idea.

What is Virtualization? Virtualization is a matter of consolidating workloads on one physical server. You can safely run several Operating Systems (Servers and Clients) and applications at the same time in a single computer with each having access to the resources when needed.  Start eliminating old servers and run multiple virtual machines on each physical machine. The main purpose of virtualization is to provide solution to organizations to improve the server utilization and reduce costs by using one computer.

Two of the most popular virtualization technologies in the market are VMware and Hyper-V, they are both Hypervisor based virtualization that allows and is capable of running multiple Operating Systems which are also known as guests, and they run synchronously in a host computer.  Hyper-V is one of the Server Roles of Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2012, whereas VMware can be installed in a bare metal hardware as long as it meets all hardware specifications.  With the release of Microsoft Hyper-V 2012 which is a bare metal or dedicated stand-alone Hyper-V only version, is a cost effective virtualization solution and has improved scalability and performance.

What is Hypervisor? A Hypervisor is commonly installed on a server hardware, with the functionality of running guest operating system.  There are 2 types of Hypervisors, Type 1 and Type2. Type 1 Hypervisor is considered a bare-metal hypervisor and runs directly on top of hardware. Type 2 Hypervisor operates as an application on top of an existing operating system. VMware vSphere or ESXi and Citrix XenServer are Type 1 Hypervisors. VirtualBox, VMware Workstation and Microsoft Virtual PC are all Type 2 hypervisors.  As for Hyper-V, it  is unclear where it is suited.

A question that you may ask – What if you are an administrator in a small business or medium size Local Area Network (LAN)?  Hyper-V is in-built and part of Server Roles of Windows 2008 and Windows 2012 Server, a simple configuration is all it takes, whereas VMware is not free and the licensing is pricey. If the IT budget is not an issue in your company you may choose and implement VMware. Do some research and evaluation on what type of Applications and Databases will you be running in your VMWare prior to implementation. Professional knowledge on setting up VMware is also needed, therefore proper training is necessary,  but it can be costly.

So, which is the right Virtualization solution for you – VMware or Hyper-V?

Here’s my suggestion and might be feasible for your project:
Buy two or three low end hardware servers with identical technical specifications and install Windows 2008 R2 Enterprise (to run multiple Operating Systems simultaneously) and configure them with Hyper-V or consider Hyper-V Server 2012. It is best to have at least RAID 5 configured for a database server role; even a good computer or self-built might work for a company with a low IT budget. In case one of the virtual machines fails, utilize the other server by moving the Virtual Hard Disc (VHD) this process will only takes a few minutes with a minimal down time. There’s no need for you to invest on expensive backup software. Also, get at least two or more Terabytes NAS’es or USB external hard drives to backup the VHDs. Well…that’s a heck of a lot of savings, don’t you think?

Note:  Before implementing virtualization in your network it is always a good practice to experiment and setup a lab. I have experimented Hyper-V Role from Windows Server 2008 Enterprise and Windows 2012 Server prior to implementation a couple of times and it works great for me. You will need to be aware of potential benefits and drawbacks of whether Hyper-V or VMware is suited in your project. There might be possible performance overhead, and management burdens for configuring and maintaining the host Operating System.

Helpful Virtualization resources:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg610658.aspx

http://www.virtualizationadmin.com/articles-tutorials/microsoft-hyper-v-articles/installation-and-deployment/performing-bare-metal-installation-hyper-v-using-system-center-virtual-machine-manager-2012.html

Easy and Useful PoweShell Commands used for Exchange Server 2010

Have you ever wondered how to make your life as a Network or Exchange Administrator a lot easier by using the PowerShell commands in your Exchange Server 2010? Some tasks can be daunting so I have compiled some easy to follow commands. I have actually been using all of these.

Note:  Mailbox Database, User, domain.com, usermail.com are just examples that I used and all fictitious, you may replace them with appropriate database name, domain, User and email.

Some common tasks that the Exchange Server 2010 System Manager was used for was exporting lists of mailbox users into CSV format for reporting in Excel, knowing the Statistics of Users Mailboxes and Whitelisting.

Export output of Mailbox Users in CSV format, and then open it up in Excel.

Get-MailboxDatabase “Mailbox Database” | Get-MailboxStatistics | Sort totalitemsize -desc | Export-CSV C:\mailboxes.csv

Statistics of all Users mailboxes in a particular database.

Get-MailboxDatabase “Mailbox Database” | Get-MailboxStatistics | Sort totalitemsize -desc | ft displayname, totalitemsize, itemcount

Statistics of a particular User

Get-MailboxStatistics User | ft DisplayName, TotalItemSize, ItemCount

Whitelisting Domain

Set-ContentFilterConfig -BypassedSenderDomains the domain.com

Whitelisting a Specific Email

Set-ContentFilterConfig -BypassedSenderDomains the useremail.com

Microsoft’s Office 365 vs Google Apps Cloud Solutions……the Security and Privacy

I wrote an article about Microsoft’s Office 365 vs Google Apps Cloud Solutions a few months ago and now I’d like to talk about the security and privacy concerns of these cloud solutions for most businesses and consumers.
So…. you’re a Lawyer or a Doctor and also a small business owner trying to decide which cloud solution will be best suited for your company. You should also be concerned about your company’s privacy, sensitive information and files that will be transmitted over the internet and then stored in the cloud. This is a serious factor to think about and whether or not to put your trust in either Microsoft Office 365 or Google Apps and the security risks involved. Consider not only how much confidential information your company has, but how you can protect your valuable data, and about choosing the right solution with trustworthy security. It is also a good idea to evaluate Microsoft Office 365 and Google Apps regarding security measures if this is a major concern to your business.

