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Azure IaaS: Deploying B-series VMs

10:18 am in ARM, Azure, Azure PowerShell, B-Series VMs, IaaS, PowerShell, Public Cloud by Wim Matthyssen

Last week Microsoft introduced the B-Series VM size in preview. These B-Series VMs can run workloads that burst in their performance, but do not need continuous full performance of the CPU. Servers that would be eligible for this new “burstable” VM size are servers with small databases, webservers, development servers, quality assurance (QA) and test servers. But also servers with other workloads that do not utilize the full located vCPUs are grate candidates to benefit and lower costs by using a B-Series VM.

Herby a list of the 6 B-Series VM sizes, which are currently available in Preview in the following Azure Regions (Europe-West, US-West 2, US-East, Asia Pacific-Southeast):

Instance Size	vCPU	vMemory: GiB	Tempory Storage / Local SSD: GiB	Max data disks	Max NICs	Credits banked / hour	Max Banked Credits
Standard_B1s	1	1	2	2	2	6	144
Standard_B2s	2	4	8	4	3	24	576
Standard_B1ms	1	2	4	2	2	12	288
Standard_B2ms	2	8	16	4	3	36	864
Standard_B4ms	4	16	32	8	4	54	1296
Standard_B8ms	8	32	64	16	4	81	1944

You can also read more about this new VM size here and find all pricing info

Now I am going to show you how you can deploy a new B-Series VM trough Azure PowerShell.

First, you need to request quota to be able to deploy this B-Series VMs. To do so you should logon to the Azure portal and go to Help + support. To request an increase or to be able to deploy B-Series VMs, select New support request.

You need to create a Quota support case for Cores. So, on the NEW SUPPORT REQUEST page, select Issue type as “Quota” and Quota type as “Cores”. Also, select the Subscription and the correct Support plan. Click Next.

Select Severity “C – Minimal Impact”, Deployment model “Resource Manager” and the correct Location, which in my case is West Europe. Select as SKU Families that requires an increase “BS Series” and set the NEW LIMIT higher than before, for example 15 instead of 10. Click Next.

In the Contact Information blade, select your Preferred contact method, provide a Response time, select your preferred Language and fill in the Contact Information. Click Create to create the new support ticket.

In my case I received an email after the quota was been approved, which normally does not take that much time. So from here we can go further with the deployment.

If you open Azure PowerShell, and run following commands, you can now built a new B-Series VM. You can copy the commands or save them to as a PowerShell script (.ps1). Do not forget to adjust all variables were needed.

## Log on with your Azure account

Login-AzureRmAccount

## --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Variables

$RGCompute = "RG_WM_Compute"

$RGNetworking = "RG_WM_Networking"

$RGStorage = "RG_WM_Storage"

$StorAccName = "wmvhdos001"

$VMName = "azu-bserie-01"

$Location = "westeurope"

$VNetName = "AZU-VNet-ARM"

$SubnetName = "Web_tier"

$IPAddressVM = "10.0.1.24"

$osSKU = "2016-Datacenter"

$VMSize = "Standard_B2s"

#$VMSize = "Standard_B1s"

#$VMSize = "Standard_B1ms"

#$VMSize = "Standard_B2ms"

#$VMSize = "Standard_B4ms"

#$VMSize = "Standard_B8ms"

## --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Create the Public IP Address (PIP)

$PIP = New-AzureRmPublicIpAddress -Name "${VMName}-pip" -ResourceGroupName $RGCompute -Location $Location -AllocationMethod Static

## --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Create the NIC

# Get the VNET to which to connect the NIC

$VNet = Get-AzureRmVirtualNetwork -Name $VNetName -ResourceGroupName $RGNetworking

# Get the Subnet ID to which to connect the NIC

$SubnetID = (Get-AzureRmVirtualNetworkSubnetConfig -Name $SubnetName -VirtualNetwork $VNET).Id

$NIC = New-AzureRmNetworkInterface -Name "${VMName}-nic1" -ResourceGroupName $RGCompute -Location $Location -SubnetId $SubnetID -PrivateIpAddress $IPAddressVM -PublicIpAddressId $PIP.Id

## --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Specify local administrator account

$Username = "local_admin"

$Password = "Ilo23232343MPR1;"

$Passwordsec = convertto-securestring $Password -asplaintext -force

$Creds = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential($Username, $Passwordsec)

## --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Specify the image

$Images = Get-AzureRmVMImage -Location $Location -PublisherName "MicrosoftWindowsServer" -Offer "WindowsServer" -Skus $osSKU | Sort-Object -Descending -Property PublishedDate

## --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

$VM = New-AzureRmVMConfig -Name $VMName -VMSize $VMSize

$VM = Add-AzureRmVMNetworkInterface -VM $VM -Id $NIC.Id

#Specify the OS Disk

$StorAcct = Get-AzureRmStorageAccount -ResourceGroupName $RGStorage –StorageAccountName $StorAccName

$OSDiskName = $VMName + '-c'

$OSDiskUri = $StorAcct.PrimaryEndpoints.Blob.ToString() + "vhds/" + $OSDiskName + ".vhd"

Set-AzureRmVMOperatingSystem -Windows -VM $VM -ProvisionVMAgent -EnableAutoUpdate -Credential $creds -ComputerName $VMName

Set-AzureRmVMSourceImage -VM $VM -PublisherName $Images[0].PublisherName -Offer $Images[0].Offer -Skus $Images[0].Skus -Version $Images[0].Version

Set-AzureRmVMOSDisk -VM $VM -Name $OSDiskName -VhdUri $OSDiskUri -Caching ReadWrite -CreateOption fromImage

New-AzureRmVM -ResourceGroupName $RGCompute -Location $location -VM $VM –Verbose

## Log on with your Azure account

## --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Variables

$RGCompute = "RG_WM_Compute"

$RGNetworking = "RG_WM_Networking"

$RGStorage = "RG_WM_Storage"

$StorAccName = "wmvhdos001"

$VMName = "azu-bserie-01"

$Location = "westeurope"

$VNetName = "AZU-VNet-ARM"

$SubnetName = "Web_tier"

$IPAddressVM = "10.0.1.24"

$osSKU = "2016-Datacenter"

$VMSize = "Standard_B2s"

#$VMSize = "Standard_B1s"

#$VMSize = "Standard_B1ms"

#$VMSize = "Standard_B2ms"

#$VMSize = "Standard_B4ms"

#$VMSize = "Standard_B8ms"

## --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Create the Public IP Address (PIP)

$PIP = New-AzureRmPublicIpAddress -Name "${VMName}-pip" -ResourceGroupName $RGCompute -Location $Location -AllocationMethod Static

## --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Create the NIC

# Get the VNET to which to connect the NIC

$VNet = Get-AzureRmVirtualNetwork -Name $VNetName -ResourceGroupName $RGNetworking

# Get the Subnet ID to which to connect the NIC

$SubnetID = (Get-AzureRmVirtualNetworkSubnetConfig -Name $SubnetName -VirtualNetwork $VNET).Id

$NIC = New-AzureRmNetworkInterface -Name "${VMName}-nic1" -ResourceGroupName $RGCompute -Location $Location -SubnetId $SubnetID -PrivateIpAddress $IPAddressVM -PublicIpAddressId $PIP.Id

## --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Specify local administrator account

$Username = "local_admin"

$Password = "Ilo23232343MPR1;"

$Passwordsec = convertto-securestring $Password -asplaintext -force

$Creds = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential($Username, $Passwordsec)

## --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Specify the image

$Images = Get-AzureRmVMImage -Location $Location -PublisherName "MicrosoftWindowsServer" -Offer "WindowsServer" -Skus $osSKU | Sort-Object -Descending -Property PublishedDate

## --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

$VM = New-AzureRmVMConfig -Name $VMName -VMSize $VMSize

$VM = Add-AzureRmVMNetworkInterface -VM $VM -Id $NIC.Id

#Specify the OS Disk

$StorAcct = Get-AzureRmStorageAccount -ResourceGroupName $RGStorage –StorageAccountName $StorAccName

$OSDiskName = $VMName + '-c'

$OSDiskUri = $StorAcct.PrimaryEndpoints.Blob.ToString() + "vhds/" + $OSDiskName + ".vhd"

Set-AzureRmVMOperatingSystem -Windows -VM $VM -ProvisionVMAgent -EnableAutoUpdate -Credential $creds -ComputerName $VMName

Set-AzureRmVMSourceImage -VM $VM -PublisherName $Images[0].PublisherName -Offer $Images[0].Offer -Skus $Images[0].Skus -Version $Images[0].Version

Set-AzureRmVMOSDisk -VM $VM -Name $OSDiskName -VhdUri $OSDiskUri -Caching ReadWrite -CreateOption fromImage

New-AzureRmVM -ResourceGroupName $RGCompute -Location $location -VM $VM –Verbose

Hope this helps you getting started with this new B-Series VMs.

Wim Matthyssen (@wmatthyssen)

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by Wim Matthyssen

Azure Backup: Create a Recovery Services vault with Azure PowerShell

9:46 am in Azure, Azure Backup, Azure PowerShell, PowerShell, Public Cloud, Recovery Services vault by Wim Matthyssen

A Recovery Services vault is an online storage entity used to backup workloads to the Azure cloud. You can use it to hold backup data for various Azure services such as IaaS VMs (Linux or Windows) and Azure SQL databases, but it can also be used by System Center Data Protection Manager (SCDPM) or Azure Backup Server (MABS v1 and MABS v2) to enable cloud backups.

These days it is quite easy to create or manage a Recovery Services vault through the Azure portal, but it is even faster when you make use of a scripting language like Azure PowerShell to automate the setup. Therefore, below you can find the PowerShell script I mostly use to do all the work for me. You can just copy and paste or you can download the complete script (.ps1) from the Microsoft TechNet gallery.

