Previously, we’ve set up a Windows Server 2016 in Core mode with Hyper-V role and prepared it to host VMs. On this blog post, we will discuss the Veeam Backup & Replication deployment and configuration process. After preparing the Hyper-V server running on a Windows Server 2016, Veeam Backup & Replication can be deployed on either virtual or physical machines that will be up to these specifications. Read more

vSphere 6.5 has been generally available for several months now with the first release date being October 2016. Not everyone was excited to jump straight onto the vSphere 6.5 bandwagon though and for good reason. There were product interoperability issues at launch (I’m looking at you NSX), not to mention it is typically expected for companies to wait until the first major update package is released to make sure issues have been ironed out. However, a lot of the frustrations experienced by early adopters seem to have been resolved in minor patch updates to ESXi and to the vCenter server platform.

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Complete visibility within the data center is essential to keeping businesses available 24.7.365. Visibility into the data center allows IT administrators to properly utilize resources, be proactive in troubleshooting issues and run reports on their environment. Veeam allows businesses to remain proactive in monitoring and managing their environment through Veeam ONE. If you haven’t heard about it, you are truly missing out, as it works not only for your Veeam-powered data protection operations, but for entire VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V environments as well.

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We continue our Windows Server 2016 series with step-by-step guide on Hyper-V deployment and management. Read more

Windows Server 2016 comes in Standard and Datacenter editions and offers several types of installation for both editions: Desktop Experience (full GUI mode), Core (no GUI) and Nano Server. We will go through the installation and configuration of Windows Server 2016 with a Core type deployment, the initial setup and preparing it for the Hyper-V role.

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Along with the new functionality of Windows Server 2016, another essential element of any domain administrator — Active Directory — has been updated with some very important and great features. One of the updates that aims to improve the environment’s protection against external and internal threats to accounts is called privileged access management (PAM). This functionality is based on the idea of Just Enough Administration (JEA), which is a security technology that allows the delegation of administration rights with the help of PowerShell. Read more

As a flight instructor, I always advise my students to avoid the cumulonimbus cloud, which is associated with thunderstorms that create unpredictable conditions and make flying difficult and dangerous. Throughout a 100 years of aviation history, flying in or near this type of weather often makes headlines in the news; with some instances worse than others.

When discussing cloud strategies with Veeam customers, from migration to data backup to the cloud, I am reminded of the unpredictable weather conditions associated with flying in the clouds, especially when a customer raises a concern about the cost of cloud computing.

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From time to time, we need to test something in our infrastructure. Production is not good idea for this, so we build a test environment. Sometimes, such tests may require changes in the hypervisor, which we want to avoid in the production. In such cases, we can work on dedicated test hardware or we can virtualize. Virtualization nesting can be helpful for development, getting familiar with new technologies, new product versions or learning purposes where we can easily simulate our production environment. In this article, we'll explore how to build the test environment on different platforms with help of nested virtualization. Read more

It’s no secret that data management is an important part of a system administrator’s agenda. We are constantly looking to implement technologies and services that allow us to manage information flow better and let us store data efficiently without eating up our budget. There are many ways to achieve that but today I wanted to talk about one special example — Data Deduplication technology. Read more

Server uptime defines high Availability, there’s no denial of that. To ensure that all the critical services are available for customers, you need to provide a near-continuous uptime of your infrastructure. Inability to do so will result in a downtime that will cost you real money. But that’s not the only application of an uptime measurement. Read on to learn how you can create server uptime reports that will help you to improve your infrastructure. Read more