Skype for Business Mac Client – General Availability

28th of October, 2016 / / 6 Comments

I currently run a MacBook Pro for my daily driver, it’s the ‘spice of life’ I say! A MacBook Pro, a Google Pixel phone and the Microsoft Office 365 collaboration suite is what makes up my toolset. Now more then ever collaboration and data is becoming more accessible via a device flavour that you prefer. Running Mac OSX while working with the Microsoft stack presents two issues I’ve had to endure to this point as an end user and adminstrator:

  1. I want to leverage the full capability of Kloud’s Skype for Business platform while in OSX
  2. I want to execute PowerShell CLI natively in OSX

I’ve marked October 26th in my calendar as the day where I get to put a line through one of my wish list items.… [Keep reading] “Skype for Business Mac Client – General Availability”

Ubuntu security hardening for the cloud.

Hardening Ubuntu Server Security For Use in the Cloud

26th of October, 2016 / / 1 Comment

The following describes a few simple means of improving Ubuntu Server security for use in the cloud. Many of the optimizations discussed below apply equally to other Linux based distribution although the commands and settings will vary somewhat.

Azure cloud specific recommendations

  1. Use private key and certificate based SSH authentication exclusively and never use passwords.
  2. Never employ common usernames such as root , admin or administrator.
  3. Change the default public SSH port away from 22.
… [Keep reading] “Hardening Ubuntu Server Security For Use in the Cloud”

Are There Sufficient Standards in Cloud Computing Today?

26th of October, 2016 / / No Comments

The hybrid cloud may be a hot topic with adoption growing faster than ever but should we be concerned about a lack of established standards?

What is the Hybrid Cloud?

Private clouds, whether owned or leased, generally consist of closed IT infrastructures accessible only to a business which then makes available resources to it’s own internal customers. Private clouds are often home to core applications where control is essential to the business, they can also offer economies of scales where companies can afford larger, long term investments and have the ability to either run these environments themselves or pay for a managed service.… [Keep reading] “Are There Sufficient Standards in Cloud Computing Today?”

How to export user error data from Azure AD Connect with CSExport

24th of October, 2016 / / 1 Comment

A short post is a good post?! – the other day I had some problems with users synchronising with Azure AD via Azure AD Connect. Ultimately Azure AD Connect was not able to meet the requirements of the particular solution, as Microsoft Identity Manager (MIM) 2016 has the final 5% of the config required for, as I found out, a complicated user+resource and user forest design.
In saying that though, during my troubleshooting, I was looking at ways to export the error data from Azure AD Connect.… [Keep reading] “How to export user error data from Azure AD Connect with CSExport”

Avoiding Windows service accounts with static passwords using GMSAs

21st of October, 2016 / / 3 Comments

One of the benefits of an Active Directory (AD) running with only Windows Server 2012 domain controllers is the use of ‘Group Managed Service Accounts’ (GMSAs).
GMSAs can essentially execute applications and services similar to an Active Directory user account running as a ‘service account’.  GMSAs store their 120 character length passwords using the Key Distribution Service (KDS) on Windows Server 2012 DCs and periodically refresh these passwords for extra security (and that refresh time is configurable).… [Keep reading] “Avoiding Windows service accounts with static passwords using GMSAs”

cloudready

Run Chromium OS without having to buy a Chromebook thanks to CloudReady

19th of October, 2016 / / No Comments

Thanks to the good folks at Neverware, you can now run Google’s cloud centric OS on a wider range of hardware than just Chromebooks alone. To enable this, what Neverware have done is repackage Google’s Chromium operating system.  This OS is at the core of it’s range of branded laptops, and is now made available to all.

The differences
Where Google build and maintain open source versions of Android and Chromium, their real value proposition is to add proprietary features onto both before selling them on branded devices.… [Keep reading] “Run Chromium OS without having to buy a Chromebook thanks to CloudReady”

An Approach to DevOps Adoption

17th of October, 2016 / / No Comments
Originally posted at Chandra’s blog – https://fastandsteady.io

DevOps has been a buzzword for a while now in the tech industry, with many organizations joining the bandwagon and working towards embracing DevOps practices.
Wikipedia describes DevOps as “a practice that emphasizes the collaboration and communication of the IT professionals across the value chain while automating the process of software delivery and infrastructure changes. The aim is to deliver the software quickly and reliably.”
However, in an Enterprise scenario with the complexity involved, the journey to implement DevOps comprehensively is evolutionary.  … [Keep reading] “An Approach to DevOps Adoption”

Complex Mail Routing in Exchange Online Staged Migration Scenario

15th of October, 2016 / / No Comments

Notes From the Field:

I was recently asked to assist an ongoing project with understanding some complex mail routing and identity scenario’s which had been identified during planning for an upcoming mail migration from an external system into Exchange Online.
New User accounts were created in Active Directory for the external staff who are about to be migrated. If we were to assign the target state, production email attributes now, and create the exchange online mailboxes, we would have a problem nearing migration.… [Keep reading] “Complex Mail Routing in Exchange Online Staged Migration Scenario”

Fixing the Windows 10 Insider 14946 Bitdefender Update Issue

15th of October, 2016 / / No Comments

I have been part of the Windows 10 Insider program for some time now, and as usual the time had come around again to install the latest fast ring update 14946.
However, when I went to download the update via the usual windows update channel, I found I could not download the update at all. (Or the bar showed zero progress).
I started to go looking for an explanation and came across the following post on the Microsoft Forum site.… [Keep reading] “Fixing the Windows 10 Insider 14946 Bitdefender Update Issue”

DataWeave: Tips and tricks from the field

12th of October, 2016 / / 1 Comment

DataWeave (DW) has been part of the MuleSoft Anypoint Platform since v3.7.0 and has been a welcome enhancement providing an order of magnitude improvement in performance as well as increased mapping capability that enables more efficient flow design.
However, like most new features of this scope and size (i.e. brand new transformation engine written from the ground up), early documentation was minimal and often we were left to ourselves. At times even the most simple mapping scenarios could take an hour or so to solve what could have taken 5 mins in data-mapper.… [Keep reading] “DataWeave: Tips and tricks from the field”