To use the script, first adjust all variables to your use. Afterwards login into an Azure PowerShell window as an administrator and when asked login with the credentials for your Azure Subscription.

The script will first create a Resource Group and then the Recovery Services vault in your Azure Subscription. At the end, it will also set the storage redundancy for the newly created vault. Keep in mind that you can only use Locally Redundant Storage (LRS) or Geo Redundant Storage (GRS).

##-------------------------------------------------------------------

## Name ARM Create Recovery Services vault

## Usage ARM_Create_Recovery_Services_vault_v1.0.ps1

## Note Change variables were needed to fit your needs

## Creator Wim Matthyssen

## Date 05/07/17

## Version 1

##-------------------------------------------------------------------

## Requires -RunAsAdministrator

## Log on with your Azure account

Login-AzureRmAccount

##-------------------------------------------------------------------

# Variables

$RGBackup = "RG_BCDR"

$Location = "westeurope"

$RSVName = "RSVaultazulab"

$StorageRedundancyLRS = "LocallyRedundant"

$StorageRedundancyGRS = "GeoRedundant"

##-------------------------------------------------------------------

## Create a Recovery Services vault

# Register the Azure Recovery Service provider with your Azure subscription

Register-AzureRmResourceProvider -ProviderNamespace "Microsoft.RecoveryServices"

# Create the resource group

New-AzureRmResourceGroup –Name $RGBackup –Location $Location

Write-Host "Resource group $RGBackup created" -foregroundcolor "Yellow"

# Create the Recovery Services vault

New-AzureRmRecoveryServicesVault -Name $RSVName -ResourceGroupName $RGBackup -Location $Location

# Specify the type of storage redundancy for the Recovery Services vault

$VarRSV = Get-AzureRmRecoveryServicesVault –Name $RSVName

Set-AzureRmRecoveryServicesBackupProperties -Vault $VarRSV -BackupStorageRedundancy $StorageRedundancyLRS

Write-Host "Recovery Serives vault $RSVName created" -foregroundcolor "Yellow"

##-------------------------------------------------------------------

## Name ARM Create Recovery Services vault

## Usage ARM_Create_Recovery_Services_vault_v1.0.ps1

## Note Change variables were needed to fit your needs

## Creator Wim Matthyssen

## Date 05/07/17

## Version 1

##-------------------------------------------------------------------

## Requires -RunAsAdministrator

## Log on with your Azure account

##-------------------------------------------------------------------

# Variables

$RGBackup = "RG_BCDR"

$Location = "westeurope"

$RSVName = "RSVaultazulab"

$StorageRedundancyLRS = "LocallyRedundant"

$StorageRedundancyGRS = "GeoRedundant"

##-------------------------------------------------------------------

## Create a Recovery Services vault

# Register the Azure Recovery Service provider with your Azure subscription

# Create the resource group

New-AzureRmResourceGroup –Name $RGBackup –Location $Location

Write-Host "Resource group $RGBackup created" -foregroundcolor "Yellow"

# Create the Recovery Services vault

New-AzureRmRecoveryServicesVault -Name $RSVName -ResourceGroupName $RGBackup -Location $Location

# Specify the type of storage redundancy for the Recovery Services vault

$VarRSV = Get-AzureRmRecoveryServicesVault –Name $RSVName

Set-AzureRmRecoveryServicesBackupProperties -Vault $VarRSV -BackupStorageRedundancy $StorageRedundancyLRS

Write-Host "Recovery Serives vault $RSVName created" -foregroundcolor "Yellow"

Useful Azure PowerShell cmdlets for Azure Backup

List all available Azure Backup PowerShell cmdlets

# List all Azure Backup PowerShell cmdlets

Get-Command *azurermrecoveryservices*

# List all Azure Backup PowerShell cmdlets

Get-Command *azurermrecoveryservices*

List all available Recovery Services vaults in your subscription

# List all vaults in the current subscription

Get-AzureRmRecoveryServicesVault

# List all vaults in the current subscription

Get-AzureRmRecoveryServicesVault

Hope this post helps you when you start using Azure Backup.

Wim Matthyssen (@wmatthyssen)

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by Wim Matthyssen

Azure IaaS: Troubelshooting Windows Update error 8024402F

3:31 pm in 8024402F, ARM, ASM, Azure, hybrid cloud, PowerShell, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Update, WSUS by Wim Matthyssen

Last week I was troubleshooting a Windows Update issue at several Azure IaaS VMs for a customer. All those Windows Server 2012 R2 servers were workgroup members and had no Network Security Group (NSG) attached which could block the connection to the Microsoft Update servers. But whenever starting Windows Update the below error was shown after a few minutes.

To get this error fixed I followed the below steps. Be aware that you can retry running Windows Update again after each step because it could be already working again.

Step 1

If the server has been configured to use WSUS to get its updates, first wipe out those registry keys by running the below command in a PowerShell window (with admin privileges). Press Y to delete all registry keys when asked:

## Remove WSUS registry keys

reg delete "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate"

Restart-Service -displayname "Windows Update"

## Remove WSUS registry keys

reg delete "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate"

Restart-Service -displayname "Windows Update"

This also may reset some Windows Update settings, for instance, the one that decides if updates should install automatically or after asking permission. Therefore, you need to set your preferred settings afterwards.

Check for updates using Windows Update and see if the issue has been resolved, if not proceed to step 2.

Step 2

If you still receive the same error, run the following PowerShell Script to rename the SoftwareDistribution and catroot2 folder. These folders, which are maintained by the WUAgent (Windows Update Agent), are essential components for Windows Update. However, sometimes the content of these folders could prevent Windows Update from applying new updates to the server. When having trouble with Windows Update, it is safe to delete this folder. The server will always re-download all the necessary files, or re-create the folder and re-download all the components, if removed.

##-------------------------------------------------------------------

## Rename the SoftwareDistribution and catroot2 folder

# Variables

$SoftwareDistributionPath = "C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution"

$Catroot2Path = "C:\Windows\System32\catroot2"

$SoftwareDistributionNewName = "SoftwareDistribution.old"

$Catroot2NewName = "catroot2.old"

$WindowsUpdateService = "Windows Update"

$BITSService = "Background Intelligent Transfer Service"

$CryptograhicService = "Cryptographic Services"

# Stop Windows Update, BITS and Cryptographic Service

Stop-Service -displayname $WindowsUpdateService

Stop-Service -displayname $BITSService

Stop-Service -displayname $CryptograhicService

Write-Host "All necessary services are stopped" -foregroundcolor "Red"

# Rename the SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 folder

Rename-Item -path $SoftwareDistributionPath -newName $SoftwareDistributionNewName

Rename-Item -path $Catroot2Path -newName $Catroot2NewName

Write-Host "All folders are renamed" -foregroundcolor "Red"

# Register dll's

regsvr32 c:\windows\system32\vbscript.dll /s

regsvr32 c:\windows\system32\mshtml.dll /s

regsvr32 c:\windows\system32\msjava.dll /s

regsvr32 c:\windows\system32\jscript.dll /s

regsvr32 c:\windows\system32\msxml.dll /s

regsvr32 c:\windows\system32\actxprxy.dll /s

regsvr32 c:\windows\system32\shdocvw.dll /s

regsvr32 wuapi.dll /s

regsvr32 wuaueng1.dll /s

regsvr32 wuaueng.dll /s

regsvr32 wucltui.dll /s

regsvr32 wups2.dll /s

regsvr32 wups.dll /s

regsvr32 wuweb.dll /s

regsvr32 Softpub.dll /s

regsvr32 Mssip32.dll /s

regsvr32 Initpki.dll /s

regsvr32 softpub.dll /s

regsvr32 wintrust.dll /s

regsvr32 initpki.dll /s

regsvr32 dssenh.dll /s

regsvr32 rsaenh.dll /s

regsvr32 gpkcsp.dll /s

regsvr32 sccbase.dll /s

regsvr32 slbcsp.dll /s

regsvr32 cryptdlg.dll /s

regsvr32 Urlmon.dll /s

regsvr32 Shdocvw.dll /s

regsvr32 Msjava.dll /s

regsvr32 Actxprxy.dll /s

regsvr32 Oleaut32.dll /s

regsvr32 Mshtml.dll /s

regsvr32 msxml.dll /s

regsvr32 msxml2.dll /s

regsvr32 msxml3.dll /s

regsvr32 Browseui.dll /s

regsvr32 shell32.dll /s

regsvr32 wuapi.dll /s

regsvr32 wuaueng.dll /s

regsvr32 wuaueng1.dll /s

regsvr32 wucltui.dll /s

regsvr32 wups.dll /s

regsvr32 wuweb.dll /s

regsvr32 jscript.dll /s

regsvr32 atl.dll /s

regsvr32 Mssip32.dll /s

Write-Host "All necessary dll's are registerd" -foregroundcolor "Red"

# Restart Windows Update, BITS and Cryptographic Service

Restart-Service -displayname $WindowsUpdateService

Restart-Service -displayname $BITSService

Restart-Service -displayname $CryptograhicService

Write-Host "All necessary services are started" -foregroundcolor "Red"

##-------------------------------------------------------------------

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##-------------------------------------------------------------------

## Rename the SoftwareDistribution and catroot2 folder

# Variables

$SoftwareDistributionPath = "C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution"

$Catroot2Path = "C:\Windows\System32\catroot2"

$SoftwareDistributionNewName = "SoftwareDistribution.old"

$Catroot2NewName = "catroot2.old"

$WindowsUpdateService = "Windows Update"

$BITSService = "Background Intelligent Transfer Service"

$CryptograhicService = "Cryptographic Services"

# Stop Windows Update, BITS and Cryptographic Service

Stop-Service -displayname $WindowsUpdateService

Stop-Service -displayname $BITSService

Stop-Service -displayname $CryptograhicService

Write-Host "All necessary services are stopped" -foregroundcolor "Red"

# Rename the SoftwareDistribution and Catroot2 folder

Rename-Item -path $SoftwareDistributionPath -newName $SoftwareDistributionNewName

