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January 2012 - Posts
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The following article is written by Mitch Garvis (@MGarvis), who wanted to share the story of an individual who spoke of the value of getting involved with user groups and community and the benefits of doing so. It is also a great example of why my team here at Microsoft Canada is so passionate about working with your local user group and community association. Check it out! 
Last week I met a man at the Microsoft Virtualization Boot Camp who nearly made me cry. His name is Andrew Thomas, and he is the reason I have spent the last eight years building and supporting IT Pro user groups. I asked him if he would be willing to answer a few questions for me by e-mail and he did. For those of us who have worked for years to build the user group community in Canada, there is no more gratifying and inspiring story, because this is why we do what we do. User groups do not build and run themselves… they require a lot of hard work and dedication from all sorts of people who seldom get any recognition for it. That is why when I ran user groups I made a point of thanking the people who helped me, and when I speak to user groups today I try to always thanks and recognize not only the UG Leader, but those who help him along the way. This is Andrew’s story: Five years ago I was working as a Bench Technician with one of the large retail chains. I had managed to work my way up to Tech Manager but was not very happy in my job. I don’t know when I went to my first ITProToronto meeting or even how I heard of it, but I was on a number of mailing lists and would go to events when I was invited. The first meeting I attended was held in Mississauga (which puts the timeline around early 2008). I live in Scarborough but was working in Mississauga at the time. I was hooked after my first user group meeting and was happy when the events were moved to Toronto because of the commute. I went to the first few meetings thinking that I would meet people whom I could network with to try and find another job but I lost my nerve when I realized the depth of knowledge of the members. I felt a bit out of my depth, but I kept going to the meetings because I kept learning from the presentations as well as from the other members. The turning point for me came when we had a meeting about the then NEW HP Media Smart Home Server. I had purchased one a month earlier and had been playing with it. Suddenly I was having conversations with members about how the Server worked, what it did and how, and since nobody else had played with one yet I quickly realized that now *I* was one of the experts in the room! It dawned on me that I was smarter than I thought… I had already earned a couple of certifications (including MCP and A+), and had implemented so much of the advanced technology in my basement (including Windows Server, DNS, DHCP, Exchange Server, Linux, and IIS) but it never occurred to me that I was good enough to work for a company as a systems administrator or domain admin. I was really good as a bench technician, but did not have the confidence to turn my hobby into a career. After that Home Server meeting I dusted off my résumé and hit the pavement looking for work. My certifications were a little weak, but I had experience in all sorts of different technologies. I took a job with a small financial company in Scarborough that was looking for an assistant for their system administrator. I took the job only to find out that the sysadmin was mostly a trainer with no experience in networking, hardware or domain administration; they were having everything done by contractors and he was doing his day-to-day stuff by using search engines and the literally administering by the seat of his pants. However he was a smart guy and did manage to keep their systems running for 2 years. As luck would have it he got another job so I inherited the Network. It was an opportunity for me to show what I could do on my own. Unfortunately the company went bankrupt three months later, and I was looking again. I decided to take a year off to travel, and was surprised when I returned to the workforce to find out that I no longer had the qualifications I needed to get the jobs that I wanted. My Windows 2000 certifications were just not good enough, as Windows Server 2003 was the standard and Windows Server 2008 was about to be released. I decided to invest the time to spend a year at school, where I studied all of the newest technologies, and became certified in Windows Server 2008, Exchange Server 2007, as well as Linux. Now that I have all of the right credentials I have set a lower limit for any job I would ever accept, and that lower limit is more than twice what I was earning as a bench technician. I am working on projects that include all of those technologies and more, including Server Virtualization (which I am now comfortable with thanks to the Microsoft Canada IT Pro Virtualization Boot Camp!), and more. I support users and environments, and the list goes on and on. It may look like you just go to a meeting but the user group (for me anyway) is a lot more than that. I learned things – both about technology and about myself. I never would have had the courage to make such drastic career changes if it was not for the user group meetings. Now I can go out and put all my skills that I have learned over the years to work for me and I thank the group for that. 
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 Talking to individuals who downloaded the System Center 2012 RC from the TechNet Eval Center in December or early January, one of the pieces of feedback I received is that in order to get everything running you needed to install each component individually and that just took too long and also meant that you were potentially responding to over 450 screens of information. I get it. That’s a lot of work to test out a Pruvate Cloud solution and its components. Looks like the product team heard you as well, so last week they released an RC of the System Center Unified Installer!
The System Center Unified Installer is integrated into the current System Center 2012 RC download from the TechNet Eval Center, and allows you to install of the System Center 2012 RC components in as little as 16 screens. Just start the Setup.exe in the Unified Installer folder. Then the Install System Center button becomes available! After that a message box is displayed and the installation begins asking you some of the familiar questions and also installing the pieces you need to be successful: - Microsoft Software License Terms
- Component Selection (Orchestrator, Virtual Machine Manager, App Controller, Operations Manager, Configuration Manager, Service Manager & Data Protection Manager)
- Keep the following in mind:
- Orchestrator is a required Product Component (Unified Installer requires Orchestrator)
- App Controller depends on Virtual Machine Manager
- Component Media Location (for all products selected)
- Configuration Manager License Terms
- Prerequisite License Terms
- Prerequisite Media Location (e.g. SQL Server 2008 R2 + SP1 + CU4)
- Installation Destination Location (for all products selected)
- Servers (for all products selected)
- Service Accounts (Installer Account)
- Component Specific Questions (e.g. OpsMgr Management Group, ConfigMgr Site Code & Site Name)
- Communications and Updates
- Installation Validation
- Deployment Progress
- Deployment Summary Report
That's all you need to do to install System Center 2012 and start your journey to the Microsoft Private Cloud. Download the Microsoft Private Cloud Software stack including System Center 2012 RC and try the Unified Installer that is now part of the download package. 
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In the last little while as we have started to deliver the IT Virtualization Boot Camps as well as go out to various user groups and talk about the Microsoft Virtualization and Private Cloud offerings, I have often been asked where IT Pros can find resources to learn about how our products work, especially by those individuals who are familiar with VMware but not so much with Hyper-V and System Center. Here are some that I would recommend: Microsoft Virtual Academy  Microsoft Virtual Academy is a great place to learn all about our offerings as well as get points for completing courses, and also asses your knowledge through online assessments. Best of all, it is FREE and continues to offer new courses on a regular basis. It has many courses including those to help VMware professionals get a better handle on Microsoft Private Cloud technologies, as well as allowing those that have begun to work with Hyper-V and System Center to dive deeper and gain a better understanding of how to get even more out of their infrastructure. Courses that I would recommend are
- Microsoft Virtualization for VMware Professionals - The Platform – This course provides IT Pros familiar with VMware with foundational understanding of how Hyper-V works as well as helps to clarify some of the changes in terminology between the two platforms.
