More System Center 2012 SP1 on Microsoft Virtual Academy

Earlier this month, I pointed at a couple of courses on Microsoft Virtual Academy - which is a great free resource, if you haven't already found it. I've since found a post on the System Center blog pointing at a whole load more content that you might want to check out:

Configuring and deploying Microsoft's Private Cloud	http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/configuring-and-deploying-microsoft-s-private-cloud
Introduction to the Microsoft Private Cloud	http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/introduction-to-the-microsoft-private-cloud
Introduction to Hyper-V Jump Start (with System Center 2012 SP1)	http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/introduction-to-hyper-v-jump-start
Microsoft Virtualization for VMware Professionals Jump Start (with System Center 2012 SP1)	http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/microsoft-virtualization-for-vmware-professionals-jump-start
Microsoft Solution Accelerators for the Datacenter and Private Cloud	http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/microsoft-solution-accelerators-for-the-datacenter-and-private-cloud
Private Cloud: Computing and Infrastructure Management	http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/private-cloud-computing-and-infrastructure-management
Private Cloud: Service Delivery and Automation	http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/private-cloud-training-service-delivery-and-automation
Private Cloud: Application Services Management	http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/private-cloud-application-services-management
Private Cloud: Infrastructure Components	http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/private-cloud-infrastructure-components
System Center 2012 Licensing Overview	http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/system-center-2012-licensing-overview
System Center 2012 Service Pack 1 Updates	http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/system-center-2012-service-pack-1-updates
System Center 2012 SP1 Capabilities	http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/system-center-2012-sp1-capabilities
System Center 2012: Operations Manager	http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/system-center-2012-training-operations-manager
System Center 2012: Configuration Manager	http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/overview-and-infrastructure-changes-in-sccm-2012
System Center 2012: Data Protection Manager	http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/protecting-private-clouds-with-system-center-2012-dpm
System Center 2012: Orchestrator & Service Manager	http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/system-center-2012-orchestrator-service-manager
System Center 2012: Virtual Machine Manager (VMM)	http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/system-center-2012-virtual-machine-manager-vmm-
System Center Advisor	http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/system-center-advisor
What’s New in System Center 2012	http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/what-s-new-in-system-center-2012

That's a whole lot of learning, but that's going to be of limited use to you if you don't then go and kick the tires. To that end you might want to setup a test lab. You can download an evaluation of Windows Server 2012, either as an ISO if you want to pop it on a spare bit of kit, or a ready to use VHD file that you can attach to a VM, or boot from on your desktop. Then you can install an evaluation of System Center 2012 with SP1.

If you like, you can even setup an IaaS pop-up lab on Windows Azure and it doesn't have to cost you a penny:

Deleting AD Users with PowerShell - Why is a user not a leaf object?

I've been re-writing some automated processes around user account lifecycle recently, making use of the Active Directory PowerShell module on Windows Server 2012. Most recently this involved removing a large number of expired user accounts. On the first attempt of trying to remove the user objects I was receiving this error for a number of them, seemingly at random:

Remove-ADObject : The directory service can perform the requested operation only on a leaf object

So why would a user object in AD not be a leaf object? It turns out that when a user connects a device to Exchange with EAS, there's an AD object created for that device inside the user object and that is what is stopping the user being a leaf object.

You might search for this and find advice on using Remove-ActiveSyncDevice before you remove the user. The trouble with that is that if you've got multiple versions of Exchange running in your org, then you might find that you can't remove the ActiveSyncDevice for all your users with the same method.

It doesn't matter anyway because the point is that the user isn't a leaf; it's a container that now has child objects, so what do you need to do to delete a container? Simply do a recursive remove. In the case of what I've been doing, this does the job:

$30daysago = (get-date).AddDays(-30)
Get-ADUser -filter {accountexpirationdate -lt $30daysago} | Remove-ADObject -Recursive

Microsoft's Certified Career Day

If you're an IT Pro and you aren't thinking about cloud technologies, then you probably aren't reading technology blogs either, so I'm assuming that you, dear reader, are conscious of the shift towards the cloud. You might also be thinking about getting skilled up and certified as a cloud expert for the benefit of your career.

On Tuesday 12th March (from 08:30 PDT), Microsoft is running a Certified Career Day to talk about the technologies, the direction and the certifications they have available. There's quite a line-up of experts on the schedule, so I expect the content is going to be pretty interesting.

The audience numbers for the free broadcast are limited, so you should sign up ASAP (and you might win an Acer tablet too). Head over to www.certifiedcareerday.com to register.

If you haven't done so already, you might want to start familiarising yourself with Windows Server 2012. It's been redesigned from the ground up with the cloud firmly in mind. There are two ways that you can do that easily. If you have a spare computer you can test on, grab the trial ISO image that will give you 180 days for evaluation, otherwise you can grab the Virtual Hard Disk and boot your PC into it without impacting your primary OS.

Downloads:

Windows Server 2012 ISO

Windows Server 2012 VHD

Free Microsoft Tech Showcase Events

Microsoft has teamed up with some of its Microsoft Learning Partners to provide free first-look clinics covering Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, Visual Studio 2012, SQL Server 2012, Exchange 2013, SharePoint 2013, and Lync 2013.

These events are happening all around the world, so you should hopefully find one near to you. I found out about these from a Microsoft UK blog that said they were being run "across the UK" - looking at the currently published list of events, "across the UK" is defined as London and Wokingham, so your mileage may vary.

Still, it's worth a journey because each event offers these opportunities:

• Lead the Technology Wave - Get a first-hand look at new, breakthrough product features available with Microsoft’s most recent technology releases.
• World-Class Education - Receive instruction from Learning Partners - the premier technical and instructional specialists endorsed by Microsoft to deliver training on Microsoft technologies.
• Boost your Career - Learn about the latest Microsoft training and certification offerings to elevate your skills to the next level.

To find an event near you, head over to http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/community/events.aspx

Remote Server Admin Tools for Windows 8

If, like me, you've been keenly awaiting RSAT for Windows 8, there's been a spot of confusion lately. Some people were declaring that the RTM tools were available even though the page was clearly labelled "Release Preview", then the page disappeared from the Microsoft Download Center completely. Happily though, the wait is over and you can now download 32- or 64-bit versions:

Remote Server Admin Tools for Windows 8

This is good news for people who want to use the new Server Manager to manage their infrastructure from their desktop (Windows Server 2012 will work natively, obviously, and you can add support to Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 SP2 servers by installing WMF 3.0 on them). It's even better news for people who want the PowerShell modules that come with Windows Server 2012 on their desktop!