Rename-Item -path $Catroot2Path -newName $Catroot2NewName

Write-Host "All folders are renamed" -foregroundcolor "Red"

# Register dll's

regsvr32 c:\windows\system32\vbscript.dll /s

regsvr32 c:\windows\system32\mshtml.dll /s

regsvr32 c:\windows\system32\msjava.dll /s

regsvr32 c:\windows\system32\jscript.dll /s

regsvr32 c:\windows\system32\msxml.dll /s

regsvr32 c:\windows\system32\actxprxy.dll /s

regsvr32 c:\windows\system32\shdocvw.dll /s

regsvr32 wuapi.dll /s

regsvr32 wuaueng1.dll /s

regsvr32 wuaueng.dll /s

regsvr32 wucltui.dll /s

regsvr32 wups2.dll /s

regsvr32 wups.dll /s

regsvr32 wuweb.dll /s

regsvr32 Softpub.dll /s

regsvr32 Mssip32.dll /s

regsvr32 Initpki.dll /s

regsvr32 softpub.dll /s

regsvr32 wintrust.dll /s

regsvr32 initpki.dll /s

regsvr32 dssenh.dll /s

regsvr32 rsaenh.dll /s

regsvr32 gpkcsp.dll /s

regsvr32 sccbase.dll /s

regsvr32 slbcsp.dll /s

regsvr32 cryptdlg.dll /s

regsvr32 Urlmon.dll /s

regsvr32 Shdocvw.dll /s

regsvr32 Msjava.dll /s

regsvr32 Actxprxy.dll /s

regsvr32 Oleaut32.dll /s

regsvr32 Mshtml.dll /s

regsvr32 msxml.dll /s

regsvr32 msxml2.dll /s

regsvr32 msxml3.dll /s

regsvr32 Browseui.dll /s

regsvr32 shell32.dll /s

regsvr32 wuapi.dll /s

regsvr32 wuaueng.dll /s

regsvr32 wuaueng1.dll /s

regsvr32 wucltui.dll /s

regsvr32 wups.dll /s

regsvr32 wuweb.dll /s

regsvr32 jscript.dll /s

regsvr32 atl.dll /s

regsvr32 Mssip32.dll /s

Write-Host "All necessary dll's are registerd" -foregroundcolor "Red"

# Restart Windows Update, BITS and Cryptographic Service

Restart-Service -displayname $WindowsUpdateService

Restart-Service -displayname $BITSService

Restart-Service -displayname $CryptograhicService

Write-Host "All necessary services are started" -foregroundcolor "Red"

##-------------------------------------------------------------------

Now please check for updates using Windows Update to see if the issue has been resolved.

Step 3

If step 2 also does not fix the problem, you could try running the below command from an elevated PowerShell window. This command will import proxy information used by Internet Explorer in the Windows HTTP Services (WinHTTP). Several server roles, like the Microsoft Windows Update client, rely on WinHTTP to manage all HTTP and HTTPS traffic. Windows Update uses it mainly to scan for available updates.

# Import proxy settings

netsh winhttp import proxy source=ie

# Import proxy settings

netsh winhttp import proxy source=ie

Step 4

As a last solution, you could try running the Windows Update Troubleshooter tool. To download and startup this tool run the below PowerShell commands.

## Download and run Windows Update Troubelshooter

# Variables

$tempfolder = "C:\Temp\"

$WindowsUpdateTroubleshooterUrl = "http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9830262"

$WindowsUpdateTroubleshooter = "C:\Temp\WindowsUpdate.diagcab"

# Create the C:\Temp folder if not exists

If(!(test-path $tempfolder))

{

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $tempfolder

}

# Download Windows Update Troubleshooter and save to C:\Temp

$WebClient = New-Object System.Net.WebClient

$WebClient.DownloadFile($WindowsUpdateTroubleshooterUrl,$WindowsUpdateTroubleshooter)

Write-Host "Download completed" -foregroundcolor "Red"

# Run Windows Update Troubelshooter

&amp; "C:\Temp\WindowsUpdate.diagcab"

for ($i = 1; $i -lt 2; $i++) {write-host}

Write-Host "Windows Update Troubleshooter started" -foregroundcolor "Red"

# Close PowerShell window upon completion

stop-process -Id $PID

Write-Host "Close PowerShell window" -foregroundcolor "Red"

## Download and run Windows Update Troubelshooter

# Variables

$tempfolder = "C:\Temp\"

$WindowsUpdateTroubleshooterUrl = "http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9830262"

$WindowsUpdateTroubleshooter = "C:\Temp\WindowsUpdate.diagcab"

# Create the C:\Temp folder if not exists

If(!(test-path $tempfolder))

{

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $tempfolder

}

# Download Windows Update Troubleshooter and save to C:\Temp

$WebClient = New-Object System.Net.WebClient

$WebClient.DownloadFile($WindowsUpdateTroubleshooterUrl,$WindowsUpdateTroubleshooter)

Write-Host "Download completed" -foregroundcolor "Red"

# Run Windows Update Troubelshooter

& "C:\Temp\WindowsUpdate.diagcab"

for ($i = 1; $i -lt 2; $i++) {write-host}

Write-Host "Windows Update Troubleshooter started" -foregroundcolor "Red"

# Close PowerShell window upon completion

stop-process -Id $PID

Write-Host "Close PowerShell window" -foregroundcolor "Red"

When the tool opens, go through all steps to get Windows Update fixed.

If all goes well, Windows Update should be working again by the use of one of the above steps. Hope it helps and if you have any questions feel free to contact me through my twitter handle.

Wim Matthyssen (@wmatthyssen)

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by Wim Matthyssen

How to install Microsoft Azure Backup Server v2 on Windows Server 2016

7:53 pm in Azure, Azure Backup, Hybrid backup, MABS, MABS v2, Microsoft Azure Backup, Microsoft Azure Backup Server, Microsoft Azure Backup Server v2, Modern Backup Storage, PowerShell, Windows Server 2016 by Wim Matthyssen

Last week Microsoft released the second version (v2) of their Microsoft Azure Backup Server (MABS v2). As a hybrid backup solution, this new release based on System Center Data Protection Manager 2016 (SCDPM 2016) enables you to store data onto disk (low RTO) and in Azure (long retention, up to 99 years). MABS v2 uses RCT-based change tracking by using Windows Server 2016. This makes backups more reliable and scalable, but also improves backup performance (backup jobs could be up to 70 percent faster). MABS v2, which is included with the Azure Backup service and currently has version number 12.0.332.0., now not only supports Windows Server 2016 (W2K16) but also vSphere 6.5 (Preview mode). Beside those, you can also use it now to backup business critical Microsoft workloads such as SQL 2016, SharePoint 2016 and Exchange 2016. Those can be running on premise (physical servers, Hyper-V or VMware) or in the Azure cloud. As a nice extra, you can also back up Windows 10 client workloads.

In a previous blog post, I already told you all about MABS v1 on how to install it on a Windows Server 2012 R2. In this blog post, I will show you how you can deploy MABS v2 on a W2K16 server.

MABS v2 server requirements

MABS v2 can be installed as an on premise standalone physical server or VM, but also as an Azure IaaS VM (minimum size A2 Standard).
MABS v2 will run on following supported Operating Systems: Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows Server 2016 (is required if you want to use the Modern Backup Storage feature).
MABS v2 must be domain joined. Be sure to add the server to the domain before the MABS installation. Microsoft does not support adding this server to the domain after the MABS installation.
The processor minimum requirements for a MABS v2 server are 1GHz dual-core CPU, recommended 2.33 GHz quad-core CPU.
The minimum RAM needed by a MABS v2 server is 4GB, recommended is 8 GB.
The recommended hard drive space is 3 GB.
MABS v2 must have .NET 3.5 SP1, .NET 4.6.1 features installed as a prerequisite.
MABS v2 should also have Hyper-V PowerShell installed.
MABS v2 should be running a dedicated, single-purpose server. Either it cannot be running on the same server, which has SCDPM or a SCDPM agent installed.
A validate Windows Server license is needed for the MABS v2 server.
The MABS v2 server needs to have access to the Internet because Microsoft Azure should be accessible from the MABS server.
To temporarily store, the largest restore from the Azure cloud, some scratch space is required when needed. So keep approximately 5 % of the total amount of data that needs to be backed-up to the cloud free on the C: drive.
A separate data disk for the backup storage pool is required. Like every other backup product the recommendation for the size of this disk is 1.5 times the size of the data you are going to protect.

MABS v2 prerequisites installation

Before we start the prerequisites installation, be shore to have a Recovery Services vault in place (create a new one, or use an existing) and download the vault credentials. When downloaded, place this file on the C:\Temp folder of the MABS server.

To install all required prerequisites, logon to the server you wish to use for your MABS v2 installation, open PowerShell and administrator and run the following commands to install .NET 3.5 SP1 and Hyper-V PowerShell (be shore to have the Windows Server 2016 installation ISO mounted – in my example to the D: drive). Be aware the server will reboot when the installation is completed. You can also download the complete script (.ps1) from the Microsoft TechNet Gallery.

