Hitch your IT career to a rising star with DevOps certification

Hitch your IT career to a rising star with DevOps certification

Savvy IT industry watchers have probably been noticing something called “DevOps” come gliding into view for a while now, striking regular pings on the scope of anyone scanning for either hot trends or spiking salaries. Even proponents of DevOps, however, sometimes struggle to define it in layman’s terms, a challenge that anyone who has ever tried to explain development methods like Agile or Scrum to someone outside of IT will understand. Beneath the jargon, however, there’s an important development model that is quickly gaining in popularity. If you’re involved in IT, then this is something that’s probably worth taking the time to understand.

What is DevOps?
DevOps is a compound of “development” and “operations.” It’s a software development method that stresses communication, collaboration, integration, automation, and measurement of cooperation between software developers and other information technology professionals. DevOps is often shown graphically as three overlapping circles consisting of Development, Quality Assurance, and Information Technology Operations, with DevOps being the area of overlap that ties all three circles together.

DevOps is so much more, however, than the intersection of three circles. It’s often the intersection of five or ten circles — it just depends on the company that the DevOps is supporting. DevOps spans the entire delivery pipeline. This includes improved deployment frequency, which can lead to faster time to market, lower failure rate of new releases, shortened lead time between fixes, and faster mean time to recovery in the event of a new release crashing or otherwise disabling the current system. Simple processes become increasingly programmable and dynamic when using a DevOps approach, which aims to maximize the predictability, efficiency, security, and maintainability of operational processes. Automation often supports this objective.

DevOps integration targets product delivery, quality testing, feature development, and maintenance releases in order to improve reliability and security and provide faster development and deployment cycles. Many of the ideas (and people) involved in DevOps come from the enterprise systems management and agile software development movements.

DevOps aids in software application release management for an organization by standardizing development environments. Events can be more easily tracked as well as resolving documented process control and granular reporting issues. Companies with release/deployment automation problems usually have existing automation but want to more flexibly manage and drive this automation without needing to enter everything manually at the command-line.

Ideally, this automation can be invoked by non-operations employees in specific non-production environments. The DevOps approach grants developers more control of the environment, giving infrastructure more application-centric understanding.

The adoption of DevOps is being driven by factors such as:
● Use of agile and other development processes and methodologies
● Demand for an increased rate of production releases from application and business unit stakeholders
● Wide availability of virtualized and cloud infrastructure from internal and external providers
● Increased usage of data center automation and configuration management tools
● Increased focus on test automation and continuous integration methods

According to David Geer, 42 percent of IT pros surveyed had adopted or planned to adopt DevOps development approaches (Information Week, 2014 DevOps Survey). That number ballooned to 66 percent of U.S. companies using DevOps approaches by the time of a Rackspace survey only 10 months later. With DevOps clearly taking over the coder’s realm, most programmers will eventually have to yield to and master this mindset.

What does DevOps mean for a programmer’s profession?
There's a lot of interest in DevOps in the IT world right now.DevOps introduces developers to operational requirements and the tools and methods necessary to ensure that the code they create is immediately functional, of high quality, and fit for the production environment. With solid training in these tools and methods, developers should find their talents highly sellable in a career world that is increasingly favorable to DevOps practitioners.

Adam Gordon, CTO of New Horizon Computer Learning Centers of south Florida, sats that important developer skills for DevOps environments include automating configuration management (infrastructure lifecycle management) using vendor-neutral tools such as Puppet, Chef, Ansible, SaltStack, and Docker. These tools integrate with a host of popular platforms and software including Amazon EC2, Amazon Web Services, CFEngine, Cisco, Eucalyptus, Google Cloud Platform, IBM Bluemix, Jelastic, Jenkins, Linux (various distributions), Microsoft Azure, OpenStack, OpenSVC, Rackspace, Rightscale, Salt, SoftLayer, Vagrant, VMware, and a rapidly expanding number of examples.

Some of the most popular vendor-specific DevOps platforms include those from Microsoft and VMware, says Gordon. Microsoft’s DevOps-related products include System Center with its System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) and System Center Operations Manager (SCOM). These Microsoft developer tools enable functions such as automated configuration management, monitoring, and custom management pack development. VMware tools such as vCloud Air (vCloud Hybrid Service) bridge the VMware development platform to tools such as Puppet and Chef, according to Gordon, while the vRealize cloud management platform automates infrastructure and application delivery, monitoring, analytics, and management.

Finally, Red Hat Linux developers will find that learning to deploy this distribution can be useful for work in Red Hat-related DevOps environments.

Does everyone love DevOps?
No, not everyone. Take Jeff Knupp, for instance. In an April 2014 blog, Knupp claims that DevOps is “killing the developer.” Allow me to quote directly from Mr. Knupp’s post:

“There are two recent trends I really hate: DevOps and the notion of the ‘full-stack’ developer. The DevOps movement is so popular that I may as well say I hate the x86 architecture or monolithic kernels. But it’s true: I can’t stand it. The underlying cause of my pain? This fact: not every company is a start-up, though it appears that every company must act as though they were.

“DevOps is meant to denote a close collaboration and cross-pollination between what were previously purely development roles, purely operations roles, and purely QA roles. Because software needs to be released at an ever-increasing rate, the old ‘waterfall’ develop-test-release cycle is seen as broken. Developers must also take responsibility for the quality of the testing and release environments.

“The increasing scope of responsibility of the ‘developer’ (whether or not that term is even appropriate anymore is debatable) has given rise to a chimera-like job candidate: the ‘full-stack’ developer. Such a developer is capable of doing the job of developer, QA team member, operations analyst, sysadmin, and DBA. Before you accuse me of hyperbole, go back and read that list again. Is there any role in the list whose duties you wouldn’t expect a ‘full-stack’ developer to be well versed in?