- Microsoft Virtualization for VMware Professionals – Management – In this course you will learn how the System Center suite of products can be leveraged to provide an overall management solution that incorporates the physical infrastructure, virtual machines, as well as applications running within your virtual environments. You will also learn how to leverage System Center to manage your entire virtualization platform including Hyper-V and VMware.
- Configuring and Deploying Microsoft’s Private Cloud – This is a new course providing a soup to nuts roadmap on how to deploy all the elements that make up Microsoft’s Private Cloud technologies from Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V to System Center 2012 components including Virtual Machine Manager, Operations Manager, Orchestrator and more. If you want to get the complete picture, this is for you!
There are also many other courses available at Microsoft Virtual Academy on such topics as Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), high-availability, Windows Azure, and more. Check out the complete list and start your learning. Free 2-Day Online Course: Creating and Managing a Private Cloud with System Center 2012 Jump Start (Feb 21 & 22)  It’s not very often that you get a chance to learn from experts on a topic for two whole days absolutely free! This is why I was really happy to learn that you can register and attend a free two-day online course on Microsoft’s Private Cloud technologies taking place Feb 21 & 22. The course is a “Jump Start”, which means it covers a lot of ground quickly but definitely worth the time investment.
The course is designed to provide a fast-paced and technical understanding of how and why Microsoft’s approach to the private cloud delivers scalability, security, flexibility and control. Here are few unique benefits of this course: - Students have the opportunity to learn from and interact with the industry’s best cloud technologists!
- This high-energy, demo-rich learning experience will help IT Professionals understand why Microsoft private cloud solutions are making a splash in the industry.
- Students will see with their own eyes how Windows Server 2008 R2 and System Center 2012 work together to provide the best combination of security and scale.
- Information-packed agenda! Day one of this two-day online course will focus on designing and deploying the right solutions for your organization, while day two will provide an in-depth look at the tools available to help monitor, secure and control the operational aspects of a private cloud.
I encourage you to register for the course and invest in your future.  Play with the Bits in Your Own Lab
One of the best ways to learn about a technology is to actually get your hands on it. Thankfully, all of the pieces of the Microsoft Virtualization Platform and Private Cloud can be downloaded from a single location (no wondering where to find each piece). Here you can get Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 as well as the System Center 2012 RC builds, including a unified installer to make the whole process of getting things up and running easier. No need for a TechNet subscription – just get the bits to start evaluating Microsoft’s Private Cloud technologies in your own lab. Don’t Forget About Free Online Resources on TechNet As always, TechNet remains a great place to find videos, articles as well as links to blogs and whitepapers on virtualization and Private Cloud. If you have not already done so, bookmark the TechNet page and visit often for the most recent technical resources to help you grow in your career. 
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The following article is written by Mitch Garvis (@MGarvis) and also appears on The World According to Mitch.
Over the past year as a Virtual Partner Technology Advisor for Microsoft Canada I have heard a lot of people say a lot of things about Hyper-V, and not all of it has been from people who work for (or are otherwise strongly invested in) VMware. Some of those arguments are reasoned, others emotional, but there are still a lot of people who argue that because Hyper-V is free, it cannot be as good a product as vSphere. While I understand the thinking, I feel it is a misconception to state that Hyper-V is completely free. For most instances it is a role that comes with Microsoft Windows Server. Just like you do not pay for DNS Server or Internet Information Systems (IIS), Hyper-V is included with the product that you use to install it. Of course, there is also the free hypervisor, Microsoft Hyper-V Server. It is a free download from Microsoft, which can be installed directly onto the hardware. However once you install that, you are still going to install operating systems that you have paid for (or will pay for) into the virtual partitions. Statistically a vast majority of those will be Microsoft Windows operating systems… either modern or legacy versions. What we obtain too cheap we esteem too lightly. Tis dearness only that gives everything its value. –Thomas Paine A Layer 1 Hypervisor (virtualization host platform) is, by definition, an operating system. It is installed directly on the hardware (Ring –1). However without another operating system – usually Windows – it does not do anything else. So why should you pay for both the host operating system and the guest operating systems? Microsoft does not believe you should have to, and so they give the hypervisor away for free. In fact VMware does the same thing – ESXi is a free product as well. In both the case of Microsoft’s Hyper-V and VMware’s ESXi the hypervisor is free, and it is only the management tools that you would pay for, and even that is not an entirely true statement. You can download the vSphere client for free from vmware.com, just as you can download the Hyper-V Manager as part of the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) from microsoft.com, and both of these can be installed on any Windows-based server or client operating system. So really it is only the infrastructure tools – the tools that manage features such as Failover Clustering (Microsoft) and High Availability (VMware), intelligent placement, load balancing, and others that cost, and it is true that these are going to cost less with Microsoft Virtualization than with VMware’s vSphere. Does this argument make one better than the other? Maybe… but exactly which is better may depend on who you ask. There are many IT Pros who have been using VMware for years and swear by it, and even at a higher cost than Microsoft it is worth the money. There are others who feel that in this day and age of trimming budgets and cutting costs the so-called ‘free’ Hyper-V is a better solution. However a lot of the answer of ‘which is better’ will come down to the Universal Consultants’ Answer (UCA)… It depends. When comparing the technologies side by side there are a number of factors we have to compare to determine the technological superiority of one over the other. 1. Performance The first factor we have to consider is performance. If Hyper-V does not work as well as ESXi then the comparison is irrelevant, just like it would be folly to compare a Porsche to a Fiat solely based on price. The question will come down to this: on similar hardware will the platforms perform similarly? In my tests (performed on both HP ProLiant and Dell PowerEdge server hardware) the performance of a virtual workload is similar – one or the other may perform up to 3-5% better depending on the actual workload type. This is my experience, and unfortunately VMware’s End User License Agreement prohibits me from publishing comparative benchmarks. 