##---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

## Name Microsoft Azure Backup Server v2 prerequisites installation on Windows Server 2016

## Usage MABSv2_W2K16_Prerequisites_Installation.ps1

## Note Change variables were needed to fit your needs

## Creator Wim Matthyssen

## Date 08/06/17

## Version 1

##---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

## Requires -RunAsAdministrator

## Install .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 

Dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:NetFX3 /All /Source:D:\sources\sxs /LimitAccess
Write-Host "Installation .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 completed" -foregroundcolor "Red"

# Install the Hyper-V hypervisor

Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature –Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V –All -NoRestart 
Write-Host "Installation Hyper-V completed" -foregroundcolor "Red"

## Install Hyper-V PowerShell

Install-WindowsFeature -Name Hyper-V-PowerShell
Write-Host "Installation Hyper-V Powershell completed" -foregroundcolor "Red"

## Reboot the server

Write-Host "The server will now reboot" -foregroundcolor "Red"
Restart-Computer
Write-Host "Restarting" -foregroundcolor "Red"

##---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

## Name Microsoft Azure Backup Server v2 prerequisites installation on Windows Server 2016

## Usage MABSv2_W2K16_Prerequisites_Installation.ps1

## Note Change variables were needed to fit your needs

## Creator Wim Matthyssen

## Date 08/06/17

## Version 1

##---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

## Requires -RunAsAdministrator

## Install .NET Framework 3.5 SP1

Dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:NetFX3 /All /Source:D:\sources\sxs /LimitAccess

Write-Host "Installation .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 completed" -foregroundcolor "Red"

# Install the Hyper-V hypervisor

Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature –Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V –All -NoRestart

Write-Host "Installation Hyper-V completed" -foregroundcolor "Red"

## Install Hyper-V PowerShell

Install-WindowsFeature -Name Hyper-V-PowerShell

Write-Host "Installation Hyper-V Powershell completed" -foregroundcolor "Red"

## Reboot the server

Write-Host "The server will now reboot" -foregroundcolor "Red"

Restart-Computer

Write-Host "Restarting" -foregroundcolor "Red"

MABS v2 software download

To download the MABS v2 software open PowerShell as an administrator and run the following PowerShell script. You can download the complete script (.ps1) from the Microsoft TechNet gallery. The script will download all the necessary files (8 files), extract them and start the setup.

##-------------------------------------------------------------------

## Name Microsoft Azure Backup Server v2 latest software download

## Usage MABSv2_Latest_Software_Download.ps1

## Note Change variables were needed to fit your needs

## Creator Wim Matthyssen

## Date 06/06/17

## Version 1

##-------------------------------------------------------------------

## Requires -RunAsAdministrator

## Variables

$tempfolder = "C:\Temp\"

$mabsurl1 = "https://download.microsoft.com/download/C/9/3/C93CABA5-2776-4417-8DB2-20B85E6EBA3B/MicrosoftAzureBackupServerInstaller.exe"

$mabsurl2 = "https://download.microsoft.com/download/C/9/3/C93CABA5-2776-4417-8DB2-20B85E6EBA3B/MicrosoftAzureBackupServerInstaller-1.bin"

$mabsurl3 = "https://download.microsoft.com/download/C/9/3/C93CABA5-2776-4417-8DB2-20B85E6EBA3B/MicrosoftAzureBackupServerInstaller-2.bin"

$mabsurl4 = "https://download.microsoft.com/download/C/9/3/C93CABA5-2776-4417-8DB2-20B85E6EBA3B/MicrosoftAzureBackupServerInstaller-3.bin"

$mabsurl5 = "https://download.microsoft.com/download/C/9/3/C93CABA5-2776-4417-8DB2-20B85E6EBA3B/MicrosoftAzureBackupServerInstaller-4.bin"

$mabsurl6 = "https://download.microsoft.com/download/C/9/3/C93CABA5-2776-4417-8DB2-20B85E6EBA3B/MicrosoftAzureBackupServerInstaller-5.bin"

$mabsurl7 = "https://download.microsoft.com/download/C/9/3/C93CABA5-2776-4417-8DB2-20B85E6EBA3B/MicrosoftAzureBackupServerInstaller-6.bin"

$mabsurl8 = "https://download.microsoft.com/download/C/9/3/C93CABA5-2776-4417-8DB2-20B85E6EBA3B/MicrosoftAzureBackupServerInstaller-7.bin"

$mabsexfile1 = "C:\Temp\MicrosoftAzureBackupInstaller.exe"

$mabsexfile2 = "C:\Temp\MicrosoftAzureBackupInstaller-1.bin"

$mabsexfile3 = "C:\Temp\MicrosoftAzureBackupInstaller-2.bin"

$mabsexfile4 = "C:\Temp\MicrosoftAzureBackupInstaller-3.bin"

$mabsexfile5 = "C:\Temp\MicrosoftAzureBackupInstaller-4.bin"

$mabsexfile6 = "C:\Temp\MicrosoftAzureBackupInstaller-5.bin"

$mabsexfile7 = "C:\Temp\MicrosoftAzureBackupInstaller-6.bin"

$mabsexfile8 = "C:\Temp\MicrosoftAzureBackupInstaller-7.bin"

$extfoldername = "C:\Microsoft Azure Backup Server"

## Create the C:\Temp folder if not exists

If(!(test-path $tempfolder))

{

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $tempfolder

}

## Set date/time variable and write blank lines

$global:currenttime= Set-PSBreakpoint -Variable currenttime -Mode Read -Action { $global:currenttime= Get-Date }

for ($i = 1; $i -lt 4; $i++) {write-host}

Write-Host "Download started" $currenttime -foregroundcolor "Red"

## Download MABS software and save to C:\Temp

Import-Module BitsTransfer

Start-BitsTransfer -Source $mabsurl1 -Destination $mabsexfile1

for ($i = 1; $i -lt 2; $i++) {write-host}

Write-Host "Download complete part 1/7" -foregroundcolor "Yellow"

Start-BitsTransfer -Source $mabsurl2 -Destination $mabsexfile2

Write-Host "Download complete part 2/7" -foregroundcolor "Yellow"

Start-BitsTransfer -Source $mabsurl3 -Destination $mabsexfile3

Write-Host "Download complete part 3/7" -foregroundcolor "Yellow"

Start-BitsTransfer -Source $mabsurl4 -Destination $mabsexfile4

Write-Host "Download complete part 4/7" -foregroundcolor "Yellow"

Start-BitsTransfer -Source $mabsurl5 -Destination $mabsexfile5

Write-Host "Download complete part 5/7" -foregroundcolor "Yellow"

Start-BitsTransfer -Source $mabsurl6 -Destination $mabsexfile6

Write-Host "Download complete part 6/7" -foregroundcolor "Yellow"

Start-BitsTransfer -Source $mabsurl7 -Destination $mabsexfile7

Write-Host "Download complete part 7/7" -foregroundcolor "Yellow"

Start-BitsTransfer -Source $mabsurl8 -Destination $mabsexfile8

for ($i = 1; $i -lt 2; $i++) {write-host}

Write-Host "Download completed" $currenttime -foregroundcolor "Red"

for ($i = 1; $i -lt 2; $i++) {write-host}

Write-Host "Starting extraction" -foregroundcolor "Yellow"

## Run MicrosoftAzureBackupInstaller.exe

Start-Process $mabsexfile1 /SILENT -Wait

## Move extracted folder

Move-Item $extfoldername $tempfolder

for ($i = 1; $i -lt 2; $i++) {write-host}

Write-Host "Extraction completed" -foregroundcolor "Red"

## Clean up extracted files

[System.Collections.ArrayList]$mabsexfiles = $mabsexfile1, $mabsexfile2, $mabsexfile3, $mabsexfile4, $mabsexfile5, $mabsexfile6, $mabsexfile7, $mabsexfile8

Remove-Item $mabsexfiles

for ($i = 1; $i -lt 2; $i++) {write-host}

Write-Host "Cleaned up extracted files" -foregroundcolor "Red"

## Run Microsoft Azure Backup Server setup

&amp; "C:\Temp\Microsoft Azure Backup Server\Setup.exe"

for ($i = 1; $i -lt 2; $i++) {write-host}

Write-Host "MABS setup started" -foregroundcolor "Red"

## Close PowerShell windows upon completion

stop-process -Id $PID

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##-------------------------------------------------------------------

## Name Microsoft Azure Backup Server v2 latest software download

## Usage MABSv2_Latest_Software_Download.ps1

## Note Change variables were needed to fit your needs

## Creator Wim Matthyssen

## Date 06/06/17

## Version 1

##-------------------------------------------------------------------

## Requires -RunAsAdministrator

## Variables

$tempfolder = "C:\Temp\"

$mabsurl1 = "https://download.microsoft.com/download/C/9/3/C93CABA5-2776-4417-8DB2-20B85E6EBA3B/MicrosoftAzureBackupServerInstaller.exe"

$mabsurl2 = "https://download.microsoft.com/download/C/9/3/C93CABA5-2776-4417-8DB2-20B85E6EBA3B/MicrosoftAzureBackupServerInstaller-1.bin"

$mabsurl3 = "https://download.microsoft.com/download/C/9/3/C93CABA5-2776-4417-8DB2-20B85E6EBA3B/MicrosoftAzureBackupServerInstaller-2.bin"

$mabsurl4 = "https://download.microsoft.com/download/C/9/3/C93CABA5-2776-4417-8DB2-20B85E6EBA3B/MicrosoftAzureBackupServerInstaller-3.bin"

$mabsurl5 = "https://download.microsoft.com/download/C/9/3/C93CABA5-2776-4417-8DB2-20B85E6EBA3B/MicrosoftAzureBackupServerInstaller-4.bin"

$mabsurl6 = "https://download.microsoft.com/download/C/9/3/C93CABA5-2776-4417-8DB2-20B85E6EBA3B/MicrosoftAzureBackupServerInstaller-5.bin"

$mabsurl7 = "https://download.microsoft.com/download/C/9/3/C93CABA5-2776-4417-8DB2-20B85E6EBA3B/MicrosoftAzureBackupServerInstaller-6.bin"

$mabsurl8 = "https://download.microsoft.com/download/C/9/3/C93CABA5-2776-4417-8DB2-20B85E6EBA3B/MicrosoftAzureBackupServerInstaller-7.bin"

$mabsexfile1 = "C:\Temp\MicrosoftAzureBackupInstaller.exe"

$mabsexfile2 = "C:\Temp\MicrosoftAzureBackupInstaller-1.bin"

$mabsexfile3 = "C:\Temp\MicrosoftAzureBackupInstaller-2.bin"