“Where did these concepts come from? Start-ups, of course (and the Agile methodology). Start-ups are a peculiar beast and need to function in a very lean way to survive their first few years. I don’t deny this. Unfortunately, we’ve taken the multiple technical roles that engineers at start-ups were forced to play due to lack of resources into a set of minimum qualifications for the role of ‘developer.’ ”

“Imagine you’re at a start-up with a development team of seven. You’re one year into development of a web application that Xs all the Ys, and things are going well, though it’s always a frantic scramble to keep everything going. If there’s a particularly nasty issue that seems to require deep database knowledge, you don’t have the liberty of saying, ‘That’s not my specialty,’ and handing it off to a DBA team to investigate. Due to constrained resources, you’re forced to take on the role of DBA and fix the issue yourself.

“Now expand that scenario across all the roles listed earlier. At any one time, a developer at a start-up may be acting as a developer, QA tester, deployment/operations analyst, sysadmin, or DBA. That’s just the nature of the business, and some people thrive in that type of environment. Somewhere along the way, however, we tricked ourselves into thinking that because, at any one time, a start-up developer had to take on different roles, he or she should actually be all those things at once.

“If such people even exist, ‘full-stack’ developers still wouldn’t be used as they should. Rather than temporarily taking on a single role for a short period of time, then transitioning into the next role, they are meant to be performing all the roles, all the time. Most good developers can almost pull this off.”

Certifications in DevOps
The DevOps certification realm is taking root quickly. One organization that is out in front of the pack, however, is Amazon Web Services. If you want to make a strong move into DevOps, then consider any of the following credentials.

AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional

Description
The AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional exam validates technical expertise in provisioning, operating, and managing distributed application systems on the AWS platform. Exam concepts you should understand for this exam include the ability to:

● Implement and manage continuous delivery systems and methodologies on AWS
● Understand, implement, and automate security controls, governance processes, and compliance validation
● Define and deploy monitoring, metrics, and logging systems on AWS
● Implement systems that are highly available, scalable, and self-healing on the AWS platform
● Design, manage, and maintain tools to automate operational processes

Prerequisites
Required Prerequisite: status as AWS Certified Developer – Associate or AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate

Eligibility
● Two or more years’ experience in provisioning, operating, and managing AWS environments
● Experience in developing code in at least one high-level programming language
● Experience in automation and testing via scripting/programming
● Understanding of agile and other development processes and methodologies

Exam
Multiple choice and multiple answer questions
170 minutes to complete the exam
Exam available in English
Exam registration fee is $300

DevOps is a hot trend in software development right now.AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate
Description

The AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate exam validates technical expertise in deployment, management, and operations on the AWS platform. Exam concepts you should understand for this exam include:

● Deploying, managing, and operating scalable, highly available, and fault tolerant systems on AWS
● Migrating an existing on-premises application to AWS
● Implementing and controlling the flow of data to and from AWS
● Selecting the appropriate AWS service based on compute, data, or security requirements
● Identifying appropriate use of AWS operational best practices
● Estimating AWS usage costs and identifying operational cost control mechanisms

Prerequisites

No prerequisites; recommend taking System Operations on AWS
Eligibility

● One or more years of hands-on experience in operating AWS-based applications
● Experience in provisioning, operating, and maintaining systems running on AWS
● Ability to identify and gather requirements to define a solution to be built and operated on AWS
● Capabilities to provide AWS operations and deployment guidance and best practices throughout the lifecycle of a project

Exam
Multiple choice and multiple answer questions
80 minutes to complete the exam
Available in English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, and Brazilian Portuguese
Practice Exam Registration fee is $20
Exam Registration fee is $150

AWS Certified Developer – Associate
Description

The AWS Certified Developer – Associate exam validates technical expertise in developing and maintaining applications on the AWS platform. Exam concepts you should understand for this exam include:

● Picking the right AWS services for the application
● Leveraging AWS SDKs to interact with AWS services from your application
● Writing code that optimizes performance of AWS services used by your application
● Code-level application security (IAM roles, credentials, encryption, etc.)

Prerequisites
No prerequisites; recommend taking Developing on AWS
Eligibility
● One or more years of hands-on experience in designing and maintaining an AWS-based application
● In-depth knowledge of at least one high-level programming language
● Understanding of core AWS services, uses, and basic architecture best practices
● Proficiency in designing, developing, and deploying cloud-based solutions using AWS
● Experience with developing and maintaining applications written for Amazon Simple Storage Service, Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon Simple Queue Service, Amazon Simple Notification Service, Amazon Simple Workflow Service, AWS Elastic Beanstalk, and AWS Cloud Formation.

Exam
Multiple choice and multiple answer questions
80 minutes to complete the exam
Available in English, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese
Practice Exam Registration fee is $20
Exam Registration fee is $150

AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional
Description
The AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Professional exam validates advanced technical skills and experience in designing distributed applications and systems on the AWS platform. Example concepts you should understand for this exam include:

● Designing and deploying dynamically scalable, highly available, fault tolerant, and reliable applications on AWS
● Selecting appropriate AWS services to design and deploy an application based on given requirements
● Migrating complex, multi-tier applications on AWS
● Designing and deploying enterprise-wide scalable operations on AWS
● Implementing cost control strategies

Prerequisites
Status as AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
Eligibility
● Achieved AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
● Two or more years’ hands-on experience in designing and deploying cloud architecture on AWS
● Abilities to evaluate cloud application requirements and make architectural recommendations for implementation, deployment, and provisioning applications on AWS
● Capabilities to provide best practices guidance on the architectural design across multiple applications, projects, or the enterprise

Exam
Multiple choice and multiple answer questions
170 minutes to complete the exam
Exam available in English and Japanese
Practice Exam Registration fee is $40
Exam Registration fee is $300

AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate
Description

Intended for individuals with experience in designing distributed applications and systems on the AWS platform. Exam concepts you should understand for this exam include:
● Designing and deploying scalable, highly available, and fault tolerant systems on AWS
● Lift and shift of an existing on-premises application to AWS
● Ingress and egress of data to and from AWS
● Selecting the appropriate AWS service based on data, compute, database, or security requirements
● Identifying appropriate use of AWS architectural best practices
● Estimating AWS costs and identifying cost control mechanisms