2. Management Tools If we can assume parity on training and competence on each platform (I hold both the VMware Certified Professional 4 and the Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Virtualization Administrator 2008 R2 certifications) then manageability will be divided into two compartments: 1) Do both platforms do everything that I need, and 2) How comfortable am I with the management tools available. In my case, there is clear parity on features. All of the components that I need and would use are in Hyper-V (taking into account that I have in all of my environments either System Center Virtual Machine Manager and System Center Operations Manager installed as management and monitoring components, or in the case of smaller networks the equivalent System Center Essentials (in the case of SWMI Consulting Group it is actually the HP Insight with Microsoft System Center Essentials 2010 offering). With that being said, there are two components of VMware that I could see some organizations needing or, as is more often the case, wanting. Those are Storage vMotion and Virtual Network Switches. While I understand the theoretical desire for Storage vMotion, I am still always hesitant to use it in a production environment during busy times. I admit I may be suffering from the same type of legacy mindset that I so often accuse others of falling into, but I just cannot see it as a good idea to move a .vmdk file from one SAN device to another while the virtual machine that is attached to that .vmdk file is operational. I understand that the capability will be delivered with the next version of Hyper-V, and while I look forward to seeing it, I still do not think it is something I will do very often. Of course Hyper-V has virtual networking as well, but there is no comparison between the two – VMware’s offering is much more robust than Microsoft’s. With that being said, most companies don’t have a need for that robustness in their virtual networking – they have already invested in it in their physical networking, and have the CCNEs on staff to manage it. While there are some companies that do have the need for features such as distributed virtual network switches (which I am told will be included in the next version of Hyper-V), I still suspect that most companies do not have such complex requirements. As for the management console itself (vSphere Client versus Hyper-V Manager or System Center VMM) the jury is out… and irrelevant. I may prefer chocolate ice cream, but that does not mean that someone else does not prefer vanilla nor that they would be wrong to. I spend so much time in the System Center and MMC consoles that I was actually surprised to hear one of my students tell me recently that ‘I can’t get used to Microsoft’s management tools… vSphere is so much simpler!’ Just like that I was reminded that personal preference is so closely tied to our experience… someone who knows vSphere will absolutely prefer it, while someone looking at it for the first time might consider it difficult to navigate. 3. Support VMware wants your vSphere environment to be managed by a VMware Certified Professional (VCP). Likewise, Microsoft would prefer that your Hyper-V environment be managed by someone who at least holds a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization (MCTS). Of course, if your IT guy is more of a generalist then nearly every Windows Server certification will cover the basics of Hyper-V, so most of the MCTS certs will do, or at least act as a foundation for Hyper-V. That does not mean that VCPs are not extremely qualified. Frankly, I believe that the VCP process was harder than the MCTS process, and suspect that most of the VCPs out there have a collection of other certifications including the odd MCSE and MCTS. All of this to say that it is easier to learn Microsoft virtualization as a subset of other skills you already need in your environment than it is to invest in training on new (to them) technology for an IT Pro. <shameless plug> The certification process can be as easy as spending a few hours with the e-learning course Collection 10215- Implementing and Managing Microsoft Server Virtualization (see Hyper-V Training–10215AE is now available in E-Learning! on The World According to Mitch) which will prepare you for the exam 70-659, and then scheduling (and sitting) the exam. </shameless plug> There is no requirement to sit the class before being allowed to take it. 4. Cost So with all of these factors being equal, the decision for many will come down to cost… and this is one factor where Microsoft wins hands down. According to price lists provided by Hewlett-Packard, VMware’s pricing for an 8-node cluster built on vSphere 5 Enterprise on servers with two CPUs (before we encounter the vMemory vTax) is USD$45,363. Building the same environment on Microsoft technologies with System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 would cost $6,960 – less than one sixth the cost. Expanding it out to the same configuration but four CPUs the VMware solution doubles in cost while the Microsoft solution remains the same. In other words, as your environment grows arithmetically your costs on VMware grow exponentially. Conclusion As the technologies get closer in functionality it becomes more and more important to find a way to stay ahead, whether that be with innovation or with pricing. Which is right for you? That is for you to decide. Which is right for me? Check out the blog posts on the infrastructure at SWMI Consulting Group for your answer. 
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Wow! When we announced the IT Virtualization Boot Camps in the TechNet eNewsletter last week, the response from you has been overwhelming. Many of you emailed me saying you wanted an IT Virtualization Boot Camp in your city. The folks on the West Coast, were especially vocal. Well, I am happy to announce that we will be holding IT Virtualization Boot Camps in Vancouver on Friday, February 10th and Saturday, February 11th.  IT Virtualization Boot Camps are brought to you by your local user group and Microsoft TechDays Canada.
The Vancouver IT Virtualization Boot Camps will take place downtown at 1111 West Georgia in the Georgia Room on the ground floor on Friday, February 10th and Saturday, February 11th. he IT Virtualization Boot Camp provides a fun and collaborative environment where you will get hands-on experience to: - Prepare your Windows Server-based computer for virtualization
- Configure an iSCSI storage server
- Create a Windows Failover Cluster
- Make Hyper-V virtual machines highly available and using Live Migration to move running workloads between hosts with no loss in client connectivity
- Integrate non-Microsoft-based virtual machines into your cluster
- See how Windows Failover Clustering can help to make dealing with hardware failure easier
 The cost to attend an IT Virtualization Boot Camp is $25 with proceeds going to your local user group. This means that not only are you getting 6 hours of hands-on experience with Hyper-V, iSCSI, Windows Failover Clustering, and more – you’re also helping your user group to support you and your peers with ongoing activities.
Register now for one of the two IT Virtualization Boot Camps taking place in Vancouver on Friday, February 10th and Saturday, February 11th. Tentatively we are also planning to hold IT Virtualization Boot Camps in Ottawa on February 17 & 18, as well as in Calgary on March 11 & 12 and will provide more details and registration links once available. If you are interested in having an IT Virtualization Boot Camp take place in your area, contact your local user group, leave a comment on the blog, or send me and email using the link above. 
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Many users have hated the way SQL Server supported configuring startup parameters in previous versions. It was confusing and buried in a single text box under the Advanced Tab of SQL Server services in Configuration Manager. The only way you could separate different options is by using a semicolon(;) between the options. With the introduction of SQL Server 2012, this is no longer an issue. The Startup Parameter option has been relocated to its own tab and can be easily accessed from SQL Server Configuration Manager. | CONFIGURING STARTUP PARAMETERS USING SQL SERVER 2012 | | 1. Launch SQL Server Configuration Manager from Configuration Tools folder 2. Click on SQL Server Services from the Left Pane. You should now see all the services associated with SQL Server on the right pane. 3. From the right pane, right-click on the “SQL Server Instance” you wish to configure startup options for and then click “Properties” 4. You will notice a new tab called Startup Parameter. You can now specify the startup option by typing the parameter in the “Specify a Startup Parameter” box. 5. Once done, click “OK” button. 6. Restart SQL Server Database Engine for changes to take effect. | | CONFIGURING STARTUP PARAMETERS USING PRIOR SQL SERVER VERSIONS (PRE SQL SERVER 2012) | | 1. In SQL Server Configuration Manager, click SQL Server Services. 2. In the right pane, right-click SQL Server (<instance_name>), and then click Properties. 3. On the Advanced tab, in the Startup Parameters box, type the parameters separated by semicolons (;). | BEST PRACTICES / THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND: 1. Always restart SQL Server services after making changes to startup options. 2. Never update/edit the SQL Server registry to add/edit any startup option. This could corrupt your SQL Server installation. 3. On a cluster, changes must be made on the active server when SQL Server is online, and will take effect when the Database Engine is restarted. The registry update of the startup options on the other node will occur upon the next failover.
