2017.12.12
Azure IaaS assessments: sizing lift-and-shift honestly
Field notes on running an azure migration assessment before you commit to lift and shift sizing: measured load, right-sizing down, and what should stay put.
2017 field notes.
12 notes from 2017. Product names and recommendations reflect that year — not today's catalog. Current notes (2024–)
Archive
// pre-2024 field notes// 2017 · 12 posts · archive year page
2017// 12 posts
2017.11.14
vSphere replication between sites: DR that actually fails over
vSphere replication disaster recovery, field notes: honest RPO/RTO tiers, stretch vs re-IP, and the DR runbook that has to actually fail over.
2017.10.17
Pass-through Authentication vs ADFS: when to decommission the federation farm
Azure AD PTA reached general availability at Ignite. Our pass-through authentication vs ADFS decision tree for the multi-domain federation farms we operate.
2017.09.26
Ignite 2017: Teams will replace Skype for Business. Our migration math
Microsoft says Teams is replacing Skype for Business. What Ignite 2017 actually announced, what it means for SfB estates, and the migration math we run.
2017.08.15
XenDesktop 7.15 LTSR: the VDI build we standardize on
Why XenDesktop 7.15 LTSR is our standard Citrix VDI architecture for 10,000-user estates: MCS vs PVS, NetScaler HA, and profile strategy that holds.
2017.07.18
Multi-forest Active Directory consolidation: designing the target forest
Field notes on Active Directory forest consolidation: target forest design, trust topology, SID history, and ADMT migration phases from a real program.
2017.06.13
BitTitan MigrationWiz vs native tools: choosing your mailbox mover
A field-tested BitTitan MigrationWiz review vs native hybrid moves: which Office 365 migration tools win by scenario, with throughput and licensing math.
2017.05.16
WannaCry weekend: what patching discipline looks like across 700 servers
Field notes from the WannaCry weekend: MS17-010 patch management, SMBv1 eradication, and SCCM emergency deployment rings across a 700-server estate.
2017.04.18
Lotus Notes to Office 365: migrating the unmigratable
Lotus Notes to Office 365 migration field notes: NSF mail and calendar fidelity, Domino directory sync, coexistence, and triaging Notes applications.
2017.03.21
Microsoft Teams just launched. What it means if you run Skype for Business
Microsoft Teams vs Skype for Business in 2017: what Teams can and cannot do at GA, and what we tell clients running SfB 2015 estates to actually do.
2017.02.14
Exchange hybrid deep dive: coexistence, free/busy, and the ten things that break
Exchange hybrid configuration in the field: HCW quirks, autodiscover priority, why free/busy stops working, mail flow choices, and public folder access.
2017.01.17
SharePoint 2010 to 2013 farm migration war stories: database-attach done right
Field notes from a SharePoint 2010 to 2013 migration: database attach upgrade order, Test-SPContentDatabase triage, claims conversion, deferred site upgrades.