Prerequisites
None, but it is recommended that candidates take the Architecting on AWS and AWS Certification Exam Readiness Workshop
Eligibility
● One or more years of hands-on experience in designing available, cost efficient, fault tolerant, and scalable distributed systems on AWS
● In-depth knowledge of at least one high-level programming language
● Ability to identify and define requirements for an AWS-based application
● Experience with deploying hybrid systems with on-premises and AWS components
● Capability to provide best practices for building secure and reliable applications on the AWS platform

Exam
Multiple choice and multiple answer questions
80 minutes to complete the exam
Available in English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Korean, French, German, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese
Practice Exam Registration fee is $20
Exam Registration fee is $150

There's a lot of interest in DevOps in the IT world right now.AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional
Description

The AWS Certified DevOps Engineer – Professional exam validates technical expertise in provisioning, operating, and managing distributed application systems on the AWS platform. Exam concepts you should understand for this exam include the ability to:
● Implement and manage continuous delivery systems and methodologies on AWS
● Understand, implement, and automate security controls, governance processes, and compliance validation
● Define and deploy monitoring, metrics, and logging systems on AWS
● Implement systems that are highly available, scalable, and self-healing on the AWS platform
● Design, manage, and maintain tools to automate operational processes

Prerequisites
AWS Certified Developer – Associate
AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate
Eligibility
● Two or more years’ experience in provisioning, operating, and managing AWS environments
● Experience in developing code in at least one high-level programming language
● Experience in automation and testing via scripting/programming
● Understanding of agile and other development processes and methodologies

Exam
Multiple choice and multiple answer questions
170 minutes to complete the exam
Exam available in English
Exam registration fee is $300

Click here to view complete Q&A of 70-697 exam

Best Microsoft MCTS Certification, Microsoft 70-697 Training at certkingdom.com

The hidden pitfalls of going freelance in IT

Independence has its upsides and downsides. IT pros lend firsthand advice on the challenges of going solo

The life of an independent IT contractor sounds attractive enough: the freedom to choose clients, the freedom to set your schedule, and the freedom to set your pay rate while banging out code on the beach.

But all of this freedom comes at a cost. Sure, heady times for some skill sets may make IT freelancing a seller’s market, but striking out on your own comes with hurdles. The more you’re aware of the challenges and what you need to do to address them, the better your chance of success as an IT freelancer.

We talked with a number of current and former IT freelancers to get their take on the hidden troubles of going solo. Here’s what they said and how to make the best of the downsides of freedom.

Selling yourself from afar

You can’t get a gig without the client signing off, and often getting key stakeholders to accept you as a valued partner can be challenging -- especially when the work is remote.

“In order for a project to be successful, the client has to buy into you and the vision for the project,” says Nick Brattoli, founder and lead consultant at Byrdttoli Enterprise Consulting.

“This is exacerbated in the IT world, because more often than not, you are going to be working remotely,” says Brattoli, who’s been freelancing on and off for his entire IT career. “Technology is wonderful in that it makes it possible for us to work from anywhere with an Internet connection. But there is still value in being able to meet face-to-face, and many companies are hesitant to trust someone they haven’t met.”

In addition, at many companies the tech-savvy people running a project will know what needs to be done to meet the desired outcomes. “But once that’s all figured out, it is very hard to convince the people above them to go through with it,” Brattoli says. “Where technology is concerned, people who are less tech-savvy are going to be wary of any new changes to infrastructure.”

To get around these challenges, Brattoli recommends onsite travel to help generate buy-in; proposing various solutions of varying costs for a project; and constant communications after getting initial buy-in to manage expectations as much as possible.
Navigating non-negotiable agreements

Most companies have standard agreements in place to protect confidentiality and restrict competition. Such forms are usually non-negotiable, even for full-time employees, says Stanley Jaskiewicz, a business attorney at Spector Gadon & Rosen, who represents IT employers and freelancers.

For freelancers, these agreements can prove to be tricky business -- especially as they begin to add up.

“A freelancer will usually have no leverage to negotiate the restrictive covenants, or the scope of confidentiality,” Jaskiewicz says. This creates several risks, he says. For one, a signed form might prevent a freelancer from being able to make good on future job opportunities or require the freelancer to give ownership of a work product to the employer, without commensurate compensation for what the freelancer gives up.

Furthermore, such restrictions can accumulate rapidly over a career, making it hard to keep track of what you can or can’t do when presented with future job opportunities.

“The freelancer must keep careful records -- and constantly update one’s own knowledge -- of the restrictions to which he or she is subject,” Jaskiewicz says.

The alternative is to pay a lawyer to check each new job against all prior agreements, which is an economically unrealistic proposition for most freelancers.

“One freelancer I know has an exhaustive knowledge and well-indexed records of what he has signed, but he is the exception,” Jaskiewicz says.

A practical alternative (on the confidentiality side, at least) is to request the “standard” exceptions to confidentiality, Jaskiewicz says. These include prior knowledge, public knowledge, independent development without use of confidential information, receipt of information from a third party not bound by confidentiality with the disclosing party, and compelled disclosure (that is, in response to a subpoena or deposition).

HP exits low-cost tablet market in product shakeup

Even within IT departments there can be issues with your presence as a freelancer.

“When a consultant is placed in a team of permanent employees, there is sometimes some resentment toward the consultant, as they are usually earning more,” Weaver says. This can result in a lack of information sharing or the highly skilled IT work being allocated to full-time employees, with the menial work going to the more expensive and experienced consultant, he says.

This mistrust is even more pronounced when you want to change the way things are done -- even if it’s part of your contract.

“People immediately start panicking,” Weaver says. “They would rather have the painfully slow manual process that needs intervention on a daily basis than one that runs automatically and rarely breaks.”