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  Yesterday, we wrapped up the second IT Virtualization Boot Camp brought to you by Microsoft TechDays Canada and your local user group - IT Pro Toronto. Both on Saturday and on Monday, we had a full house with 40+ attendees taking part in a hands-on journey to a highly-available virtualization infrastructure on the Microsoft platform. On top of that, all proceeds from registration fees for the event went to benefit IT Pro Toronto and allow it to continue to serve IT professionals in the GTA.
For those of you who attended the IT Virtualization Boot Boot Camps this past weekend, you can find the PPT decks for the Saturday session here and the Monday session here. The 6-hour session included a competition with each of the 10 teams taking part in a series of challenges. The team garnering the most points throughout the day walking away with some pretty nice prizes. The competition was fierce but at the same time each team won as they were able to - Prepare Windows Server-based computers for virtualization
- Configure an iSCSI storage server
- Create a Windows Failover Cluster
- Make Hyper-V virtual machines highly available
- Use Live Migration to move running workloads between hosts with no loss in client connectivity
- Integrate non-Microsoft-based virtual machines into your cluster
- See how Windows Failover Clustering can help to make dealing with hardware failure easier
To help the attendees along their journey, the teams had the ability to call upon the assistance and experience of Mitch Garvis (Twitter: @MGarvis) and Sean Kearney (Twitter: @EnergizedTech), as well as my colleague Ruth Morton, who helped to make sure all teams were on track to complete the challenges and also kept an eye out to make sure the all teams played fair – which they did! After the great start to the IT Virtualization Boot Camps in Mississauga, we are already planning to have them take place in Vancouver (February 10 & 11), Calgary (March 11 & 12), and Saskatoon (March 30 & 31). We are also working on getting them organized in other cities and will post the registration links on the blog as soon as they are finalized. If you want us to bring the IT Virtualization Boot Camp to your locale, connect with your local user group and ask them to let us know. We would love to have you learn hands-on about the capabilities of the Microsoft Virtualization Platform and our Private Cloud strategy 
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A girlfriend of mine called me up this weekend looking for a DVD copy of an older piece of software. She was rebuilding a computer for a family member who had the product key but no installation media. I’m sure many of you have similar stories trying to fix or repair computers for your family and friends.
One of the nice things about using software online or “in the cloud” so to speak is that if your computer goes belly up and you need to rebuild it, the software will be there waiting for you, as soon as you can get computer back online.
For businesses, using online services can give you greater flexibility to pursue projects or try out ideas without having large upfront costs as well as providing foundational IT infrastructure without investing in your own data center.
While a post I wrote a little while ago outlined the basics of traditional software licensing, I figured I should follow up with how to license software in the cloud since online software subscriptions are becoming more prevalent. This short video does a good job at laying things out – like why you’d want to consider using online services and some of the advantages and cost-savings of licensing software this way:
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Microsoft has several online services: Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, Windows Azure Platform, Windows Intune and others. Each service can be purchased through a volume licensing agreement or the Microsoft Online Subscription Program and then activated and managed managed through web portals:
One day I’d love there to just be one portal to manage all your online subscriptions (kind of like one ring to rule them all but much less evil) but consolidation takes time and so I make no promises but I trust this is the direction our Online Services folk are heading.
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The following article is written by Mitch Garvis (@MGarvis) and also appears on The World According to Mitch. Expect to see more articles from Mitch in the future. 
In the world of Server Virtualization, there are two types of hypervisors: Layer 2 hypervisors are installed as an application (or service) on an existing operating system (such as Microsoft Windows). Layer 1 hypervisors are in and of themselves operating systems that are installed on the ‘bare metal’ – directly on the hardware. The hypervisor is the virtualization layer – the platform on which the virtual servers are hosted. Because all operating systems require resources (some more than others) it is axiomatic that the Layer 1 Hypervisors – those that are themselves thin operating systems – are going to be more efficient than the Layer 2 Hypervisors, which have to first allow the parent operating system to take the resources that it requires, and then meter our the available resources to its applications and services as it sees fit. It used to be easy enough to know which virtualization platforms were which, based on how you installed them. So when Microsoft released Hyper-V as a role on Windows Server 2008 (and all subsequent versions) it was an easy mistake to make that it, as was its predecessors, a Layer 2 Hypervisor. However that assumption is wrong. As with all other Roles on Windows Server, Hyper-V is installed by first installing the operating system, then adding the role. it requires a total of 10 clicks, two reboots, and it is done. Two reboots… that is a bit unusual, isn’t it? Usually Roles either do not require a reboot, or occasionally a single reboot. Only when you install multiple roles would you need to reboot multiple times, and even then only occasionally. So why does Hyper-V require two? The following is going to feel, for a couple of paragraphs, as if I accidentally cut and pasted a completely irrelevant article below. Please read on, I will tie it all together in a few paragraphs! If you have ever been to downtown Montreal you may have seen Christ Church Cathedral. According to the church’s website the building was completed in 1859, and consecrated in 1867 (not sure why the 8 year lag… but then, I am not entirely sure why a building needs to be consecrated). In other words, it recently celebrated its 150th birthday… and despite the efforts of the best architects (Frank Wills, Thomas S. Scott) and masons, older buildings tend to require a certain level of care to maintain. They may have built them well back then, but ask any Egyptologist to confirm that the pyramids are crumbling… slowly. Now, the following story is my interpretation of a historical discussion that I have no insight into. The facts are there, but the story behind it is simply pure guesswork. In the mid-1980s the church (which it should be mentioned is also the home of the Anglican Diocese of Montreal) evaluated its resources and holdings and determined that financially they were lacking. Their most prominent holding – the plot of land on which the church was built – was worth millions (at the heart of downtown Montreal, in the booming building economy of the 1980s), and they needed a way to leverage that if they were to remain (or return to) financially healthy. The board called for ideas of how to leverage the property… remember, this was before Matt Groening gave us the idea to commercialize the church. Some of the ideas were certainly money-makers, but unrealistic. 
- They could tear down the church and build a commercial property. Unfortunately, this would essentially eliminate the point of the church… couldn’t do that!
