Hi Everyone, Today I am going to talk about one of the most common issues that we see when we talk about patching compliance of cluster nodes. Sometimes, when you run a validation, you see that the nodes complain about missing software updates even though when you scan your machine against your patching tool, it shows ‘No Software Updates available’. Windows Updates shows similar results.

The validation report may look like

In this case, when you check the files updated by KB056572, KB952004 and KB951066, you would see that the file is already of a later version. Also, when you try to install any of these updates, it says:

While this is true, it doesn’t help you justify the warning in the cluster validation report.

So why does this happen?

This happens because the cluster gets the list of install updates by issuing a WMI query which is similar to what gets issues when you run ‘Get-Hotfix’ in PowerShell and does a compare of both to get this information. Even though you might have a different version of the update now, at some point you would have had different update levels on the nodes. Please note that this was a deviation from Microsoft’s recommendation for failover clustering that the nodes have the same software updates. Also, this is the reason that it is a warning in cluster validation and is not registered as an error.

How to validate if you are hitting a false positive?

1. Check the KB number in the validation. Let’s assume it’s KBXXXXXX.
2. Go to https://support.microsoft.com/kb/XXXXXX where XXXXXX is the KB number.
3. Check the column that says ‘File Version’ and check the tab Version over there.
4. Go to C:\windows\system32\drivers or C:\windows\system32 and go to Properties>Details.
5. If the version on the File>= Version in the KB, it is a false positive and can be ignored.

Note: Starting Windows Server 2012, Cluster checks for the file version as well. You would not receive this issue on Windows Server 2012. This was because not everyone followed the recommendation of ‘Same software update level’ at all times.

Hope this helps.

Anirudh Gandhi

Support Escalation Engineer

Windows Core

This information is provided ‘as-is’ with no warranties

Please join us on February 3, at 10:00 am PST for a webinar on upgrading and migrating from SQL Server 2005 BI features to SQL Server 2014 and 2016 with guest speaker Paul Turley, SolidQ Mentor and MVP. The following is a post from Paul on why this is such an important topic. Register here and join us on Wednesday to learn more.

If you’re still on SQL Server 2005, there are some important things to be aware of. First and foremost is that you are missing out on innumerable capabilities in more recent versions of the SQL Server platform, in the relational engine and the BI stack. Secondly, Microsoft will no longer support SQL Server 2005 after mid-April of this year. This is not a marketing ploy to upsell customers but simply the normal retirement cycle of a ten-year-old, outdated product. Yet, for some organizations managing critical systems, it’s a disaster waiting to happen.

Considering performance and security alone, the differences between SQL Server 2005 and recent versions are quantum. We frequently see cases where performance improvements on a typical workload improve by multiples of two, ten and more, making the ROI math pretty simple. Improvements to the core BI feature set (Reporting Services, Analysis Services and Integration Services) are also vast, with improved reliability, ease of design and usability. These are some of the topics I’ll discuss in this free presentation.

An upgrade of your SQL Server Business Intelligence solution brings with it the challenge of understanding how to apply new features to your BI workload, but it also opens up tremendous opportunity for business impact. In this session we’ll talk about business benefits to upgrading your BI solution, costs to upgrade now vs. the costs of waiting, and current trends in corporate upgrade strategies. For those impacted by the end of extended support for SQL Server 2005 on 04/12/2016, we will discuss enhancements to the SQL Server platform and examples of how to take advantage of the latest features. We’ll touch on workload-specific upgrade benefits to modernizing your SSAS, SSRS, and SSIS environments, then wrap up with how upgrade can improve users’ reporting experience using the latest in mobile BI.

Speaker: Paul Turley, Solid Q Mentor and MVP

Summary: Learn how to retrieve the password from a Windows PowerShell credential object.

 I am having a problem connecting to an application via Windows PowerShell. How can I verify the user name and
           password that was supplied to the credential object?

 Assuming you have permissions to the object, you can use the GetNetworkCredential method, for example:

$a = Get-Credential

$a.GetNetworkCredential() | fl *

In Part 1 of my Home Lab Secrets Series we established a VPN between Azure and our On-Premise Network.  In Part 2 of this series we will configure our Azure VM and On-Premise VM as Domain Controllers and establish 2 Active Directory Sites that will give us a Multi-Site Deployment.

This article assumes that you have already deployed your On-Premise VM and Azure VM that will be used as Domain Controllers as well as established a VPN between On-Premise and Azure.  Let’s get started!!!

Renaming our Domain Controllers

In Part 1 of Building the Killer Home Lab, we IP’d both of our servers, but didn’t rename them.  Since this is a network that will be built upon, let's give our Servers some names with meaning.  Using the steps below rename our On-Premise VM:

1. Log onto your On-Premise Server.

2. Right-click on the Windows Logo and click on System.

3. Under Computer name, domain and workgroup settings click on Change settings.

4. At the pop-up screen click on Change.

5. Under Computer name: enter OP-DC then click OK, OK, OK then click Yes to restart.

Installing Active Directory Domain Service Binaries

Unlike previous versions of Active Directory.  To promote a server to a Domain Controller we must first install the Active Directory Domain Services Binaries.  This can be done following the steps below:

1. Log onto OP-DC.

2. From the taskbar click on Server Manager.

3. Under the Configure this local server section click on Add roles and features.

4. At the Before you begin screen click Next.

5. At the Select installation type screen click Next.

6. At the Select destination server screen click Next.

7. At the Select server roles screen select Active Directory Domain Services then click Next at the Add features… pop-up click Add Features then Next.

8. At the Select features screen click Next.

9. At the Active Directory Domain Services screen click Next.

10. At the Confirm installation selections screen click Install.

11. When setup completes click Close.

     

Deploying our On-Premise Domain Controller

1. In the Right-Pane click on the Yellow Caution Sign then click Promote this server to a domain controller.

2. At the Deployment Configuration screen under the Select the deployment operation section select Add a new forest.

3. Under the Specify the domain information for this operation section enter killerhomelab.com for the Root domain name then click Next.

