RunAs Radio

Richard talks to Richard Hicks about the new features of DirectAccess in Windows Server 2012. DirectAccess first made its appearance in Server 2008 R2 as a way to make VPN connectivity to the network less painful for users. But the server requirements were arduous, to the point that many IT folks could not deploy DirectAccess at all. Richard talks about how this second version of DirectAccess solves many of those problems. Windows Server 2012 isn't here quite yet, but when it is, you're going to want DirectAccess!

Richard talks to Alan Sugano about using the cloud for disaster recovery. Alan discusses how the latest version of Site Recovery Manager (SRM) from VMWare works with certain cloud providers to provide an alternate site for your virtual machines in the event of a disaster. The conversation digs into how much bandwidth is needed, dealing with the initial 'big sync' of data and the on-going costs of operating the cloud as a remote site.

Richard talks to Aidan Finn about the new Hyper-V features in Windows Server 8. Aidan starts off talking about Hyper-V Replica, focusing on it as an awesome solution for virtual machine disaster recovery for small and medium businesses. The conversation continues into exploring how Microsoft has taken their experiences running Azure into improving Hyper-V and Server 8.

Richard chats with Jes Borland about SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS). Jes talks about how SSRS has evolved into the latest version with SQL Server 2012, including some new features like reporting monitoring, where reports are generated automatically (and notifications sent out) when data changes. The conversation also digs into some of the administrative capabilities of SSRS including security and multi-tenancy features.

Richard chats with Allan Hirt about the new failover clustering features in SQL Server 2012. SQL Server 2012 has added a number of new features to make clustering more flexible and less wasteful of hardware. Allan talks about how Windows Server 8 will also amp-up the clustering offerings when it ships. The conversation also digs into the controversy around Microsoft deprecating database mirroring in SQL 2012 - it's not the end of the world, the technology won't explode when you upgrade!

Richard talks to Rory McCaw of Infront Consulting about the System Center 2012 suite. The conversation starts with the starting point of System Center - Configuration Manager or Operations Manager, depending on the focus of your organization. From there, the entire suite is explored, including Virtual Machine Manager, Orchestrator, Service Manager, Data Protection Manager, Endpoint Protection and App Controller. Rory explains how the different parts of System Center fit together and why you want to slowly add each product to your organization. This is about getting to preventative IT rather than constantly battling the crises!

Richard talks to Stacia Misner about the new features of Data Analytics 2012. The conversation starts with the evolution of data analytics from 2000 to 2005, 2008, 2008 R2 and now 2012. Then Stacia digs into how Excel has become the defacto client for analysis services, using PowerPivot and PowerPivot for Sharepoint mode. PowerPivot runs from Excel and doesn't require Analysis Services, at least not at first - but eventually you'll want to bring in the back end. Stacia also explains the evolution of the Unified Dimensional Model (UDM) into the Business Intelligence Seminatic Model (BISM) in Analysis Services 2012. Lots of incentive to upgrade to 2012!

Richard talks to Brent Ozar about the upcoming release of SQL Server 2012. While there's certainly lots to talk about around SQL Server 2012, Brent focuses on some of the odder features, like the ability to attach SQL Server to a database accessed over a NAS. Doesn't seem like the best idea, but Brent paints a few scenarios. The conversation also brushes over the NoSQL movement and how SQL Server still plays a role - Brent brings up the SQL Server Connector for Hadoop. Brent also talks about the SQL Server Certified Masters program, how it has evolved from a three week onsite class at Microsoft into a study-at-home, huge exam and six hour lab solution that has made it easier for more people to get certified.

Richard talks to Tony Redmond about DMARC, a new email specification for controlling spam and phishing emails. DMARC is an acronym for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance. It standardizes implementations of Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) so that email servers receiving mail can be sure that the domains the email identifies with are actually the sources of the email. Tony also digs into the deeper concepts of DMARC, including receiving servers being able to communicate back with source servers to indicate when email is being marked as spam. The conversation digs into the larger concepts of spam solutions, talking about how cloud is helping to create safer environments for email and how email will ultimately need to evolve to stay relevant in business environments.

Richard talks to Mike Jones about implementing IPv6 at home. After listening to RunAs Episode 205 about IPv6, Mike set about to get himself ready for World IPv6 day. Mike talks about discovering what his ISP (Comcast) was doing for IPv6, and how you can implement IPv6 in your network with or without ISP support. He almost mentions two key resources - one is knowledge base article 929852 on configuring IPv6 features in Windows. The other is the IPv6 test site so you can evaluate how your set up is working. Mike also blogs about his experiences with IPv6. June 6 2012 is World IPv6 Launch Day - are you ready?