Tag Archives: Windows 8

Windows Server 2012 tuning guidelines

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Hello Folks,

Following an IT camp a few weeks back, I was discussing tuning options in Windows Server 2012.  After our discussion I started looking for some documented tuning parameters.  A little like the documents I had found in 2011 for Windows 2008 R2 (Make Windows 2008 R2 roar like a performance machine…).

so I found one I think will benefit information technology (IT) professionals and system administrators who need to tune the performance of a server that is running Windows Server 2012.microsoft-Windows-Server-2012

This guide describes important tuning parameters and settings that you can adjust to improve the performance and energy efficiency of the Windows Server 2012.

This guide covers the following:

Included in this white paper:

  • Choosing and Tuning Server Hardware
  • Performance Tuning for the Networking Subsystem
  • Performance Tools for Network Workloads
  • Performance Tuning for the Storage Subsystem
  • Performance Tuning for Web Servers
  • Performance Tuning for File Servers
  • Performance Tuning for a File Server Workload (FSCT)
  • Performance Counters for SMB 3.0
  • Performance Tuning for File Server Workload (SPECsfs2008)
  • Performance Tuning for Active Directory Servers
  • Performance Tuning for Remote Desktop Session Host (Formerly Terminal Server)
  • Performance Tuning for Remote Desktop Virtualization Host
  • Performance Tuning for Remote Desktop Gateway
  • Performance Tuning Remote Desktop Services Workload for Knowledge Workers
  • Performance Tuning for Virtualization Servers
  • Performance Tuning for SAP Sales and Distribution
  • Performance Tuning for OLTP Workloads

 

If you are running a Windows Server 2012 or if you are wondering how much performance you can squeeze out of your environment.  This is a guide for you.  I suggest you download the evaluation version of Windows Server 2012 here and use the guide available here to expand your knowledge and experience.

While we’re on the subject of expending our knowledge and experience, Here are 2 free books that you should get and keep handy.

Intro Windows server 2012 ebook

http://aka.ms/ws2012ebook

Written by one of our Canadian MVP.

Mitch Tulloch
intro win 8 ebook http://aka.ms/IntroWin8ebook

Get a head start evaluating Window 8—guided by a Windows expert who’s worked extensively with the software since the preview releases

 

Cheers!

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Pierre Roman, MCITP, ITIL | IT Pro Advisor
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Windows 8 & Windows 8 Devices

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This post was taken from a TechNet Flash Editorial that i wrote.

I picked up my Microsoft Surface last week and it is awesome! My only problem is that now I can’t use it anymore. My daughters have adopted it. Which means I need to order another one. As a Microsoft employee I could have worse problems than the kids liking our products…

But looking around my family room the diversity of devices is amazing. I’m checking my mail on my Lumia 920 Windows Phone 8, my wife is planning her lessons in the kitchen on a Dell Inspiron One 2320 All-In-One (I upgraded it to windows 8 so we now have a 23 inch touch screen in the kitchen). My youngest is playing Jet Pack Joyride on the Microsoft Surface and my oldest is doing her homework in her room on her Acer Aspire ultra-book. We use a multitude of devices and Windows 8 makes it so simple to switch between them by synchronizing our settings, by leveraging SkyDrive to Store photos and docs online and access them from any PC, Mac or phone.

It’s liberating.

In a very small geography we have a great range of devices. That translates very well to any enterprise. I’m sure users are bringing and using all kinds of devices into their place of work. We can try to fight it, but they always find ways. We need to embrace it. Support it. Manage it in order to tap the potential for improving collaboration and productivity. Of course, this introduces challenges too. It means companies must now balance user demands with their own security needs as never before.
At Microsoft we can help you:

  • Manage  all machines including non-traditional “consumer” devices using System Center 2012
  • Enable employees to work productively from anywhere on any screen with  technologies like VDI and DirectAccess
  • Welcome new devices while maintaining security with Windows Intune, and Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) for security and policy management for mobile devices

It’s up to you build the environment that will embrace the new way of doing business. You can start by taking the advantage of the free evaluation downloads for these products:

If you build it, they will come… Actually, they’re probably already there.
Cheers!

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Pierre Roman, MCITP, ITIL | IT Pro Advisor
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Get up and go! Windows To Go, that is….

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With the arrival of Windows 8 a whole world of possibilities are becoming realities. Especially with enterprises that are juggling with roaming usage, consumerization of IT, Consultant access to corporate network….

Those are 3 of the scenarios where Windows 8 will bring a tremendous value. That’s right, VALUE!!! I was just discussing this with a buddy of mine who manages the desktops for a federal department and it gave me the idea for this post.

He’s struggling with several issues. Such as:

  • Do I what to allow a consultant to brings it’s own “unmanaged” laptop in our secured environment?
  • Do I really need to provide a second computer to staff that only have an occasional need to access our line of Business (LOB) application remotely?
  • What happens to my licensing if I need to give a copy of Office to some employees so they can work from home on their own machines?
  • Do I want to allow unmanaged remote machines (read unsecured machines that may or may not be “clean”) to access our network, our applications. Our data?
I used to manage environments like that… I used to answer all those questions with one word… NO!  But now we have options….. 2110.image_5A9AC3CB

Options that can help mitigate the risks. Like Domain Isolation,  VDI,  but the low hanging fruit we can reach easily is Windows To Go or WTG for short.