4. At the Domain Controller Options screen enter a password under the Type the Directory Services Restore Mode (DSRM) password section then click Next.

5. At the DNS Options screen click Next.

6. At the Additional Options screen click Next.

7. At the Paths screen click Next.

8. At the Review Options screen click Next.

9. At the Prerequisites Check screen click Install.

10. When setup completes Reboot the Server.

Configuring Preferred DNS Server

1. Log onto OP-DC.

2. On the right side of the Taskbar right-click the Network Connection and select Open Network and Sharing Center.

3. In the right-pane click on Change adapter settings.

4. Right-click Ethernet and select Properties.

5. Highlight Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/Ipv6) then click the Properties button.

6. Select Obtain DNS Server address automatically then click OK.

7. Highlight Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) then click the Properties button.

8. Select Use the following DNS server addresses then enter the following:

    

   Preferred DNS server:192.168.1.2

    

9. Click OK to close the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) Properties window.

10. Click Close to close the Ethernet Properties window then close the Network Connections window.

Configuring DNS Zones

1. From within Server Manager click on Tools and select DNS.

2. In the Left-Pane expand DNS | OP-DC then right-click Reverse Lookup Zones and select New Zone…

3. At the Welcome to the New Zone Wizard click Next.

4. At the Zone Type screen click Next.

5. At the Active Directory Zone Replication Scope screen click Next.

6. At the Reverse Lookup Zone Name screen click Next.

7. At the 2^ndReverse Lookup Zone Name screen enter 192.168.1 under Network ID: then click Next.

8. At the Dynamic Update screen click Next.

9. At the Completing the New Zone Wizard click Finish.

10. Using the steps above configure an additional Reverse Lookup Zones for the following subnets:

            192.168.111.0/24

     11. Right-click the newly created zone and select New Pointer (PTR)…

     12.  Click on the Browse button the double-click OP-DC | Forward Lookup Zones | killerhomelab.com then scroll down and select the OP-DC A Record and click OK, OK.

To verify our DNS Configuration let’s run an nslookup as shown below:

Creating Active Directory Sites

1. From within Server Manager click on Tools and select Active Directory Sites and Services.

2. In the Left-Pane right-click Sites and select New Site.

3. At the New Object – Site screen under Name: enter Azure-KHL then select the DEFAULTIPSITELINK and click OK.

4. At the Active Directory Domain Services pop-up click OK.

5. In the Left-Pane right-click Sites and select New Site.

6. At the New Object – Site screen under Name: enter OnPremise-Lab then select the DEFAULTIPSITELINK and click OK.

7. At the Active Directory Domain Services pop-up click OK.

8. In the Left-Pane right-click Subnets and select New Subnet.

9. At the New Object – Subnet screen under Prefix: enter 192.168.1.0/24 then under Select a site object for this prefix select OnPremise-Lab and click OK.

10. In the Left-Pane right-click Subnets and select New Subnet.

11. At the New Object – Subnet screen under Prefix: enter 192.168.111.0/24 then under Select a site object for this prefix select Azure-KHL and click OK.

Moving a OP-DC to it’s new AD Site

1. From within Server Manager click on Tools and select Active Directory Sites and Services.

2. In the Left-Pane expand Default-First-Site-name | Servers then right-click OP-DC and select Move.

3. At the Move Server pop-up select OnPremise-Lab then click OK.

Configuring your Azure VM

Let’s head to Azure now and by logging into the portal by accessing the URL listed below:

https://manage.windowsazure.com

Let’s start by defining your Azure VM’s DNS Server.  Azure VM’s get their DNS Servers defined in two possible ways.  The first which is the default is via DHCP.  The second and the option we will need to use since this VM will serve as a Domain Controller is by VIRTUAL NETWORK.  You’ll remember in Part 1 our this series we created a VIRTUAL NETWORK.  In addition to defining the VM’s subnet our VIRTUAL NETWORK will also define it’s DNS Server.  Since we are promoting this Domain Controller into an existing Forest, we will initially specify our On-Premise Domain Controller OP-DC as its initial IP.  Once it’s promotion is complete, replication has occurred successfully we will then change it back to itself.  Follow the steps below to define the On-Premise Domain Controller as the VPNLAB VIRTUAL NETWORK’s DNS Server.

1. On the bottom bar click NEW.

2. From the menu select NETWORK SERVICES | VIRTUAL NETWORK | REGISTER DNS and enter the following then click OK:
   

            NAME:                                       OP-DC

            DNS SERVER IP ADDRESS:  192.168.1.2

       3.  Repeat the previous steps for KHL-DC:

            NAME:                                                  KHL-DC

            DNS SERVER IP ADDRESS:             192.168.111.4

       4.  Under networks click on VIRTUAL NETWORKS then VPNLAB.

       5.  Under vpnlab click on CONFIGURE.

       6.  Under dns servers use the first pull-down menu and select OP-DC, on the second pull-down menu select KHL-DC then on the bottom-bar Save.

       7.  At the Disrupt Connection warning pop-up click Yes.

       8.  Click OK once the DNS Server is set.

 If your KHL-DC was started then you will need to reboot it, if not use the following steps to start it and it will pick up the new DNS Server Settings:

1. On the Left-Pane click on VIRTUAL MACHINES.

2. In the Middle-Pane highlight KHL-DC then on the Bottom-Bar click START.

Let’s connect to our Azure VM (KHL-DC) via remote desktop.  To do this follow the steps below:

1. On the Left-Pane click on VIRTUAL MACHINES.

2. In the Middle-Pane highlight KHL-DC then on the Bottom-Bar click CONNECT.

3. At the download pop-up click Save | Save As.

4. At the Save As pop-up enter KHL-DC under File name: then click Save.

5. Navigate to the file and double-click on KHL-DC.

6. At the Remote Desktop Connection pop-up click Connect.

7. At the Windows Security screen enter your credentials.

8. At the Untrusted Certificate pop-up click Yes.

Once we are logged into KHL-DC we need to verity that it is using OP-DC as its DNS Server.  We can do that by running an NSLookup as shown below:

Now that we know we are correctly pointed to OP-DC lets promote KHL-DC as our 1^st Domain Controller in our Azure AD Site.  As mentioned earlier in the article, in order to promote a 2012 R2 server to a Domain Controller we must first install the Active Directory Domain Services Binaries.  This can be done following the steps below:

1. From the taskbar click on Server Manager.

2. Under the Configure this local server section click on Add roles and features.

3. At the Before you begin screen click Next.

4. At the Select installation type screen click Next.

5. At the Select destination server screen click Next.

6. At the Select server roles screen select Active Directory Domain Services then at the Add feature pop-up click Add Features then Next.