$mabsexfile4 = "C:\Temp\MicrosoftAzureBackupInstaller-3.bin"

$mabsexfile5 = "C:\Temp\MicrosoftAzureBackupInstaller-4.bin"

$mabsexfile6 = "C:\Temp\MicrosoftAzureBackupInstaller-5.bin"

$mabsexfile7 = "C:\Temp\MicrosoftAzureBackupInstaller-6.bin"

$mabsexfile8 = "C:\Temp\MicrosoftAzureBackupInstaller-7.bin"

$extfoldername = "C:\Microsoft Azure Backup Server"

## Create the C:\Temp folder if not exists

If(!(test-path $tempfolder))

{

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $tempfolder

}

## Set date/time variable and write blank lines

$global:currenttime= Set-PSBreakpoint -Variable currenttime -Mode Read -Action { $global:currenttime= Get-Date }

for ($i = 1; $i -lt 4; $i++) {write-host}

Write-Host "Download started" $currenttime -foregroundcolor "Red"

## Download MABS software and save to C:\Temp

Import-Module BitsTransfer

Start-BitsTransfer -Source $mabsurl1 -Destination $mabsexfile1

for ($i = 1; $i -lt 2; $i++) {write-host}

Write-Host "Download complete part 1/7" -foregroundcolor "Yellow"

Start-BitsTransfer -Source $mabsurl2 -Destination $mabsexfile2

Write-Host "Download complete part 2/7" -foregroundcolor "Yellow"

Start-BitsTransfer -Source $mabsurl3 -Destination $mabsexfile3

Write-Host "Download complete part 3/7" -foregroundcolor "Yellow"

Start-BitsTransfer -Source $mabsurl4 -Destination $mabsexfile4

Write-Host "Download complete part 4/7" -foregroundcolor "Yellow"

Start-BitsTransfer -Source $mabsurl5 -Destination $mabsexfile5

Write-Host "Download complete part 5/7" -foregroundcolor "Yellow"

Start-BitsTransfer -Source $mabsurl6 -Destination $mabsexfile6

Write-Host "Download complete part 6/7" -foregroundcolor "Yellow"

Start-BitsTransfer -Source $mabsurl7 -Destination $mabsexfile7

Write-Host "Download complete part 7/7" -foregroundcolor "Yellow"

Start-BitsTransfer -Source $mabsurl8 -Destination $mabsexfile8

for ($i = 1; $i -lt 2; $i++) {write-host}

Write-Host "Download completed" $currenttime -foregroundcolor "Red"

for ($i = 1; $i -lt 2; $i++) {write-host}

Write-Host "Starting extraction" -foregroundcolor "Yellow"

## Run MicrosoftAzureBackupInstaller.exe

Start-Process $mabsexfile1 /SILENT -Wait

## Move extracted folder

Move-Item $extfoldername $tempfolder

for ($i = 1; $i -lt 2; $i++) {write-host}

Write-Host "Extraction completed" -foregroundcolor "Red"

## Clean up extracted files

[System.Collections.ArrayList]$mabsexfiles = $mabsexfile1, $mabsexfile2, $mabsexfile3, $mabsexfile4, $mabsexfile5, $mabsexfile6, $mabsexfile7, $mabsexfile8

Remove-Item $mabsexfiles

for ($i = 1; $i -lt 2; $i++) {write-host}

Write-Host "Cleaned up extracted files" -foregroundcolor "Red"

## Run Microsoft Azure Backup Server setup

& "C:\Temp\Microsoft Azure Backup Server\Setup.exe"

for ($i = 1; $i -lt 2; $i++) {write-host}

Write-Host "MABS setup started" -foregroundcolor "Red"

## Close PowerShell windows upon completion

stop-process -Id $PID

MABS v2 installation

Click Microsoft Azure Backup Server to launch the setup wizard.

Setup will start copying some temporary files.

On the Welcome screen, click the Next.

This opens up the Prerequisite Check section. On this screen, click on the Check button to determine if the hardware and software prerequisites for Azure Backup Server have been met. If all of is OK, you will see a message indicating that the machine meets the requirements. Click Next.

On the SQL Settings page select, Install new Instance of SQL Server with this Setup, to install SQL 2016 SP1. Click Check and Install. You could encounter some error messages. If so follow the instructions and most likely, you should reboot the server and start the MABS installation all over again.

If the computer meets, the software and hardware requirements click Next.

Provide a location for the installation of all the files and click Next. In my example, I changed all locations to my E: drive.

Provide a strong password for restricted local user accounts (this password will not expire) and click Next.

It is strongly recommended to use Microsoft update when you check for updates because this will offer all security and important updates for MABS. Select whether to use Microsoft Update or not and click Next.

Review all settings and if all are OK click Install.

Click Next to start the Microsoft Azure Recovery Service Agent installation.

Click Install.

When the agent installation is completed, click Next.

Provide your vault credentials to register the machine to the Azure backup vault. Click Next.

Provide a passphrase to encrypt/decrypt the data sent between Azure and your premises. You can automatically generate a passphrase or provide your own minimum 16-character passphrase. Also, enter a location to save the passphrase. If all is done click Next.

Once registration succeeded the wizard proceeds with the installation and configuration of SQL Server 2016 SP1. This could take some time.

It is possible that you receive the following error message, if so just click OK (you can change the staging area after the MABS setups completes).

When setup completes successfully, click Close.

Double click the Microsoft Azure Backup server icon on your desktop to launch MABS.

You can also verify if the MABS server connection to the Recovery Services vault. To do so go to your Recovery Services vault, click Overview and click Backup management servers. There you should see the newly installed MABS server.

As a final step, do not forget to run Windows update to install all necessary updates after the MABS installation.

Now you are ready to start working with this brand new product. Have fun and till next time!

Wim Matthyssen (@wmatthyssen)

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by Wim Matthyssen

Azure IaaS: Build a VM from a Bring your Own License (BYOL) image with Azure PowerShell

9:16 am in ARM, Azure, Azure Hybrid Use Benefit, BYOL, Cloud, IaaS, PowerShell by Wim Matthyssen

For all people who do not yet know, with the Azure Hybrid Use Benefit you can use your on-premises Windows Server licenses that includes Software Assurance for Windows Server (Standard and Datacenter Editions) virtual machines (VM) in Azure. More recently also Azure Hybrid Use Benefits for Windows Client which includes Windows 10 (only Enterprise customers with Windows 10 Enterprise E3/E5 per user or Windows VDA per user – User Subscription Licenses or Add-on User Subscription Licenses – are eligible) came in Preview.

By using your existing licenses, you only pay for the base compute rate (equal to the Linux rate for VMs) without the Windows licenses cost, which can save you up to 40 %.

You can download the Azure Hybrid Use Benefit datasheet here

These days it’s even simpler to deploy a new Azure server VM whit your own on premise license via the Windows Server BYOL images available in the Azure Marketplace. There are images available for the following Server Oss (*be aware that not all Azure Subscriptions can use the BYOL images):

Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
Windows Server 2012
Windows Server 2012 R2
Windows Server 2016 (not available in all regions)

You can search for the Windows Server images by running following PowerShell command:

## Log on with your Azure account

Login-AzureRmAccount

## Check which Windows Server BYOL images are available in your region

Get-AzureRmVMImagesku -Location 'westeurope' -PublisherName 'MicrosoftWindowsServer' -Offer 'WindowsServer' |format-table Skus

## Log on with your Azure account

## Check which Windows Server BYOL images are available in your region

Get-AzureRmVMImagesku -Location 'westeurope' -PublisherName 'MicrosoftWindowsServer' -Offer 'WindowsServer' |format-table Skus

In the above screenshot, you can see that some Skus now contain the BYOL suffix.

You can search for the Windows Client images by running following PowerShell command:

## Check which Windows Client BYOL images are available in your region

Get-AzureRMVMImageSku -Location 'westeurope' -Publisher 'MicrosoftWindowsServer' -Offer 'Windows-HUB'|format-table Skus

## Check which Windows Client BYOL images are available in your region

Get-AzureRMVMImageSku -Location 'westeurope' -Publisher 'MicrosoftWindowsServer' -Offer 'Windows-HUB'|format-table Skus

To build a VM with from a BYOL image you can run following Azure PowerShell script (adjust all variables for your own use):

## Built a VM with from a Windows Server BYOL image

# Variables

$RGCompute = "RG_Compute"

$RGNetworking = "RG_Network"

$RGStorage = "RG_Storage"

$StorAccNameOS = "vlabos001"

$VMName = "VM1-BYOL"

$Location = "westeurope"

$VNetName = "AZU-Vnet-ARM"

$SubnetName = "Front-End"

$IPAddressVM = "10.0.2.20"

$osSKU = "2012-R2-Datacenter-BYOL"

$VMSize = "Standard_A2_v2"

## ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Create the Public IP Address (PIP)

$PIP = New-AzureRmPublicIpAddress -Name "${VMName}-pip" -ResourceGroupName $RGCompute -Location $Location -AllocationMethod Static

## ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Create the NIC

# Get the VNET to which to connect the NIC

$VNet = Get-AzureRmVirtualNetwork -Name $VNetName -ResourceGroupName $RGNetworking

# Get the Subnet ID to which to connect the NIC

$SubnetID = (Get-AzureRmVirtualNetworkSubnetConfig -Name $SubnetName -VirtualNetwork $VNET).Id

$NIC = New-AzureRmNetworkInterface -Name "${VMName}-nic1" -ResourceGroupName $RGCompute -Location $Location -SubnetId $SubnetID -PrivateIpAddress $IPAddressVM -PublicIpAddressId $PIP.Id

## ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Specify local administrator account

$Username = "local_tmpadmin"

$Password = "BYOL23,ArM:2411;"

$Passwordsec = convertto-securestring $Password -asplaintext -force

$Creds = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential($Username, $Passwordsec)

