02Nov2017
26Oct2017
Tutorial: How to Setup Azure Virtual Network with Windows Server Essentials and a Hardware VPN Appliance
Most tutorials on Azure Virtual Network and site-to-site VPN rely on Windows Server's RRAS role to create a quick and dirty VPN connection for demonstration purposes. But in a real world production environment, this is hardly ever the case; the better option by far for reliability and simplified routing is...
19Oct2017
Azure Virtual Network: What is the difference between Policy-based and Route-based VPN?
You want to configure a Site-to-Site (S2S) VPN tunnel from an on-premises hardware VPN device, such as your firewall, and an Azure Virtual Network. For this, you require several objects in Azure. One of those is a "virtual network gateway"--which is basically just a software VPN appliance with a public...
12Oct2017
Comparing Single Sign-On Options with Azure AD Connect
Azure AD Connect offers customers a number of ways to enable a "Single Sign-On" (or SSO) experience for users. I think it is important to understand the differences in these options, so that when you deploy Azure AD Connect into customer environments, you can pick the right solution to suit...
06Oct2017
Tutorial: How to setup and configure Microsoft Azure Backup Server, part 2: configuring
In the previous post, we discussed Microsoft Azure Backup Server, and covered the basic setup/installation process for this software. In today's article, we will cover configuration of the software. Pre-requisites We have covered almost everything in the previous article, but to review, and to begin moving forward with configuration: Obviously, you need...
05Oct2017
Tutorial: How to setup and configure Microsoft Azure Backup Server, part 1: installation
Microsoft Azure Backup comes in two basic flavors: Microsoft Azure Recovery Services Agent (MARS) Microsoft Azure Backup Server (MABS) Both are free downloads from Microsoft, and both allow you to configure backup from on-premises servers to the Microsoft Azure cloud. Whereas the MARS agent is installed directly on the server you...
28Sep2017
How to perform an Unplanned Failover from Azure Site Recovery
In a previous series, I wrote about Azure Site Recovery, and the new integration tools available in Windows Server 2016, through the Essentials role (enabling some pretty cool new offerings, potentially, for service providers and consultants). ASR for Windows Server Essentials makes setting up Disaster Recovery into the Microsoft Azure...
22Sep2017
Tutorial: How to Setup a Site-to-Site VPN between an Azure Virtual Network and WatchGuard Firewall, part 2
In this article, we will cover how to configure a WatchGuard firewall for site-to-site VPN with an Azure Virtual Network. Prior to this, you will have already built your Azure Virtual Network and related objects, to enable the connection. See the previous article for details on how to do that. Note:...
21Sep2017
Tutorial: How to Setup a Site-to-Site VPN between an Azure Virtual Network and WatchGuard Firewall, part 1
Using a Site-to-Site VPN tunnel into an Azure Virtual Network is the most common way for small businesses to begin extending the capabilities of their local network, and leveraging additional compute power and availability features in the cloud. There are many reasons one might need to add new virtual machines to...
14Sep2017