RunAs Radio

How is Windows 10 working out for you? To finish 2015, Richard chats with Mark Minasi about the on-going changes to Windows that should result in this idea of Windows-as-a-Service. Mark talks about the almost continuous building process going on with Windows, and how various rings of folks get access to those builds. Most of those builds are only visible to Microsoft employees, but you can see them at BuildFeed - and you can get further into the new builds with the Windows Insider Program. The challenge of this new model will be the demand to keep up to date. How often and you and your organization stand new versions of Windows? Every year? Every few months?

With last names like Claus and Snow, what else could we talk about but Christmas gifts? Richard chats with Patch and Switch, aka Joey Snow and Rick Claus, about all the gifts you wish you'd thought of for your IT loved ones. Oh wait, that's the listeners, isn't it? Right, offer this show up to your loved ones and let them know this is the kind of stuff you want - geeky and cool! Whatever you celebrate this time of year, all the best to you and yours!

Ready for SharePoint 2016? Richard chats with Todd Klindt about what's coming in SharePoint 2016, comparing the differences in on-premise and Office 365 versions. Todd talks about the dark times a couple of years ago where it seemed like SharePoint on-premise was over - it was cloud or nothing. But that has changed, today the hybrid option of some SharePoint elements in the cloud and some on-premise is possible. Want to keep your files on-premise but search in the cloud? No problem! How about just externally accessible files in the cloud? Todd talks through all these scenarios - you can do SharePoint the way you want!

Can you use the cloud as backup? Richard chats with Aidan Finn about Microsoft Azure Backup and Site Recovery services. The conversation starts out talking about the challenges of earlier versions of Azure backup, which could really only handle files. If you wanted more comprehensive backup, you needed System Center Data Protection Manager, which was more complex (and expensive) than most SMB businesses wanted. But the latest incarnation of Azure Backup Services covers everything at a much more incremental price. And then there's Site Recovery, which can snap entire VMs from on-premise and keep them in the cloud - lots of options to protect your data and systems!

Data breaches are a fact of life - how can you resist them, and when that fails, deal with them effectively? Richard talks to Troy Hunt about his experience studying a huge variety of data breaches over the past few years. Having a plan for dealing with breaches is key, but so is actually being able to detect a breach, and knowing what to do when someone tells you that you have been breached - ignoring it won't make it go away! As far as resisting breaches, have you tried hacking your own site? There are lots of free (and paid) tools out there to show you your vulnerabilities. If you don't run them, someone else WILL!

So what can go wrong with Windows 10 and what do you do about it? Richard chats with Mike Halsey about his experiences troubleshooting Windows 10. Mike talks about driver issues - standard fare for a new version of Windows, especially with the huge number of upgrades. Hardware vendors are not always diligent about getting new drivers made for old hardware, they'd much rather focus on new drivers for new hardware that they can sell. The conversation also digs into badly behaved software and how it can destabilize a system. Mike provides lots of tips and tricks for figuring out what is going on in your system and how to get it back on track.

Time for another SQL Q and A! Richard moderates discussion between Kim Tripp, Paul Randal and Brent Ozar with the audience of SQLIntersection in Las Vegas, Oct 2015. The questions come fast, the answers almost as fast (but certainly longer) as the discussion ranges over a variety of disaster recovery approaches, federation, upgrading strategies and recovering from a lost quorum file (don't judge). Twice a year we capture an hour long conversation about concerns around SQL Server, and this one is no exception - have a listen!

Where is Exchange 2016 on your radar? Richard chats with Tony Redmond about the current history of Exchange, from 2003 onward. Tony talks about the growth of Exchange Online with Office 365, and the impact that has had on the shape of Exchange on-premise. This leads to a discussion about Exchange 2016 which looks to be a maturing of Exchange 2013 without really disruptive changes. One of the biggest changes in the past three years has been the improvement in updates, to the point where they are boring - but also that there are no perfect versions of software anymore, just an on-going continuum. Lots of digressions, but also great thinking about modern on-premise and in-cloud mail!

Nobody's data security is perfect, but do you know the security state of your data? Richard chats with Luke Babarinde about his work helping companies secure their data effectively and understand where the risks exist. The rules vary from company to company, and it takes time to education management on what risks exist for data, and ultimately to get feedback on what levels of security are reasonable. Luke talks about how every system is breachable, its just a question of what happens next - how long does it take to detect a breach? How do you limit harm? Lots of great thinking from someone out there in the trenches trying to protect data!

Are you thinking about Microsoft Nano Server yet? Richard chats with Jason Helmick about what we can do today to get ready for Nano Server. As announced by freshly minted Tech Fellow Jeffrey Snover, Nano Server represents an ultra-light version of Windows Server and the new foundation of the server side of the operating system. So what can you do to get ready? Jason talks about working with the Core edition of Windows Server, preferably 2012, as a great starting point. This gets you started on a path of using PowerShell and scripting to configure and operate your servers, rather than GUIs and RDP. The conversation then turns to Desired State Configuration as the ultimate goal - getting every aspect of a server described in code so that you can create it, consistently, on demand. That's how you get to Nano!