7. At the Select features screen click Next.

8. At the Active Directory Domain Services screen click Next.

9. At the Confirm installation selections screen click Install.

10. When setup completes click Close.

Deploying our Azure Domain Controller

1. In the Right-Pane click on the Yellow Caution Sign then click Promote this server to a domain controller.

2. At the Deployment Configuration screen under the Select the deployment operation make sure Add a domain controller to an existing domain is selected.

3. Under the Specify the domain information for this operation section enter killerhomelab.com for the Domain name.

4. Under the Supply the credentials to perform this operation click Change.

5. At the Credentials for deployment operation enter the credentials that were used to run the promotion on OP-DC then click OK, then Next.

   ***Note:  Make sure the format is DOMAIN\Account (Ex: KILLERHOMELAB\khl-admin

    

   As you can see on the next screen the Site name: has already been selected for us.  This is because the server is Site Aware.  Site Awareness allows a server to determine which AD Site it is a part of based on its IP subnet.  Since we associated the 192.168.111.0/24 subnet to the Azure-KHL AD Site earlier it the article, the server has already chosen its Site Name.

       6.  At the Domain Controller Options screen enter a password under the Type the Directory Services Restore Mode (DSRM) password section then click Next.

       7.  At the DNS Options screen click Next.

       8.  At the Additional Options screen click Next.

       9.  At the Paths screen click Next.

     10. At the Review Options screen click Next.

     11. At the Prerequisites Check screen click Install.

     12. When setup completes Reboot the Server.

Once KHL-DC completes its reboot it is now a Domain Controller within the killerhomelab.com Domain.  Even though it has successfully been promoted, we must wait until it has completed replication before continuing.

Next we will make another tweak to the KHL-DC and that will be to its IPv6 DNS Server Setting.  Since we will not be configuring IPv6 in our lab, we will remove the IPv6 loopback entry from our IPv6 DNS Settings.

1. Log onto KHL-DC.

2. On the right side of the Taskbar right-click the Network Connection and select Open Network and Sharing Center.

3. In the right-pane click on Change adapter settings.

4. Right-click Ethernet and select Properties.

5. Highlight Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/Ipv6) then click the Properties button.

6. Select Obtain DNS Server address automatically then click OK.

Finally, we will be making one last change to our DNS Server settings on OP-DC.  We will be setting its DNS Server settings to point to KHL-DC for its Primary DNS and itself for Alternate DNS.

1. Log onto OP-DC.

2. On the right side of the Taskbar right-click the Network Connection and select Open Network and Sharing Center.

3. In the right-pane click on Change adapter settings.

4. Right-click Ethernet and select Properties.

5. Highlight Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) then click the Properties button.

6. Under Use the following DNS server addresses: enter the following:

Preferred DNS Server:                   192.168.1.2

Alternate DNS Server:                    127.0.0.1

Now that we have both of our Domain Controllers up and running, let’s make sure that they are replicating correctly.  We will do this by creating a test account on OP-DC and then forcing its replication to the KHL-DC.  Let’s start by creating the account.

1. From within Server Manager click on Tools and select Active Directory Users and Computers.

2. Leave your existing ADUC (Active Directory Users and Computers) open then from within Server Manager click on Tools and select Active Directory Users and Computers to open a 2^ndADUC window.

3. In the 2^nd window from the Left-pane right-click Active Directory Users and Computers [OP-DC.killerhomelab.com] then select Change Domain Controller.

       4.  At the Change Directory Server pop-up select KHL-DC.killerhomelab.com then click OK.

       5.  From within Server Manager click on Tools and select Active Directory Sites and Services.

       6.  Arrange the 2 ADUC windows and 1 Active Directory Sites and Services window as shown below:

       7.  From the OP-DC ADUC instance within the Left-Pane expand killerhomelab.com then right-click Users and select New | User.

       8.  At the New Object – User screen enter the following then click Next: 

            First name:                 KHL

            Last name:                  User1

            Full name:                   KHL User1

            User logon name:       KHLUser1

       9.  At the password screen enter the following then click Next, then Finish:

            Password:                                   P@$$w0rd1

            Confirm password:                      P@$$w0rd1

At this point we have created our account on OP-DC but it has not been replicated over to KHL-DC.  Let’s switch to the KHL-DC ADUC Instance and verify the account does not exist yet.

1. From the KHL-DC ADUC instance within the Left-Pane expand killerhomelab.com then right-click Users and select Refresh.

As shown above you can see that KHLUser1 exists on OP-DC but has not been replicated to KHL-DC.  To force replication we will be using the Active Directory Sites and Services console which we opened earlier.  Follow the steps below to force the replication of the KHLUser1 object from OP-DC to KHL-DC.

1. Switch to the Active Directory Sites and Services window then within the Left-Pane expand Sites | Azure-KHL | Servers | KHL-DC then select NTDS Settings.

2. In the Right-Pane right-click the <automatically generated> connection object to OP-DC and select Replicate.

       3.  At the Replicate Now pop-up click OK.

       4.  From the KHL-DC ADUC instance within the Left-Pane expand killerhomelab.com then right-click Users and select Refresh.

As you can see our user KHLUser1 has successfully been replicated. 

You have now deployed a Multi-Site Active Directory Infrastructure!!!  This completes Part 2 of the Killer Home Lab Series.  In Part 3 we will be deploying a PKI Infrastructure within our lab using Microsoft Active Directory Certificate Services. Have fun with the lab!!!