- They could build OVER the church… however there were several issues with that, not the least of which that building over an architectural wonder like the cathedral would mean masking its true beauty. However from a more practical standpoint, building onto a building that old would have all sorts of concerns, some of them involve the scary words ‘building could fall down.’
- The strangest idea is what they actually ended up doing… they dug under the church, essentially putting the building on stilts, and built an underground shopping mall, which today is known as Promenades de la Cathedrale. It is a multi-level mall with over fifty stores and a food court, along with underground parking. It is an architectural feat that must have taken a year to design and longer to plan. The steeple of the cathedral, however, is no higher than it was in 1867, and the project was executed successfully with movements never exceeding 3/16” inch.
 Hyper-V installs in much the same way. It lifts the base operating system up off the bare-metal, injects the thin-layer hypervisor onto the bare-metal hardware, and instead of placing the original back where it was, it condenses it into what I call a para-virtual machine, and creates the Parent Partition, which is a concept unique to Microsoft. The Parent Partition is the ‘first among equals’ which controls the drivers, and allows the administrator to use the console rather than remoting into the system. It does not use a .vhd (virtual hard drive) for storage, but rather writes directly to the hard drive. There is no way to differentiate it from a non-virtual machine… except that the system boots to Hyper-V and then loads the Parent Partition. The hypervisor loads in Ring –1… there are no hooks into it for any external code – it is purely written by Microsoft and read-only. However on top of that the virtual machines (or Child Partitions) are all created equally… or at least three of the four types have equal access to the distribution of resources, with the fourth type (the Parent Partition) being the only partition that can reserve its own resources off the top – by default 20% of the CPU and 2GB of memory, but those numbers are adjustable. One primary difference between the Parent Partition and the Child partitions is seen in the following graphics. In the first graphic (Image1) we see the Device Manager for the Parent Partition. The expanded information is what you would expect – HP LOGICAL VOLUME denotes the HP RAID Array, the Display Adapter is ATI, there are two HP NC371i Multifunction Gigabit NICs, and the iLO Management Controller driver. The second graphic (Image2) is a similar screenshot from an operating system running in a Child Partition on the same physical box. It is the same ACPI x64-based PC… and it even has the same Dual-Core AMD Opteron™ Processor 8220 SE CPUs… it just has fewer of them (while Hyper-V allows us to assign up to four virtual CPUs to a VM, this one only has two). Where the Parent Partition has HP LOGICAN VOLUMES, ATI ES1000 video, and HP NC371i network adapters, the corresponding drivers for the Child Partition are MSFT Virtual Disk Devices, Microsoft Virtual Machine Bus Video Device, and Microsoft Virtual Machine Bus Network Adapters. While they have similar performance to the physical, the virtual partition has virtual hardware, unlike the para-virtual machine, which has physical hardware… sort of.  
Because the actual drivers for the physical hardware run in the Parent Partition, it also has a feature called the ‘Virtual Service Provider (VSP).’ The VSP communicates with the feature in the Child Partitions called the ‘Virtual Service Client (VSC).’ This is how the virtual machines can perform as well as their virtual counterparts, with the limitations of their virtual hardware only being how many of the resources are allocated to (or shared with) the VM. Because of how the hypervisors differ, ESX (and ESXi) does not have a Parent Partition… their ‘operating system’ is their hypervisor. With Microsoft Windows the hypervisor kernel is still Windows, so it works differently. However, benchmark performance tests of both prove that there is slight to no difference in performance between ESX and Hyper-V**, whether testing against the full installation of Windows Server, Server Core, or Hyper-V Server. Incidentally, I mentioned earlier that there are three types of Child Partitions… while this is true, the only differentiator is the operating system installed in the Child Partition… so the three types are: - Child Partition with Hyper-V supported OS
- Child Partition with a non-supported (Legacy) version of Windows (or non-supported x86 OS)
- Child Partition with a supported Xen-Enabled Linux Kernel (SLES, RHEL, CentOS)
Where VMware claims to support many more versions of many more operating systems than Hyper-V does, Microsoft is more realistic. For example, Microsoft wrote Windows NT, but stopped supporting it years ago. It, like any other x86 operating system, will install in a Hyper-V virtual machine, it will not have Integration Components. You could will not be able to fully leverage the gigabit Ethernet adapter or high resolution video… but if you are still running NT chances are you didn’t have that anyways. Microsoft also recognizes that it would be impossible to support many Linux builds, especially the ones that are primarily supported by community. On the other hand, the three kernels that are supported account for well over 90% of Linux in professional datacenters. Chances are there will be more kernels supported in the future… but the majority are covered currently. If your operating system of choice is Linux, then vSphere may be your best bet. However, if you run a Windows-centric datacenter, but happen to have a number of Linux machines that you need to run, then Hyper-V with System Center is definitely for you… especially since you now understand why Hyper-V is really a Layer 1 Hypervisor, despite what some may claim! — **Although I have performed these tests, the End User License Agreement of vSphere 4.0, 4.1, and 5.0 all prohibit the publication of these benchmarks, and I would be stripped of my VMware certifications and subject myself to legal action if I did. Solution… build them for yourself  
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Hello folks,  This is my compilation of some of the online resource available to you in February 2012. This list featuring both live and on-demand content including webcasts, videos, virtual labs, and podcasts by product and topic. this is not the WHOLE list of the available content. but these are the ones i thought were relevant to customers and IT pros. Microsoft webcasts are 30-90 minutes in length and feature interactive presentations, product demonstrations, and question-and-answer sessions. Virtual labs give you an opportunity to test drive Microsoft’s newest products in an online environment. It's simple—no complex setup or installation is required. Stream or download audio podcasts and quickly access content with RSS feeds. Microsoft podcasts are free — just click and Learn! You can View all the podcasts for IT professionals here. (http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9637723.) Or visit the Interactive IT Professional Webcast Calendar.