## $cred = Get-Credential -Message "Type the name and password of the local administrator account."

## ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Specify the image

$Images = Get-AzureRmVMImage -Location $Location -PublisherName "MicrosoftWindowsServer" -Offer "WindowsServer" -Skus $osSKU | Sort-Object -Descending -Property PublishedDate

## ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

v

$VM = New-AzureRmVMConfig -Name $VMName -VMSize $VMSize

$VM = Add-AzureRmVMNetworkInterface -VM $VM -Id $NIC.Id

#Specify the OS Disk

$StorAcct1 = Get-AzureRmStorageAccount -ResourceGroupName $RGStorage –StorageAccountName $StorAccNameOS

$OSDiskName = $VMName + "-c"

$OSDiskUri = $StorAcct1.PrimaryEndpoints.Blob.ToString() + "vhds/" + $OSDiskName + ".vhd"

Set-AzureRmVMOperatingSystem -Windows -VM $VM -ProvisionVMAgent -EnableAutoUpdate -Credential $creds -ComputerName $VMName

Set-AzureRmVMSourceImage -VM $VM -PublisherName $Images[0].PublisherName -Offer $Images[0].Offer -Skus $Images[0].Skus -Version $Images[0].Version

Set-AzureRmVMOSDisk -VM $VM -Name $OSDiskName -VhdUri $OSDiskUri -Caching ReadWrite -CreateOption fromImage

New-AzureRmVM -ResourceGroupName $RGCompute -Location $location -VM $VM -Verbose

## ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

## Built a VM with from a Windows Server BYOL image

# Variables

$RGCompute = "RG_Compute"

$RGNetworking = "RG_Network"

$RGStorage = "RG_Storage"

$StorAccNameOS = "vlabos001"

$VMName = "VM1-BYOL"

$Location = "westeurope"

$VNetName = "AZU-Vnet-ARM"

$SubnetName = "Front-End"

$IPAddressVM = "10.0.2.20"

$osSKU = "2012-R2-Datacenter-BYOL"

$VMSize = "Standard_A2_v2"

## ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Create the Public IP Address (PIP)

$PIP = New-AzureRmPublicIpAddress -Name "${VMName}-pip" -ResourceGroupName $RGCompute -Location $Location -AllocationMethod Static

## ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Create the NIC

# Get the VNET to which to connect the NIC

$VNet = Get-AzureRmVirtualNetwork -Name $VNetName -ResourceGroupName $RGNetworking

# Get the Subnet ID to which to connect the NIC

$SubnetID = (Get-AzureRmVirtualNetworkSubnetConfig -Name $SubnetName -VirtualNetwork $VNET).Id

$NIC = New-AzureRmNetworkInterface -Name "${VMName}-nic1" -ResourceGroupName $RGCompute -Location $Location -SubnetId $SubnetID -PrivateIpAddress $IPAddressVM -PublicIpAddressId $PIP.Id

## ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Specify local administrator account

$Username = "local_tmpadmin"

$Password = "BYOL23,ArM:2411;"

$Passwordsec = convertto-securestring $Password -asplaintext -force

$Creds = New-Object System.Management.Automation.PSCredential($Username, $Passwordsec)

## $cred = Get-Credential -Message "Type the name and password of the local administrator account."

## ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Specify the image

$Images = Get-AzureRmVMImage -Location $Location -PublisherName "MicrosoftWindowsServer" -Offer "WindowsServer" -Skus $osSKU | Sort-Object -Descending -Property PublishedDate

## ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

$VM = New-AzureRmVMConfig -Name $VMName -VMSize $VMSize

$VM = Add-AzureRmVMNetworkInterface -VM $VM -Id $NIC.Id

#Specify the OS Disk

$StorAcct1 = Get-AzureRmStorageAccount -ResourceGroupName $RGStorage –StorageAccountName $StorAccNameOS

$OSDiskName = $VMName + "-c"

$OSDiskUri = $StorAcct1.PrimaryEndpoints.Blob.ToString() + "vhds/" + $OSDiskName + ".vhd"

Set-AzureRmVMOperatingSystem -Windows -VM $VM -ProvisionVMAgent -EnableAutoUpdate -Credential $creds -ComputerName $VMName

Set-AzureRmVMSourceImage -VM $VM -PublisherName $Images[0].PublisherName -Offer $Images[0].Offer -Skus $Images[0].Skus -Version $Images[0].Version

Set-AzureRmVMOSDisk -VM $VM -Name $OSDiskName -VhdUri $OSDiskUri -Caching ReadWrite -CreateOption fromImage

New-AzureRmVM -ResourceGroupName $RGCompute -Location $location -VM $VM -Verbose

## ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The script is also available on Microsoft TechNet

When the script is completed and the VM is build, you can log into the VM via remote desktop. Like you can see the VM is not registered and you’ll able to use your own Windows product key.

Hope this comes in handy!

Wim Matthyssen (@wmatthyssen)

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by Wim Matthyssen

PowerShell: BgInfo Automation script

9:19 am in BgInfo, Client Hyper-V, Hyper-V, PowerShell, scvmm, VM Template, Windows Server 2016, Windows Sysinternals, WS2016 by Wim Matthyssen

Probably everyone knows the Windows Sysinternals tool BgInfo (currently version 4.21). For those who don’t, it’s a great free tool which captures system information from a workstation or server (probably where it is the most useful) and displays the catched data on the Desktop of that machine. It can show useful information like, DNS settings, used IP Addresses, computer name, domain name, OS version, memory, etc. If you want to read more about this tool you can do so via following link: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bginfo.aspx

Whenever I create a new Windows Server 2016 Virtual Machine (VM) template for customers, I mostly add this tool in the base image (also called golden image) and set it so it starts up automatically whenever a user logs on to the server. To automate this process, I wrote a PowerShell script which does all of the following:

Download the latest BgInfo tool
Create the BgInfo folder on the C drive
Extract and cleanup the BgInfo.zip file
Download the logon.bgi file which holds the preferred settings
Extract and cleanup the LogonBgi.zip file
Create the registry key (regkey) to AutoStart the BgInfo tool in combination with the logon.bgi config file
Start the tool for the first time

Prerequisites

Windows PowerShell 5.0

PowerShell script:

##-------------------------------------------------------------------

## Name:            BgInfo Automated

## Usage:           BgInfo_Automated_v1.0.ps1

## Note:            Change variables were needed to fit your needs

## PSVersion:       Windows PowerShell 5.0

## Creator:         Wim Matthyssen

## Date:            21/02/17

## Version:         1

##-------------------------------------------------------------------

## Requires -RunAsAdministrator

## Variables

$BginfoUrl = 'https://download.sysinternals.com/files/BGInfo.zip'

$LogonBgiUrl = 'http://scug.be/wim/files/2017/02/LogonBgi.zip'

$BginfoZip = 'C:\BgInfo\BgInfo.zip'

$BginfoFolder = 'C:\BgInfo'

$BginfoEula = 'C:\BgInfo\Eula.txt'

$LogonBgiZip = 'C:\BgInfo\LogonBgi.zip'

$ForegroundColor1 = 'Red'

$ForegroundColor2 = 'Yellow'

$BginfoRegPath = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run'

$BginfoRegKey = 'BGInfo'

$BginfoRegKeyValue = 'C:\BgInfo\Bginfo.exe C:\BgInfo\logon.bgi /timer:0 /nolicprompt'

## Set date/time variable and write blank lines

$global:currenttime= Set-PSBreakpoint -Variable currenttime -Mode Read -Action { $global:currenttime= Get-Date }

for ($i = 1; $i -lt 4; $i++) {write-host}

Write-Host "Download started" $currenttime -foregroundcolor $ForegroundColor1

#Create BGInfo folder on C: if not exists

If(!(test-path $BginfoFolder))

{

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $BginfoFolder

Write-Host 'BgInfo folder created' -foregroundcolor $ForegroundColor2

}

## Download, save and extract latest BgInfo software to C:\BgInfo

function AllJobs-BginfoZip{

Import-Module BitsTransfer

Start-BitsTransfer -Source $BginfoUrl -Destination $BginfoZip

Expand-Archive -LiteralPath $BginfoZip -DestinationPath $BginfoFolder

Remove-Item $BginfoZip

Remove-Item $BginfoEula

for ($i = 1; $i -lt 2; $i++) {write-host}

Write-Host 'bginfo.exe available' $currenttime -foregroundcolor $ForegroundColor2

}

AllJobs-BginfoZip

## Download, save and extract logon.bgi file to C:\BgINfo

function AllJobs-LogonBgiZip{

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $LogonBgiUrl -OutFile $LogonBgiZip

Expand-Archive -LiteralPath $LogonBgiZip -DestinationPath $BginfoFolder

Remove-Item $LogonBgiZip

for ($i = 1; $i -lt 2; $i++) {write-host}

Write-Host 'logon.bgi available' $currenttime -foregroundcolor $ForegroundColor2

}

AllJobs-LogonBgiZip

## Create BgInfo Registry Key to AutoStart

function Add-BginfoRegKey{

New-ItemProperty -Path $BginfoRegPath -Name $BginfoRegKey -PropertyType "String" -Value $BginfoRegKeyValue

Write-Host 'BGInfo regkey added' -ForegroundColor $ForegroundColor2

}

Add-BginfoRegKey

## Run BgInfo

C:\BgInfo\Bginfo.exe C:\BgInfo\logon.bgi /timer:0 /nolicprompt

for ($i = 1; $i -lt 2; $i++) {write-host}

Write-Host 'BgInfo has run' -foregroundcolor $ForegroundColor1

## Close PowerShell windows upon completion

stop-process -Id $PID

##-------------------------------------------------------------------

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##-------------------------------------------------------------------

## Name: BgInfo Automated

## Usage: BgInfo_Automated_v1.0.ps1

## Note: Change variables were needed to fit your needs

## PSVersion: Windows PowerShell 5.0

## Creator: Wim Matthyssen

## Date: 21/02/17

## Version: 1

##-------------------------------------------------------------------

## Requires -RunAsAdministrator

## Variables

$BginfoUrl = 'https://download.sysinternals.com/files/BGInfo.zip'

