70-681 (Windows 7/Office 2010 Deployment) Exam Preparation
I’ve been asked several times during the last week about how to prepare for 70-681, the exam on deploying Windows 7 and Office 2010, so I thought it was worthy of a blog post. The issue is that there...
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Deploy Office 2010 via ConfigMgr 2007
Yesterday I wrapped up the deployment and proof-of-concept of deploying Office 2010 with SP1 via System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R3. It was a nice one: branch distribution points, client...
View ArticleResults & Report on The Great Big Hyper-V Survey of 2011
FIND THE RESULTS & REPORT HERE I am pleased to present the results and a report on The Great Big Hyper-V Survey of 2011, that was conducted by myself, Hans Vredvoort, and Damian Flynn. We...
View ArticleInteresting Analysis on Patching and Attacks
Microsoft produces a document called the Security Intelligence Report on a regular basis. Some of it hit the news today so I decided to take a peek. The report doesn’t restrict itself to exploits of...
View ArticleI Hope You Patch Adobe Products Like All The Others
Yesterday I quoted a Microsoft security report based on information they gather from numerous sources: “Detections of exploits targeting Adobe Flash, although uncommon in comparison to some other types...
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Books for System Center Configuration Manager 2012
I was bouncing about on Amazon and noticed some books for System Center Configuration Manager 2012. I’ve done some writing for Sybex so Mastering System Center Configuration Manager 2012 (due in March...
View ArticleManaging the iPad In The Enterprise
All that kerfuffle last year about Microsoft being late to market appears to have been valid. iPads are turning up in the business. And I don’t mean the MD bringing one in, or one hear and another...
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My Configuration Manager 2012 Demo Lab on Windows 8 (Client) Hyper-V
I am one of a number of guest presenters at the Microsoft Ireland System Center 2012 launch events in Dublin (this Thursday) and Belfast (next Tuesday). Each of the 4 guests are presenting different...
View ArticleConfiguration Manager 2012 Error, Past Due – Will Be Retired
I just had a bit of a head scratcher while building my ConfigMgr 2012 lab. I had created an application to deploy Lync 2010 by policy to a collection of devices. The “mandatory assignment” (this is...
View ArticleApplication Catalog Is The Killer Feature In System Center 2012 Configuration...
I deliberately picked the Application Catalog as the focal point of my demo/presentation at the System Center 2012 launch events in Dublin and Belfast because it shows how System Center 2012 recognises...
View ArticleMicrosoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2012 Download
Microsoft has released the new 2012 download for the free task sequence based imaging solution for deploying Windows (and it integrates into System Center 2012 Configuration Manager). Deploy Windows 7,...
View ArticlePatching A Windows Server 2012 Failover Cluster, Including Hyper-V
Cluster Aware Updating (CAU) is a new feature that makes running Windows or Automatic Updates on a Hyper-V cluster easier than ever, as well as any other WS2012 cluster. If you currently have a Windows...
View ArticleVirtual Machine Servicing Tool 2012 Beta
Microsoft has launched the beta for VMST 2012. This tool is used in conjunction with System Center 2012 Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) to update offline virtual machine resources from ConfigMgr/WSUS....
View ArticleWindows 8, Windows Server 2012, Configuration Manager, Endpoint Protection,...
I’ve got 4 blog posts for you to read. As I was commuting yesterday, Mary Jo Foley blogged about a Microsoft announcement on how System Center Service Pack (SP) 1 – Configuration Manager...
View ArticleStrike Up Another Reason For Using System Center Configuration Manager In...
It is rare that Microsoft releases a bad update through Windows Updates, but one appeared this week, as Hans Vredevoort posted. How do you avoid the problem of automatically pushing out “bad” updates...
View ArticleReminder: Re-Download Configuration Manager & Endpoint Protection 2012 SP1
You may have noticed some issues being reported with System Center 2012 SP1 Configuration Manager deployments. It turns out that there were also some issues with the Linux/iOS Endpoint Protection...
View ArticleEvent – The Path To Windows 8
I will be speaking at an event in London UK called The Path To Windows 8. The Path to Windows 8 event brings together the brightest IT professionals from around the world to talk about Windows 8 and...
View ArticleEvent: TechCamp2013 – Learn About Windows Server & System Center 2012 R2 And...
I’m delighted to announce that on November 28th in City West Hotel (just outside the M50 in Dublin), there will be a community launch of: Windows Server 2012 R2 System Center 2012 R2 Windows 8.1 (in...
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Windows Intune “Wave F”
The new version of Windows Intune is not actually called “Wave E”. I found a presentation by Microsoft Norway that calls the latest release “Blue/Wave F” Some of the slides hint that Intune is doing...
View ArticleLaunch Event – Learn From The Best; Not From The Rest
There are only hours now between now and the start of TechCamp 2013 in City West in Dublin, where Irish MVPs (and a couple of Microsoft folks) will be presenting on: Windows Server 2012 R2 Service...
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TechCamp 2013 Wrap Up
Yesterday we ran TechCamp 2013, the Irish community launch of Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, System Center 2012 R2, and Windows Intune. All the feedback I have heard has been positive –...
View ArticleMicrosoft News Summary-30 May 2014
Greetings from Belgium where I will be presenting a Hyper-V over SMB 3.0 session (designing & implementing a SOFS) at E2EVC, a community virtualization conference. Here is the Microsoft news of...
View ArticleMicrosoft News Summary – 14 July 2014
After a week’s break in Finland, I am back with news from the last 10 or so days. It was a busy period! Setting up a Highly-Available VMM 2012 Environment: This article will guide you through the...
View ArticleMicrosoft News Summary – 30 July 2014
The big news here for MSFT techies are the releases of update rollups for SysCtr 2012 SP1 and SysCtr 2012 R2. Please wait 1 month before deploying to avoid the inevitable issues (history indicates that...
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Avoiding Microsoft “Fast Fail” Updates Using SCCM 2012/R2 Automatic...
I know there’s a risk in telling you to delay deploying updates for 1 month. Some think that means switching to manual approval – and that is an oxymoron because manual approval rarely happens. No; I...
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