Thanks,

Elliott

Le groupe Produit de Project appelle ses utilisateurs à s’exprimer en direct à travers le forum UserVoice PPM

https://microsoftproject.uservoice.com/

UserVoice permet de recueillir des idées ou des suggestions de plusieurs utilisateurs sur Project Desktop, Project Server et Project Online.

Voici quelques astuces pour vous familiariser avec ce forum:

Dès que vous commencez à entrer une nouvelle idée, une liste d'idées similaires pourrait apparaitre, ce qui vous permet de voter pour une idée existante ou en créer une nouvelle.
Vous avez un total de 10 votes à distribuer au début. Lorsque vous votez pour une idée, vous pouvez lui attribuer 1, 2 ou 3 votes. Attention, vous avez un nombre limite de votes disponibles.

Lorsque vous créez une nouvelle idée, vous aurez le choix sur une catégorie. Vous pouvez ensuite filtrer par catégories.

Enfin, vous pouvez ajouter #hashtags à la description de votre idée pour l’identification de mot-clefs. Il est ensuite plus facile de chercher des idées similaires.

A vous de voter!

Maëlle

We are happy to reveal that we’re increasing the number of public folder mailboxes in Exchange from 100 to 1,000.  More Public Folder mailboxes means more storage space capacity for public folders.  This increase will facilitate the migration of very large Public Folders from on-premises Exchange Server to Exchange Online.  This increase has already begun rolling out to Exchange Online tenants, and should be completely deployed by mid-February.

For customers who maintain their own on-premises Exchange Server 2016 infrastructure, the increase is expected to become available via Exchange Server 2016 CU2, in the second quarter of CY2016.  On-premises customers will then have more flexibility regarding placement of data in remote offices where necessary to give primary users a lower latency experience.  It is possible to do this with the existing 100 Public Folder mailbox limit; however, some customers needed to make trade-offs between how many Public Folder mailboxes they could place in regional Exchange locations, and how many they needed for data storage in the main location.  Growing the Public Folder mailbox limit to 1,000 will help those larger customers offer the lowest latency experience to their users, regardless of where they’re located.

Exchange Team

日本マイクロソフト System Center Support Team の宮崎です。先週リリースされた、System Center/Azure/Intune に関連する公開技術情報をまとめました。役に立つ手順や修正プログラムの情報など、製品をお使いいただく上で参考になる情報があるかと思います。ご参照ください。なお、ブログはすべて英語となっています。ご了承ください。

公開技術情報

ブログ

Feb.

2

Script Download:  
The script is available for download from https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/How-to-fix-Outlook-2013-0534abff.  You can also use  Microsoft Script Browser for Windows PowerShell ISE to download the sample with one button click from within your scripting environment. 

This VBScript sample shows how to fix Outlook 2013 stops synchronizing Hotmail account when connected over corporate or LAN network.

You can find more All-In-One Script Framework script samples at http://aka.ms/onescriptingallery

本文翻譯自 Azure welcomes Parse developers一文。

如果您曾使用 Parse 服務做為您行動應用程式的後端平台，現在是個絕佳的機會將您的服務移轉至 Azure 應用程式服務上。由於最近 Parse 服務的公告，Parse 官方也提供了一些搬家工具，如果您還在找尋新的落腳處，我們希望您評估一下 Azure 的服務。

簡單的作法

根據 Parse 的移轉手冊的建議，您可以過在 Express應用程式上掛載 Parse 伺服器 API 將原本在 Parse 上的程式移轉過來，基於這點，Azure 應用程式服務非常適合來放您 Parse 伺服器端的程式，首先，Azure 行動應用程式服務的 Node.js 後端本身就是一個 Express 應用程式，而為了降低移轉的複雜度，Azure 行動應用程式服務團隊也建立了一個能直接移轉的流程，幫助您完成移轉。

在開始之前，您應該已經看過 Parse 移轉手冊的內容，瞭解在新的 Parse 伺服器中支援與不支援的功能，雖然 Azure 行動應用程式服務本身並不做推播通知（Push Notification）的功能，但是這個可以透過 Azure 通知中樞（Notification Hubs）的服務來完成一模一樣的功能。

一旦完成了移轉程序，您可以繼續使用 Parse 用戶端 SDK 來存取原本的資料，不受影響。（當然，您必須更新至最新版本的 SDK 並且指向移轉後新的伺服器）

在開始之前

在開始進行移轉前，您必須先完成下列幾件事：

建立 Azure 帳戶

如果您尚未擁有 Azure 帳戶，您可以從免費試用這裡開始申請。

建立 Mongo DB

Parse 伺服器的一個必要元件就是 MongoDB（Parse 官方也提供了 MongoDB 需求的建議說明），Parse 也提供了將 Parse 上的資料搬到 MongoDB 的移轉工具，如果您是第一次使用 MongoDB，Parse 官方則建議可以從 MongoLab 所提供的服務協助您管理、延展穩健的 MongoDB 服務，而幸運的是，您可以直接從 Azure 市集中直接訂閱 MongoLab 的服務。而不論您是自建還是選用 MongoLab 的服務，您都必須在新的 Parse 伺服器程式中設定對應的連接方式。

或許，您也可以考慮 Azure DocumentDB 服務，它也是一個 NoSQL、文件式資料庫服務可以支撐 Parse 應用程式的運作，在後續的文章中，我們將介紹如何從 MongoDB 移轉到 DocumentDB，並且介紹它與 Parse 應用程式整合的方式。

取得一個 GitHub 帳號

在本文說明的移轉步驟中會用到 GitHub帳號，您也可以用這個帳號 clone 或 commit 到這份移轉文件的內容。

在應用程式服務中建立一個新後端

第一步，您需要先在 Azure 應用程式服務中建立一個後端平台來運作您的新 Parse 伺服器應用程式，在 Azure 入口網站上，點擊 +新增 > Web + 行動 > Web 應用程式，然後為您的服務設定一個唯一的名稱，然後按下建立。

如此一來您就建立好了新的後端平台來運作新的 Parse 伺服器程式，而您也許希望使用不同的 App Server 方案，因為這關係到使用服務的價格，當然您隨時可以更換方案，想要瞭解方案的詳情，可以參考 Azure App Service plans in-depth overview。