Weaver’s business specializes in moving databases and applications into the cloud, and there is often resistance.

“Getting people to understand that [concept] is really, really hard work,” he says. “There isn't sufficient IT knowledge, and tech companies don't help, as new products aren't explained in a simple way that most people will understand.”

Educating people about IT and simplifying the details so that everyone can understand is key, Weaver says.
Riding out harsh realities and drumming up new business

Providing IT expertise, as with other types of freelancing, can be feast or famine. “At the first scent of an economic downturn, projects get canceled or postponed and IT consultants are either let go or not hired,” Weaver says.

“Many companies still have the old-fashioned view that IT is a cost center rather than a profit center, and as such IT departments are always one of the first places people look when they want to ‘trim the fat,’" Weaver adds.

While keeping a steady stream of work going can be a problem in general with freelancing, some say it’s an even bigger problem for IT freelancers.

“Most engineers and IT folks don’t consider sales and marketing to be their strongest skill, and for them to go out looking for new projects, discussing project road maps, and negotiating on the payments terms is not a fun experience,” says Abbas Akhtar, who freelanced as a software engineer for three years before launching a Web development company called
Solutions Park.

“Engineers generally would love it if they got a set of requirements, delivered the project, and got a check in the mail,” Akhtar says. “Freelancing means they have to do a lot more than just coding.”
Keeping up with technology changes

As anyone in IT knows, technology and how it’s used are constantly shifting. Freelancers especially are challenged when it comes to staying current with the ever-changing technology landscape.

“The resources available to a freelancer may not be sufficient to get trained on new technology, nor put that training into practice in a business environment to engrain the skills,” says Scott Smith, who has worked as an independent IT developer and database consultant and is currently a senior database administrator in the uTest software testing community.

To keep from falling behind, Smith participates in online webinars and forums within and outside the uTest community.

Sometimes change can put assignments in jeopardy. While working as a freelancer, Smith has participated in assignments where he was brought in to perform a specific task, then the scope of work changed to such an extent that it became impossible to complete the assignment.

“In these situations, you have to do your best to continue to provide value to the companies to make sure your brand is still seen in a positive light, despite not delivering on the initial projects,” Smith says.
Reconciling agile development with fixed-bid contracts

Many companies have adopted agile development methodologies to iterate their projects faster in hopes of gaining a competitive edge.

“This has been a boon for software developers -- both for full-time and freelancers,” says Damien Filiatrault, CEO and founder of Scalable Path, a network of more than 1,000 freelance developers. “Demand is high, supply is tight, and projects are numerous.”

But for freelancers, there remains a major disconnect between traditional fixed-bid contracting and agile software development projects, Filiatrault says. “Lots of time needs to be spent up front specifying functionality and scope before work even begins on a fixed-bid project,” he says.

Indeed, traditional fixed-bid contracts immediately put the client at odds with the contractor as soon as the contract is signed, because the client wants to jam as much functionality as it can into the project for the fixed price. “On the other hand, the contractor wants to spend as little time as he can on the job for the fixed price,” Filiatrault says.

Working in agile, where the client’s objectives evolve over time, is hamstrung by the fixed-bid contract. “The contractor wants to keep scope locked down as opposed to working in tandem with the client to evolve [the software] in a more collaborative way,” Filiatrault says. “Constant change orders to a fixed bid are tedious. In modern software development, it’s best for the software contractor to work on an hourly basis rather than on fixed contract price.”
Coping with communications gaps

Even within the same company, IT and non-IT people often don’t communicate well with each other. This can be an issue for freelancers as they try to stay in sync with clients.

“It is very true that engineers and non-engineers speak pretty much different languages,” Akhtar says. “The way an engineer looks at a problem and how a nontechnical person may look at a problem is very different.”

What might seemingly be a small issue for clients could actually require a decent amount of technical work to fix, and communicating this to nontechnical people can be tough.

For example, a client of Akhtar’s thought that having the ability to sell 10 items on its website instead of 20 should reduce the cost of the project by half.

“From an engineer’s perspective, once the core e-commerce experience has been built, the incremental effort to modify the number of items you can sell from one to anything is almost zero,” he says. “Freelancers find it a big pain trying to communicate ideas such as these to the client.”

While time management is a challenge that applies to almost any profession, IT freelancers are in a unique position because they might be called in to address issues when they least expect it -- throwing schedules into turmoil.

“Once you start to grow your business, time management becomes pivotal,” Brattoli says. “In order to grow, you need to manage your full-time job, your current freelancing projects, growing your business, training, and your personal life.”

This can become quite difficult in IT because many projects are not 9 to 5. “You may spend a day browsing the Internet, and you may work 24-plus hours straight because something blew up,” Brattoli says. “This flexible schedule can both make things difficult and allow you to succeed, depending on how you do it.”

Those working solo especially need to use their time wisely.

“A lot of tasks in the IT world involve doing a couple things, waiting a while, then doing some more things,” Brattoli says. “Rather than browsing the Internet without purpose every time you get these blocks of time, do some studying, read some blogs. Train yourself. On those days where you have nothing to do, bid on some jobs online, expand your LinkedIn network, plan out your dinner. Using your time wisely can alleviate a lot of stress.”

Click here to view complete Q&A of 70-354 exam

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10 Microsoft Office 2016 features you’ll love

Office 2016 offers many enhancements that integrate more tightly with SharePoint and OneDrive. It can be confusing to keep track of all the features, so we pick 10 you are sure to love.

Collaboration is the key to Microsoft’s still-ubiquitous productivity suite.

To the casual user, the applications that make upOffice 2016 – Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook are the anchor tenants, of course, rounded out by OneNote, Access and Publisher – will be indistinguishable from their predecessors. But make no mistake about it; Microsoft’s reboot of its flagship software suite is a major update, offering a wealth of collaboration capabilities that integrate more tightly with SharePoint and OneDrive than before. The many tweaks and enhancements across the board can be confusing though, and we peek under the hood to highlight the features that matter most.

