Hello Readers and Viewers!

Wow, it has been a while since I posted, in fact it was back in December with the completion of my Windows Azure & PowerShell Blog Series.

The good news is - in that time, I have been hard at work, developing new and exciting PowerShell for some of the new and exciting technologies that you likely already have had the chance to dive into: Windows Azure Pack (WAP) with VM Role Gallery Resources.

Introduction

So, what is this blog series all about?

• Applying existing knowledge of tenant provisioning techniques in this “new world”
• Transforming existing knowledge (Service Templates) of tenant workload deployments into “WAP friendly” workload deployments (VM Role Gallery Resources)
• Providing new automation (PowerShell scripts) for the latest tenant provisioning technology (WAP)

Background

Remember when I published these two blog posts?

1. Automation–PowerShell Workflow Script Spotlight–Deploying Virtual Machine Manager Service Templates “OnBehalfOf” Tenant Administrator User Roles
2. Automation–PowerShell Workflow Script Spotlight–Creation and Parameterization of Virtual Machine Manager Run As Accounts for “OnBehalfOf” Service Template Deployment

Well, those were directly related to the initial learning around Tenant Provisioning my team gathered during an internal Proof of Concept. Back then, it was all about the “VMM Service Template”, and while some of that existing knowledge will work in this new world of WAP, the focus now is on VM Role Gallery Resources as the delivery mechanism for application workloads.

What can we salvage?

At the very least, all the existing knowledge around automated deployment of the Tenant Network (Isolated SDN). As well as, some previously undisclosed techniques for automatically initiating the deployments - all of which still holds true, regardless of delivery mechanism.

What’s new?

The new automation involved in the deployment of VM Role Gallery Resources, as both a Service Admin (via VMM “OnBehalfOf” PS Commands) and a Tenant Admin (via the Service Management WS API).

Blog Series Table of Contents

1. Part 1: Intro & TOC
2. Part 2: Automated Deployment of Tenant Network and Identity(Isolated SDN & Active Directory VM Role)
3. Part 3: Automated Deployment of Tenant Workloads(Lync, SharePoint, and Exchange VM Roles)
4. Parts 4 & 5: TBD(We hope to have something around: Value Added Services/Offerings and Ongoing Automated Maintenance/Operations)

Note     Automated Deployment of the VM Roles in these examples will include PowerShell scripts for both Service Admin and Tenant Admin personas.

Timeline

I realize that this post is a bit more “teaser” than “valuable content”. Believe me, I want all this published and publically available as much as you do! But as some of this still lives on the “cutting edge”, I am learning new parts every day that improve the whole. I am committed to delivering the best end product, so I will be taking “a little” more time to get the first set of scripts published. And by “a little”, I mean things slipped by approximately a week. I hope to have both Parts 2 & 3 available next week (first week of March 2014)! Again, apologies for the delay. I hope to make up for it in quality.

Note     This section of the blog post will “self-destruct” once Parts 2 & 3 are released!

Oh, and by the way, Parts 4 & 5 are still in development, and we will know more next month.

Thanks for checking out my latest blog series! For more information, tips/tricks, and example solutions for Automation within System Center, Windows Azure Pack, Windows Azure, etc., be sure to check out the other blog posts from Building Clouds in the Automation Track!

enJOY!