Both Microsoft Office 365 and Google Apps offer an extra layer of security so that every browser session will be secured with SSL encryption and reduce your worry about outside forces stealing sensitive data such as passwords, credit cards information, etc.. It may be useful to consider what type of additional network security systems your organization has, or wants to implement or upgrade to if you have a budget for this – eg…hardware and software firewall/security protection. For a highly sophisticated security and privacy, if the company budget is not an issue and you’d like to sync Microsoft Office programs to Exchange Server, Office 365 might be the right solution for your company. Here’s a documentation regarding Office 365 Security and Compliance. If you have a reasonable IT budget then Google Apps is good alternative solution. Here’s a good read on Google Apps Security and Compliance.

At the end of the day, the same questions will be asked and pondered as to how these cloud solutions are using highly encrypted technology . Will Google and Microsoft be able to provide you with a high level of protection? The reality…there will always be questions regarding security and privacy. Good luck with your decision, I think that either one would work just fine for you.

Goodbye SBS and Welcome Windows Server 2012 Essentials

It’s the end of the road for SBS and Microsoft introduces a much better cloud-enabled server platform solution and a more flexible product – Windows Small Business Server Essentials has been renamed Windows Server 2012 Essentials. SBS will disappear in a year after its milestone but will still be sold until June 2013, Dec 2013, and >5 years depending on the licensing models. Essentials 2012 is part of the Windows Server 2012 family which comes in four different versions – Foundation, Essentials, Standard, and Data Center all have major draw to the cloud. Windows Server Essentials will only support up to 25 Users. If you need more licensing Windows Server 2012 Standard is doable. Also, if you are looking to  implement virtualization Essentials 2012 has no virtualization rights.

Don’t be surprised if there will be frustrations among the Small Business Consultants and Consumers when SBS departs,  it might be a tough transition for them to move to Essentials 2012.

The main focus here is the email flexibility on the Essentials 2012, Consultants and Customers will have their option whether they wanted their email on-premises, hosted or cloud.

Download Windows Server 2012 Essentials Beta: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=30327

Windows Server 2012 Essentials FAQ (PDF) – Microsoft

What’s the Best Router…..the Final Update!

Well, it has been a couple of months now since I have blogged on What’s the Best Router….an update……The D-Link router has been returned to the Vendor which was a hassle free experience. It is now time to give my final update and progress of my new Netgear Dual-Band router.  So far it is performing great and we haven’t had any major issues. The setup is very easy, I had to do a manual configuration and it’s just my own preference but it might be easier for most of you to opt out of the manual setup and use the setup wizard which should take up to 2 minutes to setup, it’s as easy as 1-2-3.  This will assign automatic SSID and network security which is WPA2 and a complex pass-phrase, all you need to do is to write down the SSID and pass-phrase.

I will be focusing on some of the best features of Netgear and explain a little bit as to why these are important and might give you some good hints and decide to purchase a similar router with all of these great features. These are some of the most popular features of Netgear that you may also find on similar modern routers.

Parental Controls - Are you worried at your children’s (commonly teenagers) safety and not knowing the sites that they visit every day?  This is a big concern and this router has the advanced Parental Controls feature and it’s free of charge from Netgear. You may modify the default filter from Custom to High and restrict hours of use using the scheduler. You may white list and black list keywords, websites and domain names. You may also exclude certain computers that you do not wish to have the Parental Controls enabled.

Guests Networks  – Creating  different or multiples SSIDs  for your guests is a nice option to keep them segregated from your private SSID  and  not open to your wireless network to security risks. Make sure to disable “Allow guest to access My Local Network” to keep your shared critical and confidential network files not accessible at all from your house guests.

DLNA Media Streaming – One of the biggest trends in the industry right now is Media Streaming.  Web-based media streaming is the most popular one; you may subscribe to Netflix, VUDU, Hulu, Amazon Video, and the most popular one  is YouTube and stream them in your HDTV, Computer, Blu-ray, Tablets and X-box/Playstation 3.  If you intend to stream high-definition video, you should probably invest in an 802.11n Wi-Fi router which is the latest Standard. You must have either Cable or fiber-optic broadband internet to provide the highest speeds, and slickest streaming performance.

Simultaneous Dual Band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) - If you have multiple wireless devices, these two bands will run simultaneously for better network performance. Remember, to make use of the dual band you will need wireless network adapters that supports the dual band technology. Clients that supports 802.11b/g  can be set to run on the 2.4 GHz side of a simultaneous dual-band router without affecting the performance of 802.11n clients running at 5 GHz.