Live Webcasts: TechNet Webcast: From Virtualization to Private Cloud with System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012 (Level 200)
Wednesday, February 01, 2012 - 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Pacific Time
John Baker, Senior IT Pro Evangelist, Microsoft Corporation
https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032501891&Culture=en-US TechNet Webcast: Becoming the Next Private Cloud Expert Now (Level 300)
Wednesday, February 08, 2012 - 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Pacific Time
Yung Chou, Senior IT Pro Evangelist, Microsoft Corporation
https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032501893&Culture=en-US TechNet Webcast: Information about Microsoft Security Bulletins for February (Level 200)
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 - 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Pacific Time
Jerry Bryant, Senior Program Manager, Group Manager, Response Communications, Microsoft Corporation
Dustin Childs, Senior Security Program Manager, Microsoft Security Response Center, Microsoft Corporation
https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032499501&Culture=en-US TechNet Webcast: You've Got a Cloud: Familiar Tools to Manage It (Level 300)
Thursday, February 16, 2012 - 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Pacific Time
Blain Barton, Senior IT Pro Evangelist, Microsoft Corporation
https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032501897&Culture=en-US TechNet Webcast: Integrating Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 with SAP for Expense Management (Level 300)
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 - 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific Time
Ade Ajayi, Microsoft IT Senior Solution Manager, Microsoft Corporation
Shiran Sathananthan, Microsoft IT Principle Program Manager Lead, Microsoft Corporation
https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032499676&Culture=en-US Microsoft Office System Webcast: Excel 2010: Create Named Ranges, and Use Them with Advanced Formulas (Level 100)
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 - 9:00 AM - 9:45 AM Pacific Time
Jed Warren, Training Specialist / Office Systems Expert, Microsoft Corporation
https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032503405&Culture=en-US Microsoft Office System Webcast: PowerPoint 2010: Control and Manage the Flow of Your PowerPoint Presentations (Level 200)
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 - 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM Pacific Time
Jed Warren, Training Specialist / Office Systems Expert, Microsoft Corporation
https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032503407&Culture=en-US IT Manager Webcast: How Microsoft IT Takes Initial Steps Toward the Consumerization of IT (Level 200)
Thursday, February 02, 2012 - 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific Time
Chris Dieringer, Microsoft IT Senior Program Manager, Microsoft Corporation
Paul Selsor, Microsoft IT Field Infrastructure Technology Strategist, Microsoft Corporation
https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032502281&Culture=en-US Highly Rated On-Demand Webcasts: TechNet Webcast: Career Progression: Getting Ready for the Cloud (Level 200) TechNet Webcast: IT Pro's Heaven: The Private Cloud (Level 200) TechNet Webcast: Troubleshooting Office 365 and BPOS-S Services Using MOSDAL 4.0 (Level 200) TechNet Webcast: Private Cloud Q&A (Episode 2) Office 365: Transforming Your Business with Lync Online Elevate Your Bottom Line with Microsoft Dynamics GP Microsoft Office Tips and Tricks: Do More with Data in Excel 2010 Popular Virtual Labs: TechNet Virtual Lab: System Center 2012 Configuration Manager: Advanced Software Distribution TechNet Virtual Lab: System Center 2012 Configuration Manager: Basic Software Distribution TechNet Virtual Lab: System Center 2012 Configuration Manager: Software Updates TechNet Virtual Lab: System Center 2012 Configuration Manager: Endpoint Protection RC New Videos: TechNet Radio: IT Time - New Features in Exchange Server 2010 SP2 TechNet Radio: IT Time – Using the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit for Office 365 TechNet Radio: IT Time – Email Migration to Office 365 with MigrationWiz TechNet Radio: SharePoint Online Administration Panel Discussion New Podcasts: TechNet Radio Community Corner: Microsoft MVP, Mitch Garvis talks Private Cloud MP4 | WMV TechNet Radio: IT Time - Private Cloud Security Basics (Part 1) WMA | MP3 | WMV TechNet Radio: IT Time - Private Cloud Security Basics (Part 2) WMA | MP3 | WMV Small Business Content: Office Tips and Tricks with Jed Warren
Are you interested in utilizing Microsoft Office to its fullest extent? Join us as we discuss some of the valuable tips and tricks you can use throughout the entire Office Suite. From how to best create vibrant PowerPoint presentations to how to use Excel to its highest potential, these helpful webcasts can give you the inside track as to get the most out of Microsoft Office. Learn the Benefits of Business Ready Licensing
Gain an understanding of how you can take your business solution to the next level by transitioning from module-based licensing (MBL) to business-ready licensing (BRL). Expand the impact of your existing business solution by leveraging one of BRL's two license editions—Business Essentials Edition or Advanced Management Edition. BRL streamlines the pricing of your Microsoft Dynamics solution to a model that is based on the number of users who actually use the software, rather than MBL's more-complex module/granule + users mechanism. Microsoft offers a program to Microsoft Dynamics GP, Microsoft Dynamics NAV, and Microsoft Dynamics SL customers who are interested in making a license model transition. We highlight the details in this webcast.
Please let me know if this is something you find valuable. or if there is something specific you’re looking for. Also, if you’re in the Toronto area, i highly recommend the IT Virtualization Boot Camps. They are brought to you by your local user group and Microsoft TechDays Canada. The first two IT Virtualization Boot Camps will take place at the Microsoft Mississauga offices on January 21, 2012 and January 23, 2012. The IT Virtualization Boot Camp provides a fun and collaborative environment where you will get hands-on experience to: - Prepare your Windows Server-based computer for virtualization
- Configure an iSCSI storage server
- Create a Windows Failover Cluster
- Make Hyper-V virtual machines highly available and using Live Migration to move running workloads between hosts with no loss in client connectivity
- Integrate non-Microsoft-based virtual machines into your cluster
- See how Windows Failover Clustering can help to make dealing with hardware failure easier
you can get more details in Damir’s post “Get Hands-On With Microsoft Virtualization & Help Your Local User Group” There is so much to learn. we should take advantage of every opportunities. As always, please contact me should you have any comments or questions. Cheers! 
Pierre Roman, MCITP, ITIL | Senior Technical Account Manager | Directeur de Compte Technique Senior
IT Pro blog | Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn 
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I don’t often deal a lot with the business intelligence side of SQL Server preferring to spend most of my time on the relational side of the house. However, once in a while topics about optimizing a data warehouse or helping to secure BI data peak my interest. I ran across this article by Don Pinto, a SQL Server Security Product Manager at Microsoft and thought it was worth sharing. Enjoy!!
