Update Rollup 1 for System Center 2012 R2

 

Microsoft has released Update Rollup 1 for System Center 2012 R2. These Update Rollup 1 is available to the following products:

Data Protection Manager (DPM)

• fixed three issues

Operation Manager (SCOM)

• fixed 19 issues
• fixed seven issues related to Unix and Linux Monitoring

Virtual Machine Manager (VMM)

• fixed 13 issues

To know more detail and download, please refer to here.

Can Use Storsimple LUN as DPM Storage Pool?

 

Few days ago, I’ve received a question about Storsimple LUN use as DPM Storage Pool”?

There are several supported disk to use as storage pool in DPM:-

• Direct attached storage (DAS)
• Fiber Channel storage area network (SAN)
• iSCSI Storage device or SAN

Storsimple is an iSCSI Storage device however based on feedback that I received from Technet Forum , it is unsupported. You cannot present LUN from StorSimple to DPM Server for storage pool.

DPM will convert the LUN into dynamic disk and put replica into multiple disk storage pool when creating protection group.

After thinking twice why it is unsupported is probably due to Storsimple is an automated cloud as tier. It will automatically moved cold data to cloud. Won’t really make sense to move few TB (replica to Windows Azure).

So what’s our options?

You can use DPM to backup data to supported disk (short term goal), tape library or Virtual tape library (long term goal) and lastly to Windows Azure.

On Storsimple, you can present a LUN to a file server which use for VTL. Then on Virtual Tape Library (VTL), you can store the media to this file server.

By using Storsimple features “Automated Cloud As Tier”, you can transfer cold data to Windows Azure. This will reduce transportation cost-by introducing Windows Azure as offsite storage, deduplication of VTL files, compression and encrypted with AES 256 bit encryption.

What do you think ? Please feel free to comment and share to us about using Storsimple LUN as DPM storage pool.

Building Windows Azure Pack Into Your Data Center–Part 1

Hi folks, finally I’m managed to setup functional Windows Azure Pack (WAP) into our data center with a few obstacles during preparation and configuration.  To get started, Windows Azure Pack is a collection of Windows Azure technologies available to customer. We love “Windows Azure” feel and look, therefore would like to bring it into your organization without subscribe to Windows Azure. Do I need to build myself? Well, that would involve a lot of manpower and resources to built. So why built your own. Microsoft is kind enough to come out with Windows Azure Pack for you to deploy in your organization the cool things is without an additional cost.
Images:- Current Windows Azure UI
 

In order for you to deploy Windows Azure Pack, you ‘re require to have existing investment in Windows Server and System Center. The benefit of having Windows Azure Pack:-
a) Rich self service portal for your own organization
b) Multi tenant cloud
c) leverage on existing infrastructure (Windows Server and System Center)
d) Consistent with the public Windows Azure experience

Windows Azure Pack will integrate with Windows Server and System Center to provide:-
a) Management Portal for Administrator and Tenants
Administrator Portal provide a single console to configure and manage resource clouds, user accounts, tenant offers, quota, plan and pricing.
Default url:- https://azurepackportal:30091
Meanwhile Tenants Portal provide a console to provisioning, monitoring and management of services such as Web Sites, VM and Service Bus.
Default url :- https://azurepackportal:30081 (You can change this to meaningful url)
Today, let explore on how to use Windows Azure Pack portal to Virtual Machines services.
Administrator Portal – Create Hosting Plan
As an Administrator, you can start by configure Plan. You plan consists of resources, quota and offers to your tenants.

Follow the wizard, 3 easy steps:
Step 1: Give a meaningful name for your hosting plan

Step 2: Define your services for a hosting Plan. Well, let choose “Virtual Machine Clouds” as I would just use this Azure Pack for VM deployment.

Step 3: Select Add-on for the plan.

A Hosting Plan was successful created. By default, the plan is set to Private use. You can limit the plan by invitation, solely for certain individual group of user to use or open for Public.

Let look on the extra configuration for Hosting Plan:-
Dashboard – an overview view of tenant subscription and your plan services.