1. Real-time co-authoring
The capability to work on the same document simultaneously with your colleagues comes to the desktop version of the productivity suite in Office 2016. Colleagues can work on the same Word documents and PowerPoint presentations that are saved on SharePoint or OneDrive without overwriting each other’s changes. Note that the “real-time typing” feature in which you can see your colleagues working on the same document is only available in Word for now. PowerPoint supports co-authoring, but without real-time typing.

2. Simplified document sharing
You can now easily share your documents in Office 2016, courtesy of a prominent “Share” button in the Ribbon. Available across Word, Excel and PowerPoint, the Share button lets you share access to a document to your team members, and serves as a one-stop location to review access permissions or see who is currently working on the document. As with co-authoring, the files must be saved in either SharePoint or OneDrive in order to be shared.

3. Capability to send large files using OneDrive
While the ability to share large files by sending a private URL link to friends and colleagues is hardly a novel feature, the fact that it is now integrated into Office 365 should be of interest from a productivity point of view. File attachments added to an email message in Outlook are automatically converted into a link that recipients can click on to download, assuming they are already synced to an OneDrive account or SharePoint folder. You can also specify whether they can be edited, or opt to attach the file as a local file copy instead, too.

4. Improved versioning
Made a mistake while editing a document, or accidentally deleted a chunk of content some time back and only just realized it? For files saved on SharePoint and OneDrive for Business (This doesn’t work for OneDrive at the moment), Office 2016 allows you to view historical versions of Office files directly from within Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Simply go to File > Historyto see a list of all prior versions in the History pane, click on the desired version, and load it in a separate window. The feature is also useful for reviewing earlier drafts of documents when editing a file or collaborating with others.

5. Smart Lookup
Smart Lookup is a new feature that allows you to highlighting a word and selecting “Smart Lookup” from the context menu (right-click on the mouse) to quickly pull up some related information without having to leave your Office app. Use it to look up the definition of a new word, or to gain some context with an unfamiliar term. Results are Bing-powered and will load into an “Insights” pane within your current authoring environment.

6. Support for Office Groups 365 in Outlook
A new feature called Groups in Outlook 2016 was quietly added with the launch of Office 2016. While relatively little mention was made of it, the new tool essentially offers a superior way to eliminate traditional distribution lists or messy email chains for collaboration within teams and project groups – both at work or at home. Essentially, you can create a group for new colleagues or friends to join, with each group having its own shared inbox, calendar, file repository and even integrated OneNote notes.

7. New chart types
For those who felt that the selection of charts in Office is getting a tad boring, Microsoft added a bunch of new charts to Excel that should help users to do a better job when it comes to visualizing financial or hierarchical data. Use the following new charts on Word, Excel and PowerPoint: Treemap, Waterfall, Pareto, Histogram, Box and Whisker, and Sunburst. Click on the links to see how they look like, and how to use them.

8. One-click Forecasting
Excel ninjas will appreciate the ability to create a forecast from available data. This new capability is embedded within Excel’s charts feature, making it easy to derive quick and dirty projections with the click of a mouse. Microsoft says that the feature uses the industry standard Exponential Smoothing (ETS) algorithm to give reliable forecasting data. For employers, insisting that staffers use this feature could help cut down on shenanigans in which forecasts gets too “creative.”

9. Skype integration
One of the tighter integration that Office 2016 offers is how the various desktop apps now let users jump into a Skype call from within Word of Excel. Tap into the various capabilities in Skype such as Instant Messaging (IM), voice or video calls, as well as screen sharing without having to break out of your current workflow or to launch the Skype client.

10. Stronger cross-device support
Finally, there is no question that Office 2016 represents a key step forward a new world of cross-platform support with tighter integration across both platforms and apps than before. Importantly, there is no feeling that any of these Office apps are abandoned or even “left behind” in terms of the development curve.

Of course, many of the capabilities highlighted here do require a subscription to Office 365 to either use, or to derive the maximum benefit from. There is no question that the new productivity and collaboration enhancements are real though, which is as good an argument as any to consider Office 365.

Click here to view complete Q&A of 70-246 exam

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74-678 Designing and Providing Microsoft Volume Licensing Solutions to Large Organisations

QUESTION 1
A Datum wants to extend its on-premises server farm by deploying SQL Server to virtual machines in Microsoft Azure for a short-term development project.
How should you recommend that Contoso license the deployment?

A. Purchase virtual machines that run Windows Server through Azure and assign existing SQL Server licenses by using License Mobility within Server Farms.
B. Purchase virtual machines that run SQL Server through Azure.
C. Purchase virtual machines that run Windows Server through Azure and assign existing SQL Server licenses by using License Mobility through Software Assurance (SA).
D. Use MSDN licenses for Windows Server virtual machines and for SQL Server.

Answer: C

Explanation: * With License Mobility through Software Assurance, you can deploy certain server application licenses purchased under your Volume Licensing agreement in an
Authorized Mobility Partner’s datacenter. * Use License Mobility to:
Extend the value of your server application license by deploying them on-premises or in the cloud.
Take advantage of the lowest cost computing infrastructure for changing business priorities.

---

QUESTION 2
A Datum plans to implement the VDI.
You need to recommend a solution to ensure that the sales office users can access their corporate desktop from a company-owned iPad. The solution must be the most cost-effective solution today and must ensure that the company meets the licensing requirements of the planned IT strategy.
Which two licenses should you include in the recommendation? Each correct answer presents part of the solution.