“Windows To Go is an enterprise feature of Windows® 8 that enables the creation of a Windows To Go workspace that can be booted from a USB-connected external drive on PCs that meet the Windows 7 or Windows 8 certification requirements, regardless of the operating system running on the PC. Windows To Go workspaces can use the same image enterprises use for their desktops and laptops and can be managed the same way. Windows To Go is not intended to replace desktops, laptops or supplant other mobility offerings. Rather, it provides support for efficient use of resources for alternative workplace scenarios.” (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831833.aspx)

I could not have said it better. It provides efficient (and really cool) use of resources for alternative workplace scenarios. WTG is available with Windows 8 Enterprise edition. But what are the differences WTG and a typical installation of Windows 8? Actually, it works just like any other installation of Windows with some exceptions.

- Internal disks are offline. To avoid “cross-contamination” and to ensure that sensitive data is not accidently copied to the local hard drives, internal hard disks on the host computer are offline by default when booted into WTG. By the same token if a WTG drive is inserted into a running system the WTG drive will not be listed in Windows Explorer.

WTG-Disk Management

 

- Trusted Platform Module (TPM). When using BitLocker a system boot password will be used instead of the TPM since the TPM is tied to a specific computer and WTG is designed to move between computers.

- Hibernate. To ensure that the WTG is able to move between computers, hibernation is disabled by default. It can however be re-enabled by GPO setting should you need to.

- Windows Recovery Environment. In the rare case that you need to recover your WTG drive, you should re-image it with a fresh image of Windows.

To create a WTG disk, a wizard is included in Windows 8 Enterprise edition. The wizard will first search for Windows 8 images; It will prompt the user to set a BitLocker password, and then format the USB drive and Install the image and necessary files to boot and run the USB drive.

Here is a short video (5 minutes, 29 seconds) showing a basic creation and usage of WTG.

 

 

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Additional Resources

Windows 8 Enterprise Evaluation
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-US/evalcenter/hh699156.aspx

Windows To Go: Feature Overview
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831833.aspx

Description of licensing the Windows 8 Enterprise edition Windows To Go feature
http://mslibrary/news/elecpub/domis/DOMIS/update/2012/09sep/0912ltwtgf.htm

Windows To Go scenarios
http://technet.microsoft.com/library/hh831833

Creating a Windows To Go USB drive
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/6991.windows-to-go-step-by-step.aspx

Hardware considerations, including certified USB drives for WTG
http://technet.microsoft.com/library/hh831833#wtg_hardware

_____________________________________________

 

All I have left to say is , Get up and go.  Windows To Go that is….

 

Cheers!

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Pierre Roman, MCITP, ITIL | IT Pro Advisor
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As Always… if there are scenarios you’d like us to investigate, leave a comment.  we’ll see what we can do to accommodate.

This post is also published on the Canadian IT Pro Connection blog.

End of Week 1 running Windows 8 on my production PC.

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(Keep in mind I wrote this before I left for Mexico.  Just never got a chance to post it.)

WOW!

The original of this video is here. (

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-CA/windows-8/consumer-preview)

That about sums it up.

I’m using a Lenovo W510 as my day to day production machine.  its heavy but it has muscle.  Here are my specs:win8logo

  • Processor: Intel i7 Q820 1.73GHz
  • RAM: 16Gb
  • HDD: 2 drives (2 x 500Gb)
  • Other: Touch screen

The performance of this machine is always been great and it probably does not compare well to most laptops in the wild. I have to admit that I love the 16GB of RAM when running VM.

Metro UI

Using the touch screen on my laptop for the Metro is challenging because the bezel is raised a bit and interferes with the smooth swipe movement from every side.  So I mostly use the mouse.

I love the Metro UI as a start menu a lot more than i thought I would. I’ve organized it to show the programs i use the most to be on the left side so they always show up first. I pin all  document/info that I access everyday to the Metro UI to the right. (some info has been redacted to comply with my Non-Disclosure agreements)  So far it works very well.

image

If I need an app that’s not on my menu, I simply start typing the name and it shows up. (just like the old start menu on Windows 7) such as the Problem Step Recorder (I don’t use it all the time so i don’t pin it to the start menu.

image

I found that I got used to it very quickly especially after figuring out a lot of the keyboard shortcuts that make navigating Metro much easier when using a keyboard.

Here are some of the ones I’ve found very useful.

Win + Spacebar : Switch the input language and keyboard layout

Win + C : Open the Charms

Win + D: Show the desktop

Win + E: open Windows Explorer

Win + F: Open the Search panel

Win + H: Open the Share charm

Win + I: Open the Settings charm

Win + K: Open the Connect charm

Win + L: Lock the computer

Win + Q: Open the search pane

Win + R: Open run

Win + W: Opens the Settings search panel

I have not used the on-screen keyboard yet, but i take it from my friend Mitch, that it’s very useful and intuitive. see his post here

Applications

This one is easy to describe in terms of experience.  ALL MY APPS WORK!  all the programs I have for my day job worked, first time, without arm twisting.  everything I needed installed without any issues.  I’m not saying EVERY APP will run.  I’m saying all the ones I installed worked….

I can’t comment on the Windows Store since it’s not running in Canada yet.

Hyper-v on Windows 8

I no longer need to dual boot Windows 2008 R2 to be able to usedemo 64 bit operating systems since we now have a full fledge Hyper-v in Windows 8.  My VM were exported from Windows 2008 R2 and imported in Windows 8 Hyper-v without issues.

Now we’re cooking with butter!!

So Far that’s all I’ve got to report. I did procure a 32gb USB key and I’m planning on giving Windows To-goa run for it’s money. So, now that I’m back from vacation back to work…

Cheers.

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