一旦完成建立後，您會看到一個新的服務面板。

應用程式服務提供了多種部署程式的方式，接下來我們就要開始部署應用程式了。

複製 Parse 伺服器程式碼存儲庫並且部署至 Azure

為了讓移轉的程序更簡便，Azure 應用程式服務團隊 fork 了一份 Parse 伺服器範例的程式碼，並且讓它相容於 Azure 應用程式服務，所以您只要到 GitHub 網站，將 Azure Parse server sample 存儲庫 fork 一份到您的帳號下。

接下來您會使用這個 fork 作為您部署到 Azure 的程式，回到您在 Azure 入口網站上建立的 Web 應用程式服務面板，打開設定，往下捲並點擊 連續部署 > 選擇來源 > GitHub，然後點擊 授權 > 授權讓 Azure 入口網站能夠存取您的 GitHub 帳號，授權的過程中會導向 GitHub 頁面完成授權的動作，最後按下確定完成授權。

現在 Azure 入口網站已經連結您的 GitHub 帳號，選擇 parse-server-example 作為專案，然後分支選擇 master 就按下確定按鈕完成設定。

到這裡，程式部署的方式已經設定完成，Parse 伺服器的程式碼將會從自動從 GitHub 上送到 Azure，如果之後發現沒有自動推送，可以在部署的面板上按下同步的按鈕手動部署。

設定後端平台

Parse 伺服器在運作時還需要透過環境變數來設定一些必要資訊，在 Azure 應用程式服務中就是透過應用程式設定的方式來進行設定。這些資訊包括了 MongoDB 的連接資訊、Parse app ID 以及 master key 這些數值，透過應用程式設定來設定這些變數的值有個好處，那就是不會將這些敏感資訊存放在程式碼中，回到 Web 應用程式面板中的設定面板，點擊 應用程式設定，然後往下捲到 應用程式設定 區域，然後建立以下 Key-Value 對應的設定，完成後按下上方的儲存按鈕完成設定。

到這裡，您已經能透過 REST client 來存取您新的 Parse 伺服器了，如果您的 Parse 應用程式還需要設定其它常數，像是 Facebook App ID 等，我們也建議您用相同的方式來進行設定。

用 Hello World 來試試看

這個 Parse 伺服器範例提供了一個名為 hello的「Hello, World」範例函式，您可以使用像是 cURL 這類工具來試試看是否能順利呼叫。（以下範例請將 Parse App ID 以及新的 Parse 伺服器網址更換成您所設定的值）

$ curl -X POST \> -H "X-Parse-Application-Id: dsXH3syuEuuIZvXi1niEtX49LLilneJK5oIBcLM3" \> -H "Content-Type: application/json" \> -d '{}' \> http://parse-on-azure.azurewebsites.net/parse/functions/hello

這個操作對 Parse 開發人員來說應該是相當熟悉的，如果上面的移轉程序都沒有問題的話，您應該會收到像是這樣的回覆訊息：

{"result":"Hello from Azure."}

現在您已經驗證 Parse 的程式可以在 Azure 上順利運作，所以您可以開始把您的應用程式程式碼加進來了。

加入您的 Parse 程式碼

既然已經設定好了連續部署，接下來您只需要將 Parse 伺服器應用程式的程式碼放進 fork 的 GitHub 存儲庫，就能直接把這些程式碼部署到 Azure 上。

您可以把您 fork 的存儲庫複製到開發機上，然後把您撰寫的程式碼放進去，一旦您把更新後的程式碼推送回 GitHub，也會一併觸發 Azure 上的部署。

不過要注意的是，這樣的作法程式碼在 GitHub 上是完全公開的，如果您想要隱藏它，您可能需要在 GitHub 上建立私有的存儲庫，或是您可以選擇使用其它的部署方式。

更新 Parse SDK

新的伺服器架構在用戶端需要使用新的 Parse SDK 來完成串接，您可以參考移轉手冊中的 Using Parse SDKs with Parse Server來更新用戶端的 Parse SDK。

那推播通知的功能呢?

當您閱讀 Parse 伺服器移轉手冊時，您會發現：

Parse Server does not implement any push notification functionality. We recommend migrating to a different push provider.

別擔心，Azure 提供了高度延展，並且特別為傳送推播通知設計的服務 -- Azure 通知中樞，就如同您在 Parse 中進行推送通知的作法一樣，通知中樞會儲存每一個推播服務，包括：APNS, GCM, WNS, 甚至是 Kindle, Chrome 以及 Baidu 的推送服務，的驗證機制，而通知中樞的 Node.js 函式庫就能輕易地讓你在應用程式中發送推播通知，我們將在後續的文章中詳細介紹如何運用 Azure 通知中樞來發送通知訊息。

結論

當您完成移轉程序，將您的 Parse 伺服器應用程式放上 Azure 後，建議您可以順便看看 Azure 所提供的服務，也許是原本 Parse 服務並沒有的功能，像是應用程式分析、排程工作、或是整合其它第三方服務如 Twillio（發送簡訊）或 SendGrid （發送郵件），Azure 應用程式服務也提供更多內建的身份驗證選項可供使用。

我們希望在 Azure 上運作您的 Parse 伺服器的功能有良好的體驗，並且期待您順利將 Parse 伺服器應用程式放上 Azure 繼續運作您的事業，祝好運~

Summary: Learn how to use Windows PowerShell 5.0 to scrape a web page so that you can easily return parsable objects.

Good morning. Ed Wilson here, and today I have a guest blog post by Doug Finke...

When surfing the PowerShell Gallery, you'll find that each module has a web page with a version history, for example:

Wouldn't it be great if you could get this information at the command line? Click here for a 20 second video that shows the code to do it.

How to do web scrapping

This approach will only work in Windows PowerShell 5.0, because it uses the new ConvertFrom-String function to convert the parsed HTML text into objects.