Click on panel to change access (Private, Public, decommisioning), clone a plan to create another similar plan, add new services and remove plan/services.

Plan configuration:-
Define which
a) VMM server to use
b) cloud that you would like the VM to deploy to
c) Set a quota to prevent people from exceeding their limit

d) Virtual network use during VM provisioning
e) Hardware Profiles – VM hardware specification
f) VM Templates

g) Additional settings that allow for your tenant and custom settings as well

Click SAVE.
You can control user access to the plan by sending invitation code.

With Hosting Plan created, next task that administrator always will do is create an user account.
Administrator Portal – Create User Account
On the User Account, click NEW

On the registration user account, enter email address, password and the hosting plan that this user subscribe to. The system has verification mechanism as well to verify is the user exist on the system.
Error (Red mark) – I have created my user account using redynamics ID.

Error –incorrect confirmation password with the sad icon.

So how do feel the Windows Azure Pack -Administrator Portal? For me, I greatly love the consistent Windows Azure UI experience.
I think that’s all for today. Stay tuned for our next article which is going to walkthrough on Tenant Portal.
Our next post is available, check out here:-

• Building Windows Azure Pack Into Your Data Center–Part 1
• Building Windows Azure Pack Into Your Data Center–Part 2
• Building Windows Azure Pack Into Your Data Center–Part 3
• Building Windows Azure Pack Into Your Data Center-Part 4

Presentation: Windows Azure

 

Now it is time to upload content on Windows Server 2012 Launching event @Malaysia. We got a 900+ audience attended the event yesterday at Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel.

Together with Matthew Khaw (MSFT Technology Advisor), we have delivered a session about Windows Azure and use System Center App Controller to manage Hybrid Cloud. Here is our slide session:-

Slide

Windows Azure from Lai Yoong Seng

Recording

No recording

Feel free to try Windows Azure by signing up for 3 month trial. Click here to know more

Configure DeDuplication for VMM Library

 

Yesterday i have attended Windows Server 2012 Jump Start training and found deduplication is a useful feature for VMM Library. For those who do not know, VMM library is a catalog of resources that provides access to file-based resources such as virtual hard disks, virtual floppy disks, ISO images, scripts, driver files and application packages that are stored on library servers, and to non file-based resources such as virtual machine and service templates and profiles that reside in the VMM database.

How about data deduplication? Deduplication is available in Windows Server 2012 and enables you to efficiently store, transfer and backup less data

Here is the average saving with data deduplication by workload type captured from the trainer slide:

Product: Windows Server 2012 RC, VMM 2012

I have existing VMM Library and share between multiple people in the organization and everyone seem to dump duplicate iso and file based resources.

Well, i’m a bit lazy on the housekeeping in the VMM Library. Then i decided to give deduplication feature in Windows Server 2012 a try.

1. Create a file share in Windows Server 2012

2. Copy the entire VMMLibrary content to the new file share running in Windows Server 2012.

Before enable DeDuplication size:

3. Enable Data Deduplication roles using Add Roles and Features Wizard from the Server Manager dashboard.

4. From the Server Manager dashboard, create a new share and then Configure the Data Deduplication

5. Tick enable data deduplication ,enter the number of days that should elapse from the date of file creation until files are deduplicated, enter the extensions of any file types that should not be deduplicated, and click Add to browse to any folders whose files should not be deduplicated. You can configure deduplication schedule as well.

 

The data deduplication role doesn't start data deduplication immediately. It will try to run in the background when the system is fairly idle and at the times specified in the schedule when data deduplication was configured.