$LogonBgiUrl = 'http://scug.be/wim/files/2017/02/LogonBgi.zip'

$BginfoZip = 'C:\BgInfo\BgInfo.zip'

$BginfoFolder = 'C:\BgInfo'

$BginfoEula = 'C:\BgInfo\Eula.txt'

$LogonBgiZip = 'C:\BgInfo\LogonBgi.zip'

$ForegroundColor1 = 'Red'

$ForegroundColor2 = 'Yellow'

$BginfoRegPath = 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run'

$BginfoRegKey = 'BGInfo'

$BginfoRegKeyValue = 'C:\BgInfo\Bginfo.exe C:\BgInfo\logon.bgi /timer:0 /nolicprompt'

## Set date/time variable and write blank lines

$global:currenttime= Set-PSBreakpoint -Variable currenttime -Mode Read -Action { $global:currenttime= Get-Date }

for ($i = 1; $i -lt 4; $i++) {write-host}

Write-Host "Download started" $currenttime -foregroundcolor $ForegroundColor1

#Create BGInfo folder on C: if not exists

If(!(test-path $BginfoFolder))

{

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $BginfoFolder

Write-Host 'BgInfo folder created' -foregroundcolor $ForegroundColor2

}

## Download, save and extract latest BgInfo software to C:\BgInfo

function AllJobs-BginfoZip{

Import-Module BitsTransfer

Start-BitsTransfer -Source $BginfoUrl -Destination $BginfoZip

Expand-Archive -LiteralPath $BginfoZip -DestinationPath $BginfoFolder

Remove-Item $BginfoZip

Remove-Item $BginfoEula

for ($i = 1; $i -lt 2; $i++) {write-host}

Write-Host 'bginfo.exe available' $currenttime -foregroundcolor $ForegroundColor2

}

AllJobs-BginfoZip

## Download, save and extract logon.bgi file to C:\BgINfo

function AllJobs-LogonBgiZip{

Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $LogonBgiUrl -OutFile $LogonBgiZip

Expand-Archive -LiteralPath $LogonBgiZip -DestinationPath $BginfoFolder

Remove-Item $LogonBgiZip

for ($i = 1; $i -lt 2; $i++) {write-host}

Write-Host 'logon.bgi available' $currenttime -foregroundcolor $ForegroundColor2

}

AllJobs-LogonBgiZip

## Create BgInfo Registry Key to AutoStart

function Add-BginfoRegKey{

New-ItemProperty -Path $BginfoRegPath -Name $BginfoRegKey -PropertyType "String" -Value $BginfoRegKeyValue

Write-Host 'BGInfo regkey added' -ForegroundColor $ForegroundColor2

}

Add-BginfoRegKey

## Run BgInfo

C:\BgInfo\Bginfo.exe C:\BgInfo\logon.bgi /timer:0 /nolicprompt

for ($i = 1; $i -lt 2; $i++) {write-host}

Write-Host 'BgInfo has run' -foregroundcolor $ForegroundColor1

## Close PowerShell windows upon completion

stop-process -Id $PID

##-------------------------------------------------------------------

To use the script copy and save the above as BGInfo_Automated_v1.0.ps1 or download it here. Afterwards run the script with Administrator privileges from the server you wish to use for your VM template. If you want to change configuration settings, just open the logon.bgi file and adjust the settings to your preferences.

Hope this script comes in handy for you. If you have and questions or recommendations about it, please contact me through my twitter handle.

Wim Matthyssen (@wmatthyssen)

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by Wim Matthyssen

Microsoft Azure Backup Server: Error when installing on Windows Server 2016 – The Single Instance Store (SIS) component is not installed

3:36 pm in Azure, Azure Backup, hybrid cloud, MABS, Microsoft Azure Backup, Microsoft Azure Backup Server, PowerShell, Public Cloud, SIS, SIS-Limited, Windows Server 2016, WS2016 by Wim Matthyssen

Hi All,

Last week I was contacted by a customer who tried to install Microsoft Azure Backup Server (MABS) on an on-premise Windows Server 2016. However, when he started the installation he always received an error because a prerequisite was not installed, namely the Single Instance Store (SIS) component.

When opening the DpmSetup.log with PowerShell (as Administrator), you could see the following error:

Invoke-Item "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Azure Backup\DPM\DPMLogs\DpmSetup.log"

1	Invoke-Item "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Azure Backup\DPM\DPMLogs\DpmSetup.log"

However, when you try to install this missing component through PowerShell it gives you an Error: 0x800f080c – Feature name SIS-Limited is unknown.

## Install Single Instance Store (SIS) component

Dism.exe /Online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:SIS-Limited /quiet /norestart

## Install Single Instance Store (SIS) component

Dism.exe /Online /Enable-Feature /FeatureName:SIS-Limited /quiet /norestart

The reason for this is that because from Windows Server 2016 the SIS-Limited component is replaced by Microsoft’s deduplication or data footprint reduction (DFR) technology, like you can read in the following article from MVP Greg Schulz: http://storageioblog.com/rip-windows-sis-single-instance-storage-or-at-least-in-server-2016/

Also, when you go to the Microsoft Azure Backup Server download page and you expand System Requirements you can see that Windows Server 2016 at the present time is not listed as a supported Operating System (OS) to deploy MABS, probably because it does not have this SIS component.

Conclusion

Currently you’re not able to use Windows Server 2016 as OS for you MABS server. Probably in the near future Microsoft will release a new version of MABS which will allow it, but until then you need to stick with Windows Server 2012 (R2) or Windows Server 2008 R2 to install your MABS on.

Hope this helps you with this error.

Wim Matthyssen (@wmatthyssen)

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by Wim Matthyssen

How to install and use the Microsoft Azure Virtual Machine Optimization Assessment tool

2:41 pm in AD Assessment, Azure, Microsoft Azure Virtual Machine Optimization Assessment, PowerShell, SharePoint, SQL Assessment, SQL Server by Wim Matthyssen

Hi all,

In my first blog post of this year, I will show you how you can install and use the free optimization tool, Microsoft’s Azure Virtual Machine Optimization Assessment. This tool (current version 2.0.61228.1 – released 1/16/2017) can help you optimize performance for your Azure virtual machines (VMs) running AD, SQL or SharePoint workloads. The tool focuses on 6 key areas, including security, compliance, availability, business continuity, performance and scalability. When the tool is first started, it will present a short questionnaire about your cloud deployment, followed by an automated data collection and inspection which will analyze the selected workload running on Azure. After finishing this assessment, which could take upon an hour, a custom report is generated which contains useful advice and key recommendations on how to secure and protect this workload following Microsoft best practices.

I myself mostly use the tool when migrating VMs from on premise to the cloud or after setting up a new Azure cloud environment for a customer.

The tool has the following requirements:

It can be installed on any workstation or server (on premise or Azure VM) running at least Windows 7 (or later) or Windows Server 2008 (or later)
The server or workstation running the tool should at least have 4GB RAM, a 2 GHz dual-core processor and 5 GB of free disk space
The server or workstation should be joined to one of the domains of the AD forest in which the target VMs are part of
Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 should be installed
Windows PowerShell 2.0 is also needed
Full Administrative access to the Microsoft Azure target environment
Access to the Microsoft Azure target environment via WMI
Full network connectivity to the Microsoft Azure target environment

Installation of the Microsoft Azure Virtual Machine Optimization Assessment tool

To get started, first download the tool (total size 70,2 MB) from here

Or use the download script which you can find at the following TechNet page.

When downloaded run MAVMOA.exe (Run as administrator) on the computer you want to run the assessment from (setup requires around 110 MB)

When the UAC screen pops up, click Yes

Agree to the License Terms and select a folder to install (I always use the default folder). Click Install

When the installation is completed click Close. I’ve you leave the checkmark near to Launch Microsoft Azure Virtual Machine Optimization Assessment the tool should start.

If the tool doesn’t start up, you can use the following PowerShell command to start it:

&amp; "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Azure Virtual Machine Optimization Assessment\ExpressClient.exe"

1	& "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Azure Virtual Machine Optimization Assessment\ExpressClient.exe"

Active Directory Assessment

The user running the tool to should have read access to the target domain. When I run the AD Assessment I always use a user with enterprise admin privileges.

Open the Microsoft Azure Virtual Machine Optimization Assessment tool and select Active Directory from the drop-down menu. Optionally you can agree to upload your data to help improve this product. Click Start Assessment

On the next screen, you are reminded to all requirements needed for the assessment. Click Next

In the next part of the assessment you need to answer a set of questions regarding your environment. Click Next to start the questionnaire and answer all the questions

Once you answered all the questions, the tool will proceed to the Collect & Analyze tab where the assessing of your environment will start

When the tool is finished with the assessing, click Save and view report, and choose a location to save the Microsoft Word document (.docx)

Click Close and Yes to close the tool. You can now open the document using Microsoft Word. In my case Word is not installed on my server so I copied the document to my workstation to review it

If you scroll through the document when opened, you will see that each recommendation is given a percentage weighting. For example, when you resolve the problem concerning “Change your password policy to enforce a minimum password age” your Security and Compliance will improve with 5.2 %

SQL Assessment

Running the SQL Assessment is quite similar as running the AD Assessment, the only difference is that you have to supply the SQL Server that you want to assess.