A. A Windows Virtual Desktop Access (VDA) license for each tablet
B. A Windows Companion Subscription (CSL) license for each primary device
C. A Windows 8.1 Enterprise Upgrade license for each tablet
D. An RDS User CAL for each sales office user

Answer: A,D

Explanation: A: VDA licensing is the recommended license for VDI access devices that do not
qualify for SA. VDA provides organizations with the ability to license Windows for use via devices that do not traditionally come with a Windows license, such as thin clients, smartphones, and tablet devices. Organizations can also use VDA to license devices that the organization does not own, such as employees’ home PCs and contractor devices.
D: The RDS CAL is the primary license for Microsoft VDI. It offers the flexibility to deploy both VDI and RDS Session Virtualization so that you can provide access to full desktop and shared desktop experiences. You must purchase one RDS CAL for each device or user that accesses VDI. A
* Scenario: A Datum plans to implement a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) by using Remote Desktop Services (RDS) on Windows Server 2012 R2.
In line with the VDI implementation, all of the sales office users will be issued a tablet. A Datum wants to enable the users to work from their home computer as well, as the need arises. In addition, the company plans to enable a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) strategy.

---

QUESTION 3
Which two goals are met by the company's current licensing solution given the planned changes? Each correct answer presents part of the solution.

A. A Datum must run the most up-to-date versions of the desktop platform products to access the custom application.
B. A Datum wants the users to be able to access their corporate desktop from their home computer.
C. A Datum wants to deliver Windows and Office in a virtual desktop to the users.
D. A Datum wants to be able to install multiple virtual desktops on the device of each user.
E. A Datum wants the flexibility to deploy virtual desktops to the cloud.

Answer: B,C

Explanation: Not A: The latest versions can not be used. Not D, not E: No current cloud licensing exists.
* Scenario:
/ Current Licensing Solution
A Datum recently signed an Enterprise Agreement that includes Office Professional Plus, Windows Enterprise Upgrade, and Microsoft Core CAL Suite licensed per user.
Currently, all of the licenses for SQL Server are assigned to long-term workloads.
/ A Datum uses Microsoft Lync Server 2010, Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010, and Microsoft Exchange Server 2010. Various versions of Microsoft SQL Server are used heavily across the server farm both as an infrastructure product and as a data warehouse tool.
/ Business Goals
A Datum spent a significant amount of time developing a custom application that will be used by hundreds of the company's partners and suppliers. The application will always run on the latest version of SQL Server and SharePoint Server. A Datum wants the application
to be available to the users immediately.

---

QUESTION 4
A Datum purchases Windows 8.1 Enterprise Upgrade licenses through their current agreement.
What are three benefits of these licenses compared to the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) licenses? Each correct answer presents a complete solution.

A. License Mobility rights
B. Rights to reassign licenses
C. Re-imaging rights
D. Perpetual usage rights
E. Windows Virtual Desktop Access (VDA) rights

Answer: B,D,E

Explanation: B: Windows Enterprise use rights are bound to the existing PC if SA is allowed to expire. And as before, Windows Enterprise edition upgrade licenses can be reassigned to a replacement device while SA is active, as long as the replacement device has a "qualifying OS."

---

QUESTION 5
A Datum is evaluating moving the licensing of its desktop platform products to Office 365.
Which three licenses will make up its desktop platform? Each correct answer presents part of the solution.

A. Office 365 ProPlus
B. Windows Intune
C. Windows 8.1 Enterprise
D. Microsoft Core CAL Suite Bridge for Office 365
E. Office 365 Enterprise E3

Answer: A,D,E

Explanation: A: When you deploy Office 365 ProPlus, it's installed on the user's local computer. Office 365 ProPlus is offered as a monthly subscription.
D: Microsoft Client Access License (CAL) Suite Bridges are used when you are transitioning from a CAL Suite (on premises) to a comparable Product and Online Service combination.
* Scenario:
A Datum wants to improve the manageability and control of the users' desktops. In the short term, the company will deploy Windows 8.1 Enterprise and Office Professional Plus 2013 internally. During the next six months, A Datum plans to implement a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) by using Remote Desktop Services (RDS) on Windows Server 2012 R2.

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7 serious software update SNAFUs of the last 25 years

Microsoft’s Windows 10 eager early upgrade wasn’t the first software update gone way too wrong.

Whoops
Microsoft’s Windows 10 eager early upgrade wasn’t the first software update gone way too wrong. Here are seven (more) serious software update SNAFUs.

AT&T Update Hangs Up LD Calls
In January 1990, AT&T hung up millions of LD calls after updating its 4ESS network switches in December. The company had coded a single-line error into the program’s recovery software. When a New York switch reset, the recovery software sent all the network hardware “crazy”.

TrendMicro marks Windows OS a virus
In September 2008, TrendMicro’s AV update tagged critical Microsoft Windows files as a virus, producing the dreaded Blue Screen of Death (BSOD). “I fixed some of those PCs while working at BestBuy. TrendMicro was our preferred AV software so a lot of clients were affected,” says Mike Garuccio, Garuccio Technical Services.

NT service pack packs a punch on PD
In September 2005, an LA area police department and an Alvaka Networks customer saw the chief and his lieutenants’ PCs crash. Updating HP desktop Windows NT 4.0 machines to Service Pack 6a caused the crashes. “It’s not pretty when the top brass at the PD cannot work,” says Oli Thordarson, CEO, Alvaka Networks.

Drivers drive admins nuts
In February 2000, Windows 2000 unleashed an updated hardware driver model that drove systems administrators nuts. “Printers, scanners, and peripherals stopped working regardless of Microsoft’s Windows Driver Model, which Microsoft lauded as a solution to migrating from Windows 98 to Windows 2000,” says Clay Calvert, director of CyberSecurity, MetroStar Systems.

AVG saddles Wintrust.dll with Trojan moniker
In March 2013, an updated AVG anti-virus program stopped trusting the benign Windows wintrust.dll file in Windows XP, marking it as a Trojan horse. Unwitting users who removed the file at the behest of AVG saw their PCs go kaput.

Microsoft Office 2000 update bug bite
In April 2003, the Microsoft Office 2000 SR-1 update spun out of control and into a continuous software registration request loop, asking customers to register their Microsoft Office 2000 product again, over and over and over.

