Last week, Microsoft announced Windows Server 2012; Just after the Microsoft's web event, my HP TechCast co-host Jeffery Powers and I had a panel of Microsoft experts to discuss the announcement.  On the HP TechCast were:

• John Obeto (@johnobeto) - John blogs at www.absolutelywindows.com and is the CEO of Logikworx a managed service provider that heavily utilizes Microsoft technology.
• Jason Lopez (@jaylpz07) - I met Jason at the Nth Generation Symposium and he is focused on Microsoft-based solutions.  He's also looking to start a blog soon.
• Hans Vredevoort (@hvredevoort).  Hans blogs at www.hyper-v.nu and is a Microsoft MVP. 

You can also download or listen to the podcast on Jeffery's website.  The discussion we had was interesting and given the expertise of the panel, well worth your time. You can also check out the other videos, and podcast I have focused on Windows Server 2012.

First up is a short video that gives an overview. This is with Parissa Mohamadi - Parissa is our Microsoft Solution Manager for HP Storage.

I also have three demo videos that show the integration with WS2012 and HP Storage.  The demos I have are:

• Storage space reclamation with UNMAP
• Offload Data Transfer (ODX) with HP 3PAR
• Storage management user interface with WS2012

The video I'm sharing here is a single video with embedded links to these three demo videos and the overview Parissa did.

I think a broke a record today from recording a podcast to posting it.  I finished recording a podcast with Brad Kirby, Group Manager for our Microsoft Products Partnership Team at HP, talking about today's announcement from Microsoft of the highly anticipated Windows Server 2012. 

Later in the week, I'll share some video demos I have that shows how HP Storage integrates with Microsoft Windows Server 2012 but for now, this podcast with Brad is a very good overview of what's coming with Windows Server 2012.  Here's the podcast with Brad.

Late last week, I got to sit in on a review of our HP Super Session at VMworld.  I gotta say, I'm really excited about this presentation - it will be a great session, guaranteed! 

In the past, I've been critical that the presentations have been a bit too "marketing" and knowing the VMworld audience, they were disappointing.  That won't be the case with this session! 

So I want to encourage you to consider session #SS1012: Best practices for hybrid cloud - build a cloud you're proud of, without making million dollar mistakes.  It's happening Wednesday at 9:30 AM. And just to give you more of a teaser, here's a brief snippet from the session.

While at HP Discover and heading to our HP Storage customer appreciation party, I was talking to Brent Allen, the product manager for our HP VirtualSystem for VMware - he had done a session and our customer CenterBeam co-presented with him.  I told him I'd love to do a podcast with them.  Brent told me to turn around because Karen Hayward, EVP and Chief Marketing Office and Shahin Pirooz, EVP, Chief Security Officer and Chief Technology Officer from CenterBeam were coming right behind us.

I had a great time talking to Karen and Shahin at our customer party and we made plans to do a podcast.



A few weeks ago on Twitter I saw a partner talking about some testing they had done on the P4000.  I invited Nuno Fernandes to write a guest post here on ATSB talking about what they had done.  Nuno works in Malta for Systetec, an HP partner, and was putting together a solution similar to our HP VirtualSystem but at a bit smaller scale for the market his company serves in Malta.  I thought this was interesting - so visit this article to read what Nuno did.

Spring SNW in Dallas is underway and in full swing.  I made the first sessions of the day, choosing a session from the Cloud Computing track.  Greg Schulz, IT advisor and author of the book Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking, gave a great presentation by the same name.  I was fortunate to get a few minutes with Greg after his session and talk to him about his session and this book.  Spring SNW in Dallas is underway and in full swing.  I made the first sessions of the day, choosing a session from the Cloud Computing track.  Greg Schulz, IT advisor and author of the book Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking, gave a great presentation by the same name.  I was fortunate to get a few minutes with Greg after his session and talk to him about his session and this book. 

A step-by-step approach to moving from static to dynamic utility storage to support virtualization and cloud computing

They say that cloud is a journey. For most, it’s one fraught with challenges, obstacles, and, yes, grief, particularly when it comes to storage.

Having spent nine years managing a service provider data center, I can attest to the emotional attachment we have with infrastructure.  The job often forces us to spend more time with machines than our family. 

With that in mind, I thought it could be fun to examine the parallelisms in the death of an old IT model as we move to cloud… Taking some liberties with the Kübler-Ross model for the five stages of grief, let’s find our happy place.

Can you really build your own cloud in a 17 inch box?  Lee Johns talks about how to cook up your own cloud in a box using a little HP storage, BladeSystem, networking and software.