Open the Microsoft Azure Virtual Machine Optimization Assessment tool and select SQL Server from the drop-down menu. Like before you can optionally agree to upload your data to help improve this product. Click Start Assessment

Click Next on the Requirements page

To start the questionnaire, click Next and answer all questions

On the Environment page add the SQL Server you want to get assessed. Click Next

When the tool is finished with the assessing, click Save and view report, and choose a location to save the Microsoft Word document (.docx)

After saving the document to your preferred location, click Close. When you open the document with Word afterwards, you will also see that each recommendation is given a percentage weighting just like with the AD Assessment. For example, when you resolve the problem concerning “Ensure only essential users are added to the SQL Server sysadmin server role” your Security and Compliance will improve with 2.8 %

I hope this helps you to get started with this nice tool. If you have any issues or questions, feel free to contact me through my twitter handle

Wim Matthyssen (@wmatthyssen)

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by Wim Matthyssen

2016: My blog year in an overview

2:37 pm in Azure, Azure Backup, Azure RemoteApp, Client Hyper-V, Cloud, DC, Hyper-V, IaaS, PowerShell, Private Cloud, Public Cloud, Replica DC, SCAC 2012 R2, SCVMM 2012 R2, System Center 2016, W2K12R2, Windows 10 by Wim Matthyssen

Hi all,

As a blogger completely focused on Microsoft technologies, it was a fun year of writing about all those interesting and ever changing products and services. As we almost end the year 2016 and are preparing for 2017 to start, I wanted to make a list of all the blog posts I wrote throughout the twelve months of 2016. During the year, I’ve published 26 blog posts mostly about Azure, the System Center Suite and Hyper-V. Below you can find them all divided by technology.

Azure Compute – IaaS (ASM)

Step-by-step: Move an Azure IaaS VM between different Azure Subscriptions

Clean up Azure PowerShell when using different Azure subscriptions

Replica DCs on Azure – Removing the Azure Endpoints

Replica DCs on Azure – Transferring FSMO roles to the IaaS DCs

Replica DCs on Azure – Manage the Time Configuration settings on the DCs

Replica DCs on Azure – Domain Controller Health Check

Replica DCs on Azure – Promote the Azure IaaS VMs to a domain controller

Replica DCs on Azure – Add the Active Directory Domain Services role

Replica DCs on Azure – Adjustment of some server settings before promoting the DCs

Replica DCs on Azure – Initialize and format the additional data disk

Replica DCs on Microsoft Azure – Create the VMs with Azure PowerShell

Step by step: Change the drive letter of the Temporary Storage on an Azure IaaS v1 VM

Azure Networking

How to connect an Azure ARM VNet to an ASM VNet using VNet Peering

Replica DCs on Azure – Switch DNS servers for the VNet

Replica DCs on Azure – Create the Active Directory site for the Azure VNet

Azure Backup

Microsoft Azure Backup Server: Install a new version of the Microsoft Azure Recovery Services Agent

Microsoft Azure Backup Server: System State backup fails with WSB Event ID: 546

Microsoft Azure Backup Server: System State backup fails with the message replica is inconsistent

Step by step: How to install Microsoft Azure Backup Server (MABS)

Azure RemoteApp

An RDP connection to the Azure RemoteApp custom VM fails with the following error: “No Remote Desktop License Servers available”

Windows 10

How to deploy Windows 10 from a USB flash drive

System Center

System Center 2016 evaluation VHDs download links

Step by step: How to connect SCAC 2012 R2 to SCVMM 2012 R2 and Microsoft Azure

Step by step: Installing SCAC 2012 R2

Hyper-V

A list of tools that can be used to do a V2V from VMware to Hyper-V

Client Hyper-V – Using nested virtualization to run Client Hyper-V on a Windows 10 VM

Before I wrap up this blog post, I want to thank you all for reading my blog posts in 2016, and I really hope you will keep doing so in 2017. I wish you all a healthy, successful and outstanding New Year! See you all in 2017!

Wim Matthyssen (@wmatthyssen)

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by Wim Matthyssen

How to deploy Windows 10 from a USB flash drive

1:21 pm in Microsoft, PowerShell, USB, Windows, Windows 10 by Wim Matthyssen

Hi all,

In this blog post, I will show you how you can create your own bootable USB flash drive for Windows 10 installations. And like you will see, it’s pretty easy these days.

Before we start whit the installation a list of some things to keep in mind:

An internet connection is needed to download the tool
You will need 8 GB of free disk available on the C: drive
The minimum capacity of the USB flash drive needs to be at least 4 GB
Be aware that all the files on the USB flash drive will be erased
Windows 10 Enterprise isn’t available in the media creation tool
A Windows 10 product key (for the Windows 10 Edition that will be installed) is needed when you are installing a clean Windows 10
To manually download the MediaCreationTool go to the following website: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10/

After this short list with things to keep in mind, it’s time start. To do so follow the steps described below:

1) First, make sure your USB flash drive is plugged in

2) Open Windows PowerShell ISE or PowerShell (as administrator) and run the below PowerShell commands (updated 01/06/18) to download the media creation tool to the C:\Temp folder and start it up when downloaded

##-------------------------------------------------------------------
## Name           Donwload Windows 10 MediaCreationTool and run 
## Usage          Download_W10_MediaCreationTool_and_run_v1.0.ps1
## Note           Change variables were needed to fit your needs
## PSVersion      Windows PowerShell 5.0
## Creator        Wim Matthyssen
## Date           01/06/18
## Version        1
##-------------------------------------------------------------------

## Requires -RunAsAdministrator

## Variables

$tempFolder = "C:\Temp"
$foregroundColor1 = "Red"
$foregroundColor2 = "Yellow"
$mediaCreationToolUrl = "http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=691209"
$mediaCreationToolExe = "C:\Temp\MediaCreationTool.exe"
$date = Get-Date
$wc = New-Object System.Net.WebClient

## Create Temp folder on C: if not exists

If(!(test-path $tempFolder))
{
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $tempFolder
Write-Host 'Temp folder available' -foregroundcolor $foregroundColor1
}

## Download MediaCreationTool.exe and save to C:\Temp

$wc.DownloadFile($mediaCreationToolUrl, $mediaCreationToolExe)
(New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadFile($mediaCreationToolUrl, $mediaCreationToolExe)
Write-Host "Media Creation Tool downloaded - Time taken: $(($date).Subtract($date).Seconds) second(s)" -foregroundcolor $foregroundColor2

## Run MediaCreationTool.exe

& $mediaCreationToolExe
Write-Host 'Media Creation Tool started' -foregroundcolor $foregroundColor1

##-------------------------------------------------------------------

## Name Donwload Windows 10 MediaCreationTool and run

## Usage Download_W10_MediaCreationTool_and_run_v1.0.ps1

## Note Change variables were needed to fit your needs

## PSVersion Windows PowerShell 5.0

## Creator Wim Matthyssen

## Date 01/06/18

## Version 1

##-------------------------------------------------------------------

## Requires -RunAsAdministrator

## Variables

$tempFolder = "C:\Temp"

$foregroundColor1 = "Red"

$foregroundColor2 = "Yellow"

$mediaCreationToolUrl = "http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=691209"

$mediaCreationToolExe = "C:\Temp\MediaCreationTool.exe"

$date = Get-Date

$wc = New-Object System.Net.WebClient

## Create Temp folder on C: if not exists

If(!(test-path $tempFolder))

{

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force -Path $tempFolder

Write-Host 'Temp folder available' -foregroundcolor $foregroundColor1

}

## Download MediaCreationTool.exe and save to C:\Temp

$wc.DownloadFile($mediaCreationToolUrl, $mediaCreationToolExe)

(New-Object System.Net.WebClient).DownloadFile($mediaCreationToolUrl, $mediaCreationToolExe)

Write-Host "Media Creation Tool downloaded - Time taken: $(($date).Subtract($date).Seconds) second(s)" -foregroundcolor $foregroundColor2

## Run MediaCreationTool.exe

& $mediaCreationToolExe

Write-Host 'Media Creation Tool started' -foregroundcolor $foregroundColor1

The complete script can be downloaded from TechNet

3) On the License terms page, select Accept to accept the license terms

4) On the What do you want to do? page, select Create installation media for another pc and then select Next

5) Select the proper Windows 10 Edition, Architecture (x86, x64 or both) and Language to install. Click Next

6) Select USB flash drive on the next page and click Next

7) Select the correct USB flash drive and click Next

8) The tool will start Downloading Windows 10

9) After downloaded the necessary files the tool will start Creating Windows 10 media

10) When done click Finish. Your USB flash drive is now ready for use

11) If you select the USB flash drive (E: in my example) you will see all necessary files are in place to start a clean Windows 10 installation

12) Now that you have created the bootable Windows 10 USB flash drive, you can go to the next step: Installing Windows 10 on a pc (desktop or notebook). To do so, plug in the USB flash drive to the pc and boot from USB. In my example I will use a HP notebook. Startup and when the HP logo is shown press the ESC key to go to the Startup Menu (the sentence Press the ESC key for Startup Menu will appear in the left bottom of your screen)

13) Press F9 to open the Boot Device Options menu

14) Select USB Hard Drive 1 – USB DISK 3.0 (in my example this is my USB flash drive)

15) Select the Windows 10 Setup Architecture (64-bit or 32-bit) and press Enter. This will start the Windows 10 installation. Just go to the complete setup procedure and your pc will be up and running with Windows 10 in no time

This completes this blog post. Have fun with it and if you have any questions feel free to contact me.

Wim Matthyssen (@wmatthyssen)

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You are browsing the archive for PowerShell.

Azure IaaS: Deploying B-series VMs

Azure Backup: Create a Recovery Services vault with Azure PowerShell

Useful Azure PowerShell cmdlets for Azure Backup

Azure IaaS: Troubelshooting Windows Update error 8024402F

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

How to install Microsoft Azure Backup Server v2 on Windows Server 2016

Azure IaaS: Build a VM from a Bring your Own License (BYOL) image with Azure PowerShell

PowerShell: BgInfo Automation script

Microsoft Azure Backup Server: Error when installing on Windows Server 2016 – The Single Instance Store (SIS) component is not installed

How to install and use the Microsoft Azure Virtual Machine Optimization Assessment tool

2016: My blog year in an overview

How to deploy Windows 10 from a USB flash drive

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