Microsoft WGA finds its own software disingenuous
In August 2007, a newly updated Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA), which Microsoft created to seek, sort, and send Windows XP and Vista software pirates walking the proverbial plank instead identified many thousands of licensed copies of the popular OSs as unlicensed, informing innocent users of their digital high crimes against the software vendor and in the case of Vista, disabling numerous features.

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The evil that lurks inside mobile apps

The evil that lurks inside mobile apps
The Enterprise is at risk from malware and vulnerabilities hiding within mobile apps. You have to test your mobile apps to preserve your security.

Mobile apps are ubiquitous now, and they offer a range of business benefits, but they also represent one of the most serious security risks ever to face the enterprise. The mixing of devices and software for work and leisure opens up many potential avenues for attack, but even purpose-built enterprise apps are shipping with woefully inadequate security protections.

Defects and vulnerabilities commonplace
Did you know that mobile apps typically ship with between one and ten bugs in them?

According to research by Evans Data, only five percent of developers claim to ship apps with zero defects, while 20% ship with between 11 and 50 bugs. Even when testing is conducted, it’s on a limited subset of devices and platform versions.

Many software developers simply don’t have the resources to conduct proper testing before release, especially with the pressure to reach the market faster than everyone else. It’s accepted that many defects will be discovered by customers and fixed later through updates, in fact 80% of developers push out updates at least monthly.

The chance of security vulnerabilities slipping through is very high. But that’s for an average mobile app developer, surely the enterprise takes security more seriously, right?

You may assume that mobile app security testing is a lot more stringent in the business world, but it’s a dangerous assumption to make. Enterprise app developers are subject to the same pressures, and they’re just as likely to forgo security in the rush to market.


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Lack of security testing in the enterprise
Many organizations are still taking it on trust that the mobile apps they use are secure. We’ve looked at the importance of assessing third-party vendors before. Almost 40% of large companies, even in the Fortune 500, don’t take the necessary precautions to secure the apps they build for customers, according to research by IBM and the Ponemon Institute.

In fact, one-third of companies never test their apps at all, and 50% of the companies surveyed admitted they devote absolutely no budget to mobile security.

Consider that more than half of businesses are planning to deploy 10 or more enterprise mobile apps in the next two years alone, according to 451 Research. The potential risk here is enormous. More data breaches are inevitable. What’s worse is that many will go unnoticed for long periods of time. The impact on some businesses will be devastating, as security threats too often go ignored. To bury your head in the sand, is to expose your business to potential catastrophe.

Build in security and educate
If you’re only thinking about security at the end of app development, then you’ve already left it too late. You need to build in secure features and adopt stringent testing from day one. That means consulting or hiring security experts during the design phase, and empowering them to influence developers. Focus on data encryption, user authentication, and regulatory requirements.

Monitoring and reporting should be built in to your mobile apps. That way there’s an audit trail to maintain security. Reports can also produce all sorts of useful analytics that help guide future development in the right direction. It’s not just for security, it’s also an important part of ensuring ROI for mobile apps.

It’s worth noting that mobile security at a platform level is improving, but few developers are taking full advantage of the new features designed specifically to secure apps for the enterprise. There has to be some education here. Without input from InfoSec talent, and the right training for developers, there’s no doubt that insecure mobile apps will continue to flood the market.

There’s no substitute for testing
At the end of the day, you will never know if your mobile apps are truly secure unless you test them. Proper mobile security penetration testing is essential. External testers with no vested interest and the right blend of expertise, are best placed to provide the insight you need to uncover dangerous vulnerabilities, and help you mitigate them.

If development continues after release, as your mobile apps are updated with new features and defect fixes, make sure that you consider the security implications and test each new release properly – it’s the only way you can really be sure that your mobile apps are secure.

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Exam 70-355 Universal Windows Platform – App Data, Services, and Coding Patterns (beta)

Exam 70-355
Universal Windows Platform – App Data, Services, and Coding Patterns (beta)

Skills measured
This exam measures your ability to accomplish the technical tasks listed below. View video tutorials about the variety of question types on Microsoft exams.

Please note that the questions may test on, but will not be limited to, the topics described in the bulleted text.

Do you have feedback about the relevance of the skills measured on this exam? Please send Microsoft your comments. All feedback will be reviewed and incorporated as appropriate while still maintaining the validity and reliability of the certification process. Note that Microsoft will not respond directly to your feedback. We appreciate your input in ensuring the quality of the Microsoft Certification program.

If you have concerns about specific questions on this exam, please submit an exam challenge.


Recognize and apply a specified design pattern
Describe the relationship between architecture, design pattern, and framework
Recognize common architectures and when they should be used, recognize common design patterns and when a pattern can be applied to make programming tasks faster and easier

Describe traditional Microsoft .NET design patterns
Describe the Gang of Four design patterns, including creational patterns, structural patterns, and behavioral patterns; describe 3-tier/N-tier patterns; describe enterprise patterns; describe cloud design patterns; describe head first patterns; describe repository patterns; describe unit of work patterns

Apply the Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) Prism pattern
Separate concerns, develop the views for the MVVM app, develop the view-models for the MVVM app, develop the models for the MVVM app, develop class interactions and data binding for the MVVM app

Develop app and business logic, code that interfaces with other line-of-business (LOB) apps, and LOB Server Services (AD, SP)

Develop code for app-specific processes and computations
Create an asynchronous method or process, managing the return value from an asynchronous method, debugging and error handling for an asynchronous method, develop storyboards and custom animations for an object, represent 3-D models as code objects, manage 2-D projections of 3-D objects, use Task, ThreadPool, and background transfers

Implement background tasks
Create a background task, register a background task, set and respond to triggers, debug a background task, implement a lock screen app, share data/events between an app and its background tasks; directly calling a background task

Manage app lifecycle events
Prepare for suspension, resume from suspension or termination, implement an extended splash screen, extend execution and monitor suspension errors

Implement interactions with other apps
Integrate a share contract to share content with another app, integrate contact and appointment functionality, implement mapping and navigation (geolocation, geofencing, and Bing Maps), exchange data/file between apps, including launch for result; use drag and drop

