The Last Part of "Accelerate DevOps in the Cloud" on TechNet Radio

Alright everyone, all good things must come to an end.  Here is the last part of the DevOps Series on TechNet Radio.

Concluding the special “Accelerate DevOps with the Cloud” series on TechNet Radio, Keith Mayer welcomes back Jeff Fattic to the show as they discuss how Visual Studio Online can help DevOps organizations optimize the performance of their applications in Part 10.

• [2:16] How does Visual Studio Online help organizations monitor the performance of their applications?
• [5:16] Can Application Insights notify me proactively when performance issues are occurring?
• [6:00]  Can Application Insights help me track and ensure availability of my deployed applications world-wide?
• [6:32] Can Application Insights help me understand how my users are actually using my deployed applications?
• [8:16] What about an application that is generating exceptions? Can Application Insights help my Developers and Ops teams work together to identify the issue and reduce "finger pointing"?
• [11:08] Does Application Insights require me to deploy applications to Azure, or can I also continue to deploy some applications on-premises and still monitor them?
• [13:12] How can I configure Application Insights for an application? Is it difficult?
• [13:50] DEMO: Application Insights

Learn More! Application Insights for Visual Studio Online

Acclerate DevOps with the Cloud - I'm hosting Part 8 on TechNet Radio!

As promised, in part 8 of the  “Accelerate DevOps with the Cloud” series on TechNet Radio, Keith Mayer and Jennelle Crothers explore the world of roll-backs and how Microsoft Azure can streamline both the roll-back and roll-forward process for most dev teams.

• [1:40] It seems like most dev teams spend lots of time on roll-forward plans for new code releases, but roll-backs are always a chore! Why is this?
• [3:28] How can Azure help to streamline the roll-forward and roll-back process?
• [8:00]  What about Virtual Machines – does Azure have anything to help with roll-forward and roll-back?
• [9:44]  I hear a lot of "Continuous Deployment" of code releases. Isn't that risky?
• [13:40] DEMO: Let’s see how this is done in Azure!

Then in part 9 of the series, Keith Mayer and Yung Chou are back and discuss in depth the ability for DevOps organizations to scale up or scale down cloud applications. Tune in as they discuss Azure’s unique flexibility in terms of capacity planning for cloud applications.

·       [1:07] How is planning for application capacity different when using a cloud platform?

·       [4:50] How is scaling application capacity different or better when using the cloud?

·       [5:52]  Are there application scenarios that are particularly well-suited for scaling in the cloud?

·       [14:01]  Is there a way to trigger scaling operations automatically for applications in the cloud?

·       [15:20] DEMO: Could you show us the basics of how this all works in Azure?

o   Scaling Up Cloud Applications

o   How to Scale Out Cloud applications on a schedule

o   Auto-Scaling Cloud Applications

Only one more part to go!

More From TechEd - Tuesday Sessions

It's Tuesday, so a perfect time to flashback to some sessions that looked interesting to me from Day 2 of  TechEd 2014. These are all available on Channel 9.

• Effortless Migration from VMware to Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V (DCIM-B412)
• Best Practices for Integrating On-Premise Datacenters with Microsoft Azure IaaS (DCIM-B330)
• Security and Microsoft Azure IaaS (DCIM-B385)
• TWC: Data Privacy and Protection in the Cloud (OFC-B233)
• Group Policy: Notes from the Field - Tips, Tricks and Troubleshooting (WIN-B328)
• TWC: Social Engineering: Manipulations, Targeted Attacks, and IT Security (PCIT-B319)

Go forth and learn something today!

Accelerate DevOps with the Cloud - Part 7 on TechNet Radio!

In part 7 of the  "Accelerate DevOps with the Cloud" series on TechNet Radio, Keith Mayer and Yung Chou welcome Sr. Program Manager Michael Greene to the show as they discuss the importance of configuration management for organizations that are starting to leverage the cloud for their daily operations. Tune in as they also demo PowerShell DSC and show us how it can be used with Azure. 

• [2:30] When an organization is beginning to leverage the cloud, why is Configuration Management important?
• [5:01] How is Configuration Management different from Automation?
• [6:48]  Is Configuration Management more than just initial provisioning?
• [10:29]  What tools and resources are available to perform Configuration Management?
• [13:03] How does PowerShell DSC differ from PowerShell scripts?
• [15:11] Is PowerShell DSC specific to only Windows workloads?
• [17:23] DEMO: Can you show us how PowerShell DSC can be leveraged with Azure?

Download the PowerShell DSC Resource Kit here!

Got an Idea for the Next Big Thing? Get Started Here...

If you didn't catch this flitting by on the inter-webs recently, the latest, smallest startup idea is www.washboard.com, a service that mails you quarters so you have them come laundry time.

Seriously, I should have thought of this.  We build up some much spare change at home I could start sending people rolled quarters for a fee, without having to even visit the bank. Maybe that's why I didn't think of it... I didn't realize others had a quarter procurement problem.

At any rate, YOU might have a good idea, or even a silly one that might be worth a spin to see if it takes off. And to make that dream move closer to reality, you'll need a few tools to get started.

Enter BizSpark. The BizSpark program gives you a great set of tools (like Visual Studio) for developing your own app or business idea - basically you get a Microsoft MSDN subscription and Azure credits.  For FREE. For 3 years. It's a good deal.  It's even better than good.

All you need is a Microsoft account and meet the following requirements:

• Developing software or apps
• Less than 5 years old and privately held
• Making less than one Million dollars (US) annually

That's it. Want to get started this weekend?  Click here and go!