It's a simple approach. First, use Invoke-WebRequest to get the HTML back from the web page. Then, AllElements returns a list of objects that you pipe to Where and do a match on versionTableRow. You grab the InnerText property and pipe all of this to ConvertFrom-String using the contents of $t as the template to convert the text to objects with the property names Name, Version, Downloads, and PublishDate.

function Get-PSGalleryInfo {

    param(

        [Parameter(Mandatory=$true,ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName=$true)]       

        $Name

    )

    Begin {

$t = @"

{Name*:PowerShellISE-preview} {[version]Version:5.1.0.1} (this version) {[double]Downloads:885} {[DateTime]PublishDate:Wednesday, January 27 2016}

{Name*:ImportExcel} 1.97  {Downloads:106} Monday, January 18 2016

"@

    }

    Process {

        $url ="https://www.powershellgallery.com/packages/$Name/"

        $r=Invoke-WebRequest $url

        ($r.AllElements | Where {$_.class -match 'versionTableRow'}).innerText |

            ConvertFrom-String -TemplateContent $t

    }

}

How to figure out the content of class

Launch your browser and navigate to the ImportExcel 1.98 module. You should be able to right-click the page and find an option called View page source. When you click it, you'll get another tab in your browser, which shows you the underlying HTML. Scroll down (or use Search) for text that looks familiar in the rendered page.

Here you can see an HTML class attribute that contains versionTableRow. For other pages you want to scrape, you need to examine the HTML to figure out what uniquely identifies what you want to extract. Sometimes it's as easy as this:

Next, you can see the text returned with this PowerShell snippet:

$r.AllElements | Where {$_.class -match 'versionTableRow'}).innerText

Use that to create the TemplateContent for ConvertFrom-String, which transforms the text to objects.

For a great write up on how to work with ConvertFrom-String, check out this post on the Windows PowerShell blog: ConvertFrom-String: Example-based text parsing.

~Doug

Thank you, Doug, for that way cool post. Join me tomorrow for more cool Windows PowerShell stuff.

I invite you to follow me on Twitter and Facebook. If you have any questions, send email to me at scripter@microsoft.com, or post your questions on the Official Scripting Guys Forum. Also check out my Microsoft Operations Management Suite Blog. See you tomorrow. Until then, peace.

Ed Wilson, Microsoft Scripting Guy 

I thought about giving Alex 5 more descriptive titles and making the blog subject/title really long, but hey, probably better not to do that. =^)

Here is Alex's MVP profile:

https://mvp.microsoft.com/en-us/PublicProfile/5001719?fullName=Alex%20%20Mang

And his TechNet Profile:

Mang Alex

Alex's stats:

• 6 Wiki Articles
• 30 Wiki Edits
• 82 Forum Answers
• 241 Forum Replies

And as an MVP, I know Alex well, and the impact he's making on the Azure services with his fantastic feedback!

Here are some of Alex's top Wiki articles:

• What Are Scoring Profiles In Azure Search? 
• ASP.NET and Its Love For WebHooks
• Diagnostic Logs - Get Them Like A Pro 
• The Move to the New Azure SQL Database Tiers

And I have to say, that on this article (Diagnostic Logs - Get Them Like A Pro), I loved the top image:

Okay, enough lollygagging! Let's get to the interview!

====================================== 

Who are you, where are you, and what do you do? What are your specialty technologies?

I’m Alex Mang. I’m currently located in one of the Art Nouveau capitals of Eastern Europe, namely Oradea (Romania) which was also the reference city for all map creators some time ago as it was crossed by the 0 degree meridian for roughly 200 years (1464-1667). In other words, if your city, island or continent was discovered by Christopher Columbus or any other explorer who related to his explorations, my city might had something to do with it. People also commonly find me speaking at various Microsoft-centric conferences throughout Europe, at webinars and in on-line forums – my main focus is on Azure and anything related to Azure.

1 Speaking at a local user group meeting

What are your big projects right now?

Professionally speaking, along with a team of talented software developers, I’m currently on the verge of releasing a new event management and on-line ticketing system that aims to revolutionize the entire event management market. There’s not really much I can say about it right now, so let’s focus on my community related involvement: I recently got fully Azure certified, meaning that I passed all possible exams related to Azure and have plans on becoming a certified trainer with CompTIA by May – this should hopefully bring some extra visibility. I’m also looking forward to some of my engagements at upcoming conferences this year and my previous community-related activity also recently got me the biggest award anyone could ever receive, namely the title of Microsoft Most Valuable Professional.

2 With Raffaele Rialdi, at ITCamp 2015

What is TechNet Wiki for? Who is it for?

TechWiki is the place to visit if you’re a user of anything Microsoft and are a technically inclined individual. It is a collection of valuable articles written by experts throughout the world who care enough to share their passion and knowledge in a specific field. Therefore, digesting the TechWiki articles on a regular basis is a must if you’re interested in coming up with the best architectures and practices, proven over and over again throughout a myriad of installments.

I am first and foremost a TechWiki consumer – I try to keep up with all the good articles and every now and then transform them into subject topics for the user groups I attend. If it just so happens that I stumble upon a technically piece of magic which isn’t well enough, I also like to transform it into a TechWiki article myself.

As a contributor you don’t necessarily have to be an article author. Maybe you have, just like I used to have, a problem finding THE TOPIC to start with. Or maybe you’re afraid that your article won’t be appreciated. You can also contribute by translating articles, keeping them up to date or correcting any of the spelling or grammar mistakes which were accidentally left unedited.

I’ll be honest: so far I haven’t contributed much as an editor, mostly because I like the original author to get full credit of the article he or she wrote. Sometimes I might however propose a few changes here and there so that the article is maintained up-to-date. You know Azure – one week away and boom, everything changes! J

What do you do with TechNet Wiki, and how does that fit into the rest of your job?

Besides my community related involvement via conferences and forums, I also like to blog on alexmang.com every now and then and most of my topics cover Azure-related services and features. And if it’s not Azure, it most certainly is a Microsoft piece of technology (mostly either SQL Server or ASP.NET). One of my very first TechWiki articles (which, funny enough also made me an Azure Guru) was about using Azure in order to use country-specific streaming services (e.g. Netflix, Spotify etc.) outside their list of accepted countries. In a few words, it’s a series of PowerShels cmdlets for provisioning VMs and configuring Routing and Remote Access Service. This not only helped me quickly get the necessary PowerShell cmdlets back every time I was on a business trip and wanted to keep up with my favorite shows, but apparently also helped hundreds of users in Asia and Eastern Europe experience such services.