Implement notifications and Windows Push Notification Services (WNS)
Implement and manage notifications; support Live Tile updates, including toasts and badges, support Action Center and secondary tiles

Implement interactions with devices
Develop code for camera and microphone, including photo, video, and audio; implement screen capture; implement printing and Play To; integrate HoloLens sensors and services; support

wireless communication
Develop class libraries (code libraries, DLLs)
Naming assemblies, namespaces, types, and members in class libraries; using static and abstract classes, interfaces, enumerations, structures, and other types; designing and using properties, methods, constructors, fields, events, operators, and parameters; implementing extensibility mechanisms such as subclassing, using events, virtual members, and callbacks; designing, throwing, and catching exceptions

Develop code for implementing secure cloud data services and storage

Design and implement data roaming
Roaming user settings and preferences, roaming app session info
Design and implement a RESTful data solution (oData, JSON)
Using the ASP.NET Web API, implementing JSON serialization, adding a service reference to the project, using Windows.Web.Http.HttpClient objects
Design and implement Azure and cloud data sources
Implement offline data sync, implement caching, support OneDrive integration, implement file access and management (including File Picker and file access APIs), upload images to Azure Storage

Integrate Azure data services
Call a custom Cloud Service API from a client, schedule backend jobs in Mobile Services
Design and implement removable and embedded local data sources
Support SD card storage, implement SQLite on mobile devices

Develop code to implement authentication and business security requirements
Implement code to manage authentication and identity
Web authentication broker; Azure authentication; implement code to manage identity; implement biometric identity verification, including Windows Hello; implement Credential Locker, implement single sign-on
Implement code to manage authorization and access to resources
Implement authentication requests; authorize users and apps; manage authorization IDs; restrict access to resources, including data, files, folders, and devices
Implement cryptography within an app
Create cryptographic keys, hash and sign content, create message authentication codes, encrypt and decrypt data
Support enterprise security considerations
Implement security transparency, implement code access security, implement role-based security

Integrate cloud services and Azure App Service services
Build native and cross-platform apps using services
Integrate Azure App Service mobile app functionality within an existing mobile app, use a .NET client with Mobile Services, call a custom API from a client
Connect to your enterprise systems using services
Build a service that uses an existing SQL database, connect to an on-premises SQL Server from an Azure mobile service using hybrid connections, scale mobile services backed by Azure SQL database, authenticate your app with Active Directory Authentication Library single sign-on, add role-based access control to mobile services with Azure Active Directory, access Microsoft SharePoint on behalf of the user, schedule backend jobs in mobile services, troubleshoot a mobile services .NET backend
Connect to SaaS APIs using services
Implement single sign-on using credentials from third-party identity providers, build a service that uses MongoDB as a data store
Build offline-ready apps with sync using services
Allow employees to work offline when connectivity is not available, synchronize with your enterprise backend systems when devices comes back online, recover in the event of a disaster
Push notifications to users using services
Add push notifications to your app, send push notifications to authenticated users

Develop code that is maintainable and that supports app versioning, compatibility, and coexistence
Develop code using version control (TFVC or Git)
Develop code using a standardized coding convention, implement best practices for assembly versioning
Implement best practices for assemblies and side-by-side execution
Use strong-named assemblies, including version, culture, and publisher; use the GAC to provide version-aware storage; create an app that runs in isolation
Implement best practices for assembly placement and the GAC
Using an app configuration file, using codebases, providing a binding context

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Google Graveyard: What Google has killed off in 2015

Six feet deep
Google is truly a company that has more technology and products than it can handle sometimes, and in 2015 the company with the recent name change shed a host of tools and products to enable it to focus on more pressing needs. Here’s a look back at what Google this year has offed or announced plans to off (To go back even further, check out 2014’s Google Graveyard.)

Google Code
Google in March said it would be axing its Google Code platform in January 2016, acknowledging increased adoption of alternatives like GitHub and Bitbucket. “As developers migrated away from Google Code, a growing share of the remaining projects were spam or abuse. Lately, the administrative load has consisted almost exclusively of abuse management,” wrote Google open-source director Chris DiBona. Google Code launched in 2006.

Chrome extensions
At the risk of making itself look controlling, Google has been taking steps for years to protect Google Chrome users of extensions that inject ads and malware. In May it really put the kibosh on such software coming from any Windows channel, specifying that all extensions now need to original in the Chrome Web Store. Extensions for Chrome for OS X got the same treatment in July. “Extending this protection is one more step to ensure that users of Chrome can enjoy all the web has to offer without the need to worry as they browse,” a Google product manager wrote in announcing the changes.

Pwnium hacking contest
Google’s big one-day hacking contest at the CanSecWest event, under which it doled out hundreds of thousands of dollars since 2012, has been shuttered in favor of year-long opportunities for hackers to snag bounties for uncovering flaws in its Chrome technology. Among other things, Google was concerned that hackers were hoarding bugs until the contest came around.

Bookmarks Manager
Technicaly, Google didn’t kill the Bookmarks Manager in June, but it did relent to widespread hatred of the free Chrome extension and revert to including the old bookmark tool with its browser. Those few who did cotton to the new UI are still able to access the Bookmarks Manager if they know where to look. Meanwhile, Google’s Sarah Dee blogged: “Our team will continue to explore other ways to improve the bookmarks experience. ”

PageSpeed
Google alerted users of its PageSpeed Service for making websites zippier that it would be killing off the tools as of Aug. 3. Google had pitched its 4.5-year-old hosted PageSpeed optimizing proxy as a way to improve website performance without having to know any code.

Google TV
Google kicked off 2015 by announcing it would ditch the Google TV brand that few probably knew existed and focus its living-room entertainment efforts instead on Android TV and Google Cast. The company said Google TV libraries would no longer be available, but Google TV devices would continue to work.

Google logo
Google nixed its colorful longtime serif typeface logo, around since 1