Edition: Saturday, February 3rd, 2024
In today's issue, I will show how to perform a simple installation of Active Directory, cover basic concepts, and explain why it's crucial to a DBA.
For DBAs, understanding how SQL Server integrates with Active Directory is important for...
Edition: Saturday, January 27th, 2024
Welcome to this week's edition. We'll break down the two most popular posts ranked by comments. Be sure to grab the scripts to work through the demo yourself if you'd like. We'll jump right in (I hear DBAs are busy people).
Day 24 - Comments...
Introduction:
In part 4, we created the autounattend.xml and PackerShutdown.bat files and created the source block.
Most machine builds require additional configuration after installing the OS. At this point, you generally wouldn't turn the server over to the application or...
Edition: Saturday, January 20th, 2024
Welcome to this week's edition (actually, this is the very first edition). We'll break down the most popular posts ranked by two categories: Most Comments and Most Impressions.
Most Comments - 39
Let's take a look at the first challenge.
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Introduction:
You know how annoying it is to install an OS manually. Having to click through the initial setup, remember which drivers to install, and then apply your basic configuration to every new machine is cumbersome.
Fortunately, both Windows and Linux operating systems...
Introduction:
In Part 2 of this series, we reviewed the different aspects of a Packer template file. In this post, we'll begin creating the HCL template file for the Windows Server 2022 golden image. Here's what you'll have by the end:
- Install tools we'll use to create the HCL file...
Introduction:
Part 2 covers the concepts of the build process and HashiCorp Configuration Language (HCL) templates. Builders create machines and generate images from those machines for various platforms. Multiple builders create the golden image in the Automated Sandbox...
Introduction:
If you're someone tasked with server provisioning, OS installations/configurations, or setting up a home virtual sandbox, this blog series is for you. In it, you'll learn about Hashicorp Packer and how it can make your job easier. We'll end the series with a set of...
Introduction:
My wife, son, and I went fishing at our local lake a few weekends ago. That Saturday morning, we got up, loaded the fishing gear, and put the boat in the water. Easy, we've done this plenty of times before (trailering the boat, making sure the engine had oil and plenty...
I use Ansible in my virtual sandbox to configure and maintain Linux and Windows servers. I aim to set up my sandbox to match most of the production environments I've previously worked with. Most require using Kerberos over NTLM or strongly encourage its use. The sandbox I'm...
Have you ever needed to install a relational database engine fast in your sandbox? SQL Server is well known for its easy installation, albeit not all best practices are configured as part of the general installation. In this video, I will show you how to install SQL...
Introduction:
Imagine you're walking into a job interview or taking on a new role. During the interview, the hiring manager asks, "What sets you apart from the other twenty candidates I've interviewed?" How would you respond? If you've mastered Ansible and efficient automation, your answer might...