A common scenario in data warehousing applications is knowing what source system records to update, what data needs to be loaded and which data rows can be skipped as nothing has changed since they were last loaded. Another possible scenario is the need to facilitate searching data that is encrypted using cell level encryption or storing application passwords inside the database. Data Hashing can be used to solve this problem in SQL Server. A hash is a number that is generated by reading the contents of a document or message. Different messages should generate different hash values, but the same message causes the algorithm to generate the same hash value. | The HashBytes function in SQL Server | | SQL Server has a built-in function called HashBytes to support data hashing. HashBytes ( '<algorithm>', { @input | 'input' } )
<algorithm>::= MD2 | MD4 | MD5 | SHA | SHA1 | SHA2_256 | SHA2_512 Here is a sample along with the return values commented in the next line : Select HashBytes('MD2', 'Hello world!') --0x63503D3117AD33F941D20F57144ECE64 Select HashBytes('MD4', 'Hello world!') --0x0D7A9DB5A3BED4AE5738EE6D1909649C Select HashBytes('MD5', 'Hello world!') --0x86FB269D190D2C85F6E0468CECA42A20 Select HashBytes('SHA', 'Hello world!') --0xD3486AE9136E7856BC42212385EA797094475802 Select HashBytes('SHA1', 'Hello world!') --0xD3486AE9136E7856BC42212385EA797094475802 Select HashBytes('SHA2_256', 'Hello world!') --0xC0535E4BE2B79FFD93291305436BF889314E4A3FAEC05ECFFCBB7DF31AD9 E51A Select HashBytes('SHA2_512', 'Hello world!') --0xF6CDE2A0F819314CDDE55FC227D8D7DAE3D28CC556222A0A8AD66D91CCA D4AAD6094F517A2182360C9AACF6A3DC323162CB6FD8CDFFEDB0FE038F55E8 5FFB5B6 | | | | Properties of good hash functions | | A good hashing algorithm has these properties: · It is especially sensitive to small changes in the input. Minor changes to the document will generate a very different hash result. · It is computationally unfeasible to reverse. There will be absolutely no way to determine what changed in the input or to learn anything about the content of an input by examining hash values. For this reason, hashing is often called one-way hashing. · It is very efficient. | | | | Should you encrypt or hash? | | During application development, it might be useful to understand when to encrypt your data vs. when to hash it.
The difference is that encrypted data can be decrypted, while hashed data cannot be decrypted. Another key difference is that encryption normally results in different results for the same text but hashing always produces the same result for the same text. The deciding factor when choosing to encrypt or hash your data comes after you determine if you'll need to decrypt the data for offline processing.
A typical example of data that needs to be decrypted would be within a payment processing system is a credit card number. Thus the credit card number should be encrypted in the payment processing system. However, in the case of security code for the credit card, hashing it is sufficient if only equality checks are done and the system does not need to know it’s real value. 
Encryption is a two way process but hashing is unidirectional | | How to use hash bytes for indexing encrypted data. | | Encryption introduces randomization and in there is no way to predict the outcome of an encryption built-in. Does that mean creating an index on top of encrypted data is not possible? However, data hashing can come to your rescue. Refer to this blog post to learn how. | | | | Which hash function should I choose? | | Although, most hashing functions are fast, the performance of a hashing function depends on the data to be hashed and the algorithm used. There is no magic bullet. For security purposes, it is advised to use the strongest hash function (SHA2_512). However, you can choose other hashing algorithms depending on your workload and data to hash. | | Hash functions or CHECK_SUM()? | | SQL Server has the CHECK_SUM () (or BINARY_CHECKSUM ()) functions for generating the checksum value computed over a row of a table, or over a list of expressions. One problem with the CHECK_SUM() (or BINARY_CHECKSUM()) functions is that the probability of a collision may not be sufficiently low for all applications (i.e. it is possible to come across examples of two different inputs hashing to the same output value). Of course, collisions are possible with any functions that have a larger domain than its range but because the CHECK_SUM function implements a simple XOR, the probability of this collision is high. Try it out using the following example - DECLARE @guid1 UNIQUEIDENTIFIER ,@guid2 UNIQUEIDENTIFIER SELECT @guid1 = ‘3DB7D309-A8F4-47C4-BA90-0CB458B44CB0′ , @guid2 = ‘EFE7F2C5-19F9-42B9-9C16-21BED41E882B’
SELECT chksum_guid1 = CHECKSUM(@guid1), chksum_guid2 = CHECKSUM(@guid2) Hash functions provide stronger guarantees against collision. The HashBytes function in SQL Server Denali provides data hashing and supports the following algorithms : MD2 | MD4 | MD5 | SHA | SHA1 | SHA2_256 | SHA2_512 | 
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Tomorrow (January 17th) at 8:30am PST / 11:30am EST there is a really important webcast featuring Satya Nadella, the President of Microsoft’s Server and Tools Business. If you are interested in hearing developments about Microsoft’s Private Cloud strategy including the System Center product line, Hyper-V, and Windows Server, you need to register for the webcast. During the webcast you will - Hear from other senior IT professionals about how cloud computing can help you gain maximum competitive advantage with minimal risk.
- Learn about Microsoft cloud offerings, including private, public, and hybrid cloud models.
- Experience Microsoft private cloud solutions through the Microsoft Technology Center.
I will be there – I hope you will too! Register Now! 
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As our team looks to provide valuable content to you to help you grow in your career and acquire new skills, I am often asked if we can put on more hands-on events where you get a chance to play with the technology. At TechDays 2011 this year we offered hands-on labs for the very first time and had a phenomenal response. However, TechDays did not go to all cities across the country and we want to be able to offer more hands-on style activities to you in the places where you are. I’m happy to report that we are starting this month with the first couple IT Virtualization Boot Camps, which we are looking to take across the country. IT Virtualization Boot Camps are brought to you by your local user group and Microsoft TechDays Canada. The first two IT Virtualization Boot Camps will take place at the Microsoft Mississauga offices on January 21, 2012 and January 23, 2012. The IT Virtualization Boot Camp provides a fun and collaborative environment where you will get hands-on experience to: - Prepare your Windows Server-based computer for virtualization
- Configure an iSCSI storage server
- Create a Windows Failover Cluster
- Make Hyper-V virtual machines highly available and using Live Migration to move running workloads between hosts with no loss in client connectivity
- Integrate non-Microsoft-based virtual machines into your cluster
- See how Windows Failover Clustering can help to make dealing with hardware failure easier
 The cost to attend an IT Virtualization Boot Camp is $25 with proceeds going to your local user group. This means that not only are you getting 6 hours of hands-on experience with Hyper-V, iSCSI, Windows Failover Clustering, and more – you’re also helping your user group to support you and your peers with ongoing activities.
Register now for the first two IT Virtualization Boot Camps will take place at the Microsoft Mississauga offices on January 21, 2012 and January 23, 2012. If you are interested in having an IT Virtualization Boot Camp take place in your area, contact your local user group, leave a comment on the blog, or send me and email using the link above.
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 Ever wanted to find out what was happening when SQL Server crashed? Your investigation should also include reviewing the SQL Server activities much like what profiler would do. SQL Server 2005 (including 2008, 2008R2 and the upcoming 2012) come with a default trace enabled out of the box. This trace keeps track of configuration changes, process level information and other information that can be very helpful for troubleshooting SQL Server related issues.