See for yourself and decide if you’ll need all of these features or not.  Similar features can also be found on the Modern Routers, old routers will not support most of these features.

• NETGEAR Genie®—Easy dashboard control to manage, monitor, and repair home networks
• Live Parental Controls with flexible and customizable filter settings
• Simultaneous Dual Band—Runs both 2.4 and 5 GHz bands simultaneously
• ReadySHARE® Printer—Wirelessly print from your Mac® Computer or PC to a connected USB printer
• Two (2) ports for ReadySHARE® USB Storage Access—Wirelessly share a USB drive with Mac® computers and PCs
• DLNA® compatible—Stream media to DLNA HDTVs, Blu-rayTM players and game consoles
• Multiple SSID guest networks (separate security and access restrictions)
• Broadband usage meter measures Internet usage

We have a few Posters/Members at Tech Support Forums lately asking us in Networking Forums if it’s worth buying a new, modern/advanced router. My reply to all of them is – definitely YES. It won’t be a waste of money at all and you’ll definitely benefit from all the enhanced network security and other great features.

There’s no need to spend a fortune for a good router; you don’t need a Dual Band router if there are not too many wireless devices running simultaneously in your network but will be good to be prepared in a near future if you decide to add more wireless devices and will be doing heavy video streaming.  Before buying a router, I’d suggest  to download the PDF Manual from the Manufacturer’s site to read the complete technical details of the router.  Again, reviews are also important, Trustedreviews is one good site that you may find honest reviews.

Here are some of my router  recommendations:

Buffalo Technology AirStation HighPower N600
Netgear WNDR3700 N600 Dual Band Gigabit Wireless Router
Linksys E3200 High-Performance Simultaneous Dual-Band
Asus Black Diamond Dual Band Wireless-N 600 
D-Link DIR-632 Wireless-N 8-Port Router
Netgear N300 Wireless ADSL2+ Modem Router 
TRENDnet 300Mbps Wireless N ADSL 2/2+ Modem Router
TP-LINK TL-WR1043ND Ultimate Wireless N

It has been a pleasure blogging my experience using  two different routers – the D-Link  which only worked flawlessly for two weeks and finally, the Netgear. I am happy to say that I have found the best router for me and it’s a keeper!

How to Configure WSUS and link to Group Policy Objects

Important to know before you proceed:

You must be a member of Domain Admins or WSUS Administrators group to perform this method.  Do not edit the Default Domain or Default Domain Controller GPOs as this is not a good practice.

If your network is more complex you might have multiple GPOs linked to several organizational units (OUs) and that you may have different WSUS policy settings applied to different types of computers.

First Task: Create a computer group on the WSUS Server:

Open up Update Services, expand Computers, and then click on All Computers. From this Tutorial I will select Update Services Client Computers then click on Add Computer Group from the Actions Pane. You may choose any that applies to your needs except for Unassigned Computers.

Now, you will see the Computer Groups have been added.

Second Task:  Enable client-side targeting:

Locate the Organizational Unit (OU) that you wish to apply the GPO Policy to. Open the GPO Editor, expand Computer Configuration, expand Administrative Templates, and expand Windows Components then select Windows Update. Double click on the Enable client-side targeting and click Enabled, then type the name of the computer group that you have created in the Update Services or WSUS Console. Click OK when finished.

For the client computers configured with an Active Directory-based GPO, it will take a few minutes (up to 30min) after Group Policy refreshes to appear on the Computers page in the WSUS console.

To synchronize schedule, from Update Services, go to Synchronizations, then click on Synchronization option from the right pane, then choose Synchronization Schedule from the Options page, you may choose to manually or automatically synchronize schedule. In this Tutorial we will choose Synchronize Automatically. Click OK when finished.

I hope that this guide helped you configured and linked WSUS with GPO(s) in your domain network.

Funny and Clever Service Set Identifiers (SSIDs) or Wireless Network Names

SSID is often called as wireless network name. Do you have a funny or clever name for your wireless network? By default SSID’s default name is your router’s name (e.g. Netgear, Dlink, Linksys) which often use in Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN).  It is recommended to change the default SSID when you first setup your wireless network for security purpose and a bit of personalization.

Is your wireless network name called….. IamaNerd, WanToberich or Goneforever? Does is it have a special meaning to you?

Others that wish to annoy their neighbors or to get rid of Wi-Fi Leechers use these SSIDs:  Donotusemywifi or Getyourownwifi.

Note:  The above wireless names are just examples. It’s not very pleasant to use a wireless network name to harass your neighbors because it might cause trouble for you later on.

You may also deliver a message to your neighbor by using these SSIDs:   Turndownyourmusic, whysoquiet, Niceneighbor etc….

Some silly or funny SSIDs:  Peekabu, Kissme, Kiwi4u  etc…

Now, it’s your turn….I have given some examples of SSIDs, please share your own funny or clever SSID and please post a comment below and we would like to hear from you. Please be cautious, nothing offensive.