To force an optimization pass to start, use the Start-DedupJob Windows PowerShell cmdlet, passing the name of the volume on which to start the optimization

 

start-dedupjob f: –Type Optimization

Check Dedup volume saving rate:

get-dedupvolume

Check Dedup Scheduling

get-dedupschedule

Here is the result after enabled dedup:-

get-dedupstatus

Related post which I'm have use when configure data deduplication-

• http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831434.aspx
• http://blogs.technet.com/b/filecab/archive/2012/05/21/introduction-to-data-deduplication-in-windows-server-2012.aspx

Infrastructure Planning and Design–Microsoft System Center 2012–Virtual Machine Manager Beta

 

I just checked out the solution accelerator from Microsoft Connect and found out IPD- Virtual machine manager 2012 Beta is available. The guide has been revised from VMM 2008 R2 to covered VMM 2012. It leads you through the process of identifying the business and technical requirements for managing virtualization, designing integration with System Center 2012 - Operations Manager if required, and then determining the number, size, and placement of the VMM servers. This guide helps you to confidently plan for the centralized administration of physical and virtual machines.
Here is the sneak peak of VMM 2012 and App Controller planning and design guideline

By using this guide, you can learn to design the virtualization infrastructure for

• VMM Management Server
• VMM Database
• VMM Console
• VMM Library
• System Center App Controller Infrastructure
• Integration with SCOM
• Update Service Infrastructure

Here is some guideline that i’ve gathered in the IPD

Design VMM components:-

1.For better performance, VMM Management Server and database should be separated when manage more than 150 hosts.

2. How about fault tolerance?

• VMM Management Server – setup active/passive cluster
• VMM database – setup sql cluster
• VMM Library – cluster file server. Note:- Do not create clustered file shares for the VMM library on the same cluster as a clustered VMM management server installation. VMM does not support this configuration.

Design the App Controller

App Controller fault tolerance:- NLB App Controller, Cluster SQL Server

Do check out the IPD- VMM 2012 from MS Connect if you have access to the portal.

System Center 2012 Solution to Construct Private Cloud

 

David Chapple has wrote a nice document which describe about using System Center 2012 solution to construct a Private Cloud. Technologies discuss:-

• SCVMM 2012
• SC App Controller 2012
• SC Service Manager 2012
• SC Operation Manager 2012
• SC Orchestrator 2012

You can download the document from here:- http://www.davidchappell.com/writing/white_papers/The_Microsoft_Private_Cloud_v1.0--Chappell.pdf

This whitepaper is sponsor by Microsoft.

Get it while it last…

Presentation- Overview of Microsoft Private Cloud

 

In today Microsoft Cloud Computing event, i and Kwan (MVP SCOM) has presented a session on an “Overview of Microsoft Private Cloud”.

Note:

Left :- Lai

Right: Kwan

Slide

Overview Of Microsoft Private Cloud

View more presentations from Lai Yoong Seng.

Recording

Bad news! I forget to turn on audio recording. Well, even without audio. You can still view the demo in the recording and slide animation.

Part 106:- Update Management Configuration Wizard on System Center Essential

This is the last wizard for the SCE post configuration.

1. Update Management Configuration wizard allow you to configure proxy setting, configure product update, types of updates, updates languages and synchronization schedule.



2. Select yes and enter your proxy setting. If your environment do not use proxy, select No.


3. Wait for the system to synchronization with Microsoft.



4. Once the system retrieve the catalog, select the product that you want to get the updates.



5. On the language selection, select Yes to select the updates in English locale. To select other language, select No and choose your appropriate languages.



6. On the Clarification, by default the option is download update for critical,security and service pack updates. To select other updates, select No and select your preferred updates.



7. On the synchronization settings, select synchronization to occur daily and Specify the synchronization time.



8.Tick synchronization updates when this wizard close to start the synchronization process.



That's concluded the SCE post configuration.

Part 105: Configure Computer and Device Management Wizard for System Center Essential

1. After complete the first wizard, you should select Configure Computer and Device Management Wizrd. This wizard allow you to configure discovery option.



2. Choose Automatic discovery to detect computer in your domain environment.


3.On the Administrator account, select Use selected Management Server Action Account. This will use SCEAdmin account that you have created and assign during the SCE installation.



4. Please wait when the system perform system discovery.



5. Once the system discover the computer, it will listed as displayed. Check to select the computer that you want to manage.



6. The system will display the summary of the agent that will be installed in the computer that you select in step 5.



7. The system will display the status of the agent installation. You can wait or close it. It will not interruption the agent installation.






















That's concluded the 2nd wizard. In next upcoming article, i will look into the last wizard which configure the windows update settings.