The default trace file can be opened and examined by launching SQL Server Profiler and by loading the log.trc file from (\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\<Instance_Name>\MSSQL\Log\) location or by querying it with Transact-SQL using the fn_trace_gettable system function. Alternatively, you can query the trace file using the following T-SQL statement:
SELECT * FROM fn_trace_gettable ('C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL10.MSSQLSERVER\MSSQL\Log\log.trc', default); -- Make sure you point to the right drive instead of C:\ drive. Note: By default this trace is on and can’t be stopped by using the SP_Trace_SetStatus system stored procedure. Instead, you will need to stop the default trace by using SP_Configure option, but it is not recommended (or a really good idea) to disable this tracing since the overhead is low and the data it provides can be a very handy troubleshooting tool. Some of the information provided by the default trace includes:
Configuration change history
Schema Changes History
Memory Consumption
All Blocking Transactions
Top Sessions
Top Queries by Average CPU time
Top Queries by Average IO, Etc.
This data can also be accessed from the Admin reports (from SQL Server Management Studio right-click the registered server and select "Reports") 
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My colleagues and I get asked a lot about licensing. Frankly, Microsoft doesn’t have a great reputation for keeping it simple. And to be totally transparent – I, like many of my colleagues, would usually rather stick a fork in my eye that talk about it because it can get complicated. And confusing. And just…ugh.
So you can imagine my joy when I was asked to write a newsletter editorial about simplifying licensing. Exactly.
Then I had a very enlightening conversation with Terry Choquette, Licensing Marketing Manager at Microsoft and she pointed me to a few resources that got back to the basics and laid it all out very simply. I like simple. And I decided that this simple information was as blog worthy as it was newsletter worthy. While details about software licensing is not everybody’s favourite reading material, stick with me on this.
Ways to buy a license
First of all, there are 3 ways to buy a license as illustrated in the slide below: a full packaged product from a retail store, an OEM product on a new computer or a volume agreement from a reseller.
Volume licensing agreements
While you could simply walk into the nearest Best Buy or Future Shop and make your purchase, most organizations that need 5 or more licenses can benefit best from volume licensing agreements. Why? Well, there are some pricing advantages, there are more flexible options based on size and type of business, payment structure, ownership of software, etc., there are additional use rights for cross-language and reimaging machines, and there are use rights to new product versions, support, training, tools, etc., with Software Assurance (more about this below).
For this post, I’m going to limit my discourse to those organizations who want to license less than 250 devices or users, which I would hazard a guess applies to most of you reading this blog. If you need help with licensing options for 250 devices/users or more, lemme know and I’ll put you in touch with people who can help you or you can check out these online resources.
Below is a great 3.5 minute video that lays out the volume licensing options that are part of the Microsoft Open License program for small and medium sized businesses:
Basically, there are 3 volume licensing agreement options: Open License, Open Value and Open Value Subscription. Now if you want more detail than the video gives (you did watch it right? C’mon it’s only 3.5 minutes long and it’s pretty entertaining!), you’ll want to take a look at the Open License Program Guide. It has a very useful chart on page 8 which compares what you get with an Open License agreement compared to an Open Value agreement.
Software Assurance
Software Assurance is something that can be added to your volume license agreement which provides 24x7 support, deployment planning services, training, and the latest software releases. Although once viewed as simply an insurance policy for free software upgrades, Software Assurance has now been recognized by analysts as an essential tool for getting the most out of your licensing purchase.
Below is a screen shot from an interactive PDF listing the benefits of Software Assurance with each type of licensing agreement.
For more information about Software Assurance and what it can do for your organization, check out the Software Assurance site.
Let me know if this was helpful!
[Cross-posted from the IT Manager Connection blog] 
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 Wouldn’t it be nice to have the ability to insert multiple rows of data using one Insert statement? Every time you create a table and have to insert rows manually, you will need to repeat “Insert Into <Tables> values..”
SQL Server 2008 and up provide the ability to insert multiple rows of data through one INSERT statement. This makes the entire statement part of one single DML (Data Manipulation Language) operation. This is called Table Value Constructor and it can be specified in the VALUES clause of the INSERT statement. LETS TAKE AN EXAMPLE: You want to create an ITEM table with ITEMNO and ITEMNAME and you would like to insert 5 records in it. | SAMPLE ITEM TABLE CREATION | | Create Table ITEM ( ITEMNO INT IDENTITY(1,1), ITEMNAME VARCHAR(50) ) | | TRADITIONAL INSERT STATEMENT FOR INSERTING MULTIPLE ROWS | | In earlier versions of SQL Server, you would have to repeat the insert statements for as many number of times you had to insert the rows. INSERT INTO ITEM VALUES ('MANGO') INSERT INTO ITEM VALUES ('APPLE') INSERT INTO ITEM VALUES ('BANANA') INSERT INTO ITEM VALUES ('GRAPES') INSERT INTO ITEM VALUES ('PLUMS') | | INSERTING ROWS WITH TABLE VALUE CONSTRUCTOR | | With the introduction to Table Value Constructor, you no longer have to use the insert statements multiple times. One Insert statement will do it. INSERT INTO ITEM VALUES ('MANGO'), ('APPLE'), ('BANANA'), ('GRAPES'), ('PLUMS') | As you can see from the above INSERT statement, you inserted multiple records using one single INSERT statement. Keep in mind: You can only insert up to 1000 records using Table Value Constructor. However, if you have more than 1000 records, you should look in to using BCP or BULK INSERT. BONUS TIP: GO BATCH REPLICATOR Did you know: The ‘GO’ statement is not a T-SQL statement? It is a command recognized ONLY by the client utilities like (SQLCMD, OSQL & SQL Server Management Studio, etc.) Whenever the client utilities encounter a ‘GO’ statement, the ‘GO’ signals the SQL Server engine that the command has reached the end of statement. The ‘GO’ command is NEVER sent to the SQL Server database engine. Also, any SQL Server user, regardless of permissions, can execute ‘GO’ statement using any SQL Server client utility. With the latest edition of SQL Server client tools, ‘GO’ now supports an additional parameter <count> that allows the batch to be executed for that many number of times. This means if you have an insert statement as follows: | INSERT INTO PRODUCTS VALUES (1, 'SQL SERVER 2008', 'MSSOLVE TEAM') GO | This will insert only one record to the PRODUCTS table. However, if you don’t care about data redundancy and want to insert the same row 10 times, you no longer need to execute the above statement 10 times. Instead, you will simply pass 10 as a parameter to GO command as shown in the below example: | INSERT INTO PRODUCTS VALUES (1, 'SQL SERVER 2008', 'MSSOLVE TEAM') GO 10 | The above ‘GO’ command will take care of inserting the same row 10 times in the PRODUCTS table. 
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