Archives August 2009

TechNet Events Presents: Real World Azure with Microsoft IT (Thanks to Keith Combs for posting this, and my full on hijack of it! I’ll try to visit DG or Chicago if I can!;)

TechNet & MSDN Events Present: Real World Azure with Microsoft IT

Come spend a day with us to explore Windows Azure, Microsoft’s platform for building and deploying cloud based applications from a real world point of view!  During this event, we’ll review critical lessons Microsoft IT has learned migrating internal line-of-business applications to Windows Azure.

What is Windows Azure™? When should I use it? How does it apply to my job?  Whether you’re an IT Professional, Developer or Architect, we’ll address your top of mind questions about cloud computing.

TechNet Presents – for the IT Professional from 8:30am to Noon

• Azure architecture from the IT professional’s point of view
• Why an IT operations team would want to pursue Azure as an extension to the data center
• Configuration, deployment and scaling Azure-based application
• The Azure roles (web, web service and worker)
• Azure storage options
• Azure security and identity options
• How Azure-based applications can be integrated with on-premise applications
• How operations teams can manage and monitor Azure-based applications

Dates and Locations Registration Link

August 18, 2009 Columbus, OH
August 19, 2009 Mason, OH
August 19, 2009 Downers Grove, IL
August 20, 2009 Indianapolis, IN
August 20, 2009 Dallas, TX
September 16, 2009 Grand Rapids, MI
September 17, 2009 Southfield, MI
September 17, 2009 Overland Park, KS
September 17, 2009 Houston, TX
September 22, 2009 Bloomington, MN
September 22, 2009 Cleveland, OH
September 24, 2009 Waukesha, WI
September 24, 2009 Austin, TX
September 29, 2009 St. Louis, MO
September 29, 2009 Nashville, TN
September 30, 2009 Knoxville, TN
October 1, 2009 Chicago, IL

And don’t forget, the second half of the day at each location is developer focused.  Here’s the general description of the MSDN sessions in the afternoon.

MSDN Presents – for the Developer & Architect from 1:00pm to 5:00pm

In this session, we will discuss:

• Cloud computing architectures in general and the Azure architecture in particular
• Several aspects of Azure from the developer’s and architect’s perspective
• Azure roles (web, web service and worker)
• Azure storage options
• Azure security and identity options
• How Azure-based applications can be integrated with on-premise applications
• Configuration, deployment and scaling Azure-based applications
• How development teams can optimize their applications for better management and monitoring

Alright, for those of you in the know, we all know that RichCopy isn’t anything new.  Infact it’s been being used internally at Microsoft for the past 10 years – however after a near decade of ‘Seriously?! We haven’t released this to the public?!’ it is indeed now available!   There’s a whole slew of details at others blogs RichCopy Build 4.0.216 has been posted to the Microsoft Download Center  and the TechNet Magazine article Utility Spotlight RichCopy and especially, be sure to visit the creator of this amazing tool Ken Tamaru’s blog!

So, what is this amazing tool?!  It’s free first of all! And allows you even more granular control over your copy processes, including multi-threaded copy operations!

As you can see here in this image, I’m copying a number of various sized files in different locations simultaneously!    Though one of the major perks is not in the initial copy, but instead in the situation of changed file copies (in our common “what’s changed incremental” model? :) Well, notes about that, taken verbatim from Ken’s blog show:

Hands down, one of the coolest things is the level of options you can set.

The specific options I’d like to highlight are number of threads you can assign to specific operations.  That way you can increase not only the number of directories you traverse looking for files (or changed files) but also the number of files you can copy simultaneously!  This is a lifesaver when you’re copying many small files which when operating sequentially tends to take a lifetime!

I did run a number of speed tests on my machine, however speeds when run from my SSD tend to suffer, compared to if I were copying from say, one SAN to another SAN (something more realistic especially in a migration scenario)

In any sense, it’s a great tool, which operates via CLI or GUI and I’ll be sure to use or introduce it into my future migration opportunities as applicable :) Oh and be sure to click on any instance of “RichCopy” in this post in order to get a direct link to its download! :)

I’m sure you heard the news! Twitter was DOWN!? Denial of Service attack which crippled Twitter, LJ, Facebook and more!

re: Serious Twitter Outage Ongoing, Denial Of Service Attack (Updated)

What really affected me in this outrage are all the poor countless souls who lost their lives as a result of this dramatic service outage.

Yes, you know what I’m talking about.  

All the poor helpless plants which expect their owners to water them when they tweet.   What if you were on life support and the only means of informing a nurse you needed food, antibiotics or pain reducers was twitter? YOU’D BE DEAD TOO!

Next time you think about Twitter, it’s more than just a communication medium.  It is a lifeline for the very beings who provide us clean oxygen in this world! My Oak Tree out front twitters me regularly, though he keeps retweeting Guy Kawasaki so I’m not sure what’s up with that!

Hey Mobile Developers! Want to make some money? Tired of developing successful apps for the iPhone or not getting any credit for creating anything for the Android? ;)

Seriously though, the number of users of the Windows Mobile devices out there is still pretty significant, so jump on this dev opportunity to get your apps deployed, released and win some pretty seriously cool things! (I touch a Surface table every now and then and they’re wild! I’d take one for home! ;))

All the major highlight links are – Register today and start uploading, Race to Market Challenge, Submit your Apps, http://developer.windowsmobile.com, and don’t forget to Learn more about this special offer :)

So check it out, I know a bunch of you are appdev folks, so get rolling! :)

Hey, you remember the bus! Well, the locations have been published! Which is especially great if you’re a number of destinations along the path you will want to hook up and meet the bus along the way!

• Milan, 26 Oct
• Zurich, 27 Oct
• Paris, 28 Oct
• London, 29 Oct
• Brussels, 30 Oct
• Amsterdam, 2 Nov
• Frankfurt, 3 Nov
• Munich, 4 Nov
• Vienna, 5 Nov
• Prague, 6 Nov
• Berlin, 9 Nov

Host a Career Express and/or a TechEd EMEA community event!

The best part of the tour are the local stops the Career Express makes at training partners and community events. On the Career Express USA tour in May, we stopped at a luau thrown by a partner, high schools, and colleges. What do you get when you host an event?

1) Company profile promoted on Get On The Bus Tour website

2) Event resources to facilitate local event in your area as part of Get On The Bus Tour stop

3) Increased visibility with TechEd EMEA registrants and/or attendees

4) Technical training on Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2, and Microsoft Exchange Server 2010

If you would like to host a local event, we are taking applications until August 18. For more details, download the application form here: Bus Tour EMEA Event Application Form

Why yes, much of this was hijacked from Born to Learn, but hey! I had a lot invested in that trip and I equally want to see this one be successful! So get out there! Be a hosting location, or visit one of the hosting locations, it’ll be an experience unlike no other!