Besides describing hacky ways of getting around such security layers, my articles usually describe tips and tricks for application developers – how do you get something done and why you should care about it is the style I commonly use when I write an article. For example, in one of my most recent articles I described why the announcement of ASP.NET’s support for WebHooks wasn’t covered deep enough - did you know that the NuGet package which handles WebHook events also takes care of everything, actually EVERYTHING, related to sending WebHooks requests (even subscribers, event filers and such)?

What is it about TechNet Wiki that interests you?

There are some key people worth following, who share their deep technical knowledge in a particular subject. Then there are article authors who are completely new to TechWiki but somehow come up with very well-written and thoroughly documented articles – it’s always a pleasure to see their contribution.

In what other sites and communities do you contribute your technical knowledge?

I’d like to think of myself as a regular speaker at the largest Microsoft-centric conferences in Romania such as ITCamp and Microsoft Summit, but people were also able to meet me in Belgium for Azug’s CloudBrew conference as well for the past two years (which, as the name suggests, takes place in a Belgium beer brewery). I’m also one of the worldwide organizers of Global Azure Bootcamp, which is a great opportunity for any software developer to meet fellow professionals, learn more about Azure and grab a delicious lunch on a spring Saturday, in Oradea.

3 With Microsoft Romania Evangelists and fellow speakers at Microsoft Summit 2015

What are your top 5 favorite Wiki articles?

One of the very best articles (isn’t an actual TechWiki article afaik, but could certainly be one) and which I also use every know and them in my internal company courses related to user experience is ‘integrated Assistance… and your elevator’ (http://blogs.msdn.com/b/user_ed/archive/2016/01/31/10133765.aspx). It’s a great article. As it’s so difficult to choose from the plethora of excellent articles available on TechWiki, I’d fill in the rest with any of my own – this does make me extremely arrogant, but hey – at least I don’t get to be too picky.

What could we do differently on TechNet Wiki?

Well, there isn’t really a particular thing I’d do differently, but there might be a few things which could use some polishing. For example, the Cloud Portal Wiki doesn’t really work nowadays, considering that there are no links whatsoever posted on the page. Besides that, I’d also try to categorize the article library so that articles can get more attention – but this should probably happen somehow auto-magically rather than have people edit the same page of links. In addition, I was always wondering how come popular search engine results don’t usually return TechWiki articles. Maybe there’s some SEO work which requires someone taking a look at it? Or do users simply miss adding the necessary tags on their articles?

Do you have any tips for new Wiki authors?

Is there something which ever troubled you or which took a long time to figure out? Write it down, explain it, document it and let others know about it. Don’t be the “if it was difficult to write, it should be difficult to understand” kind of guy! Become involved, write that article down and become a Guru yourself!

========================================

Wow! It's a pleasure having you contribute such great content to TechNet Wiki. This is the way we love content... quality over quantity!

Everyone, please join me in thanking Alex for his great contributions to the community!

Wherever you go, there you Wiki,

   - Ninja Ed

Olá Comunidade TechNet Wiki!

Hoje é terça-feira, dia de Artigo Spotlight!

E o destaque de hoje vai para o Artigo Instalando Ubuntu Server no Microsoft Azure e Acessando Remotamente

Criado pelo Colaborador Vinicius Mozart

Neste ótimo artigo do nosso membro Vinicius Mozart ele mostra como realizar a Instalação do Ubuntu Server dentro do Windows Azure.

Para quem não o Microsoft Azure é o ambiente de Cloud da Microsoft que disponibiliza este serviço para seus clientes terem uma maior facilidade em seu trabalho.

No assunto de Microsoft Azure temos também as certificações de Linux que a Microsoft lançou a algumas semanas atrás o MCSA Linux em Azure.

Para mais informações acessem https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/learning/mcsa-linux-azure-certification.aspx

Obrigado Vinicius Mozart pelas suas contribuições.

Venha nos ajudar contribuindo com a comunidade Technet Wiki BR.

Até a próxima!

Até a próxima!

Wiki Ninja Jefferson Castilho ( Blog, Twitter, Wiki, Perfil Facebook)

From hackers causing mischief to organized crime syndicates employing sophisticated ruse, cybercrime is on the rise. In 2014 alone, 71 percent of companies say they fell victim to a successful cyberattack, and hackers aren’t just targeting companies—an estimated 556 million people fall victim to cybercrime every year. That’s 12 people every second.

You don’t have to be a victim. Microsoft is working to protect your data, and you can take action now, too. To help you understand the increasing cybersecurity threats against your personal and organizational data, we’ve created a free webinar, “The Emerging Era of Cyber Defense and Cybercrime.” You’ll learn about common attacks and exploits, Microsoft’s layered approach to security (across more than 200 online services) and how Microsoft helps protect your data in the cloud.

Read more about this increasingly critical topic – and find out how to join our webinar – on the Cyber Trust Blog.

Today’s Tip…

Looking for that one stop for all things Surface? Here you go!

• Download the latest drivers, firmware updates, and software updates for your:
  • Surface Pro 3
  • Surface 3
  • Surface 3 (AT&T 4G LTE)
  • Surface 3 (Non-AT&T 4G LTE)
  • Surface 3 (4G LTE) outside North America
  • Surface Pro 2
  • Surface Pro
  • Get the best practices deploying and managing Surface devices
    • Download the Surface Pro 3 Deployment and Administration Guide
    • Plan for Surface deployment
    • Find step-by-step deployment guidance
    • Learn how to easily manage and keep Surface devices up to date

Sign up to receive the latest and greatest Surface news and tips!

It’s time — Register now for Microsoft Ignite and mark your calendar for September 26–30. Be there when top industry leaders talk about what’s next, get direct access to the people who built the products you use every day, and surround yourself with smart people talking tech.

Sharpen your ideas with the best in the business.

From high-level strategy to deep product insights, you’ll hear about new technologies and explore real-world solutions to today’s challenges. Customize your schedule to go deep on the topics that matter most to you and your organization including: cloud infrastructure and management, big data, analytics, productivity, communications, operating systems, mobile devices, and more.

• 1,000+ hours of content, 700+ sessions, and a multitude of networking opportunities
• Insights and roadmaps from industry leaders
• Deep dives and live demos on the products you use every day
• Direct access to Microsoft product experts
• Hands-on learning in digital labs

Connect with techies like yourself.

After last year’s conference, an attendee wrote, “Networking at #MSIgnite is like coming home.” We make it easy to connect, with dozens of opportunities including networking lounges, mealtime mashups, and meetups. You’ll expand your contact list—and meet people who can challenge your thinking and inspire you to take your ideas further.

Join us. Register for Microsoft Ignite 2016.

It’s time — Register now for Microsoft Ignite and mark your calendar for September 26–30. Be there when top industry leaders talk about what’s next, get direct access to the people who built the products you use every day, and surround yourself with smart people talking tech.

Sharpen your ideas with the best in the business.

From high-level strategy to deep product insights, you’ll hear about new technologies and explore real-world solutions to today’s challenges. Customize your schedule to go deep on the topics that matter most to you and your organization including: cloud infrastructure and management, big data, analytics, productivity, communications, operating systems, mobile devices, and more.

• 1,000+ hours of content, 700+ sessions, and a multitude of networking opportunities
• Insights and roadmaps from industry leaders
• Deep dives and live demos on the products you use every day
• Direct access to Microsoft product experts
• Hands-on learning in digital labs

Connect with techies like yourself.

After last year’s conference, an attendee wrote, “Networking at #MSIgnite is like coming home.” We make it easy to connect, with dozens of opportunities including networking lounges, mealtime mashups, and meetups. You’ll expand your contact list—and meet people who can challenge your thinking and inspire you to take your ideas further.

Join us. Register for Microsoft Ignite 2016.

September 26-30 is not that far away, so take the time to mark your calendar and register nowfor Microsoft Ignite 2016!

Attendees at last year’s event had an incredible opportunity to hear from the tech industry’s most influential leaders, as well as the engineers who build the products you use every day.

Sharpen your ideas with the best in the business

The reason I’m so excited for Ignite is simple:No matter your role, you can find information, workshops, and breakout sessions that will improve the way you work on a daily basis. There’s everything from high-level strategy discussions, to deep analysis of products and features. This is a real-world approach for building your expertise when it comes to solving real-world challenges.

Like any great adventure, Ignite lets you choose your own: When you register, you can customize your schedule to go deep on the topics that matter most to you and your organization – like, cloud infrastructure and management, big data, analytics, productivity, communications, operating systems, mobile devices, and more.

Right now we’ve already planned:

• 1,000+ hours of content, 700+ sessions, and a multitude of networking opportunities
• Insights and roadmaps from industry leaders
• Deep dives and live demos on the products you use every day
• Direct access to Microsoft product experts
• Hands-on learning in digital labs

Connect with people like YOU

We’ve built this event specifically for our core users – and you’ll find no better collection of tech professionals and enthusiasts anywhere else. Last year, one attendee summed it up perfectly: “Networking at #MSIgnite is like coming home.” Throughout your time in Atlanta you’ll see how easy we’ve made it to connect – there are dozens of networking lounges, mealtime mashups, and meetups.

Don’t miss out; this event is for you! I’m looking forward to seeing you at Microsoft Ignite 2016!

This post is authored by Chirag Dhull, Product Marketing Manager, and Wee Hyong Tok, Senior Program Manager, at Microsoft.

Calling all student data science aspirants:

Microsoft has launched an online Cortana Analytics Suite challenge as part of the ImagineCup “Hello Cloud” contest.

ImagineCup, one of Microsoft’s premier student technology programs, provides a variety of challenges and opportunities for young aspirants to skill up. The Cortana Analytics and ImagineCup teams are partnering with each other to bring to you this opportunity to show-off your data science and app development skills.

Prizes

Two winners will get invited for a 4-day trip to Redmond, where – among other things – they will get to:

• Participate in the ImagineCup world finals, where top student startups will compete for the coveted 2016 title.
• Meet with the Corporate Vice President of the Data Group, Joseph Sirosh, and other senior leadership.
• Get an up-close look at the Cortana Analytics development process.
• Check out intelligent apps, prototypes and demos yet to be seen by the broad public.

Microsoft will cover travel expenses for the winners, including flights, meals and accommodation.

So What’s the Online Challenge?

You will need to build a “churn analytics” game app powered by Azure ML’s data science models. “Churn” is a term used to describe a situation where an existing customer stops using a product or service. It's a common scenario encountered by all businesses, and an important one in the context of online gaming as well. A gamer at risk of churning is somebody who is inclined to stop playing. In order to keep the gamer involved, developers can use machine learning techniques to identify potential gamers who are likely to churn and then take steps during the game to intervene. Based on past player history and data for similar players, you need to determine when a gamer is likely to quit. At that point, you will offer them a bonus, achievement, or other incentive which will keep them in the game and playing longer.

Submission Deadline

The deadline to submit your entries is 23:59 GMT on 27^th April 2016. For details on eligibility, how to participate and judging criteria, check the ImagineCup site here.

We hope many of you will participate and look forward to welcoming the winners to Microsoft.

 
Chirag and Wee Hyong
Follow Chirag on Twitter

The Internet of Things (IoT) is upon us and is gathering pace. By 2020 IoT product and service suppliers will be looking at $300 billion in incremental revenue according to Gartner. 

Microsoft can help. IDC forecast that some 212 billion devices, machines and sensors will be connected by the end of 2020.

Decisions you make in the next few weeks could open up tremendous opportunities for your business.

Join us for this one-day seminar on 10 Feb 2016 at Microsoft UK Headquarters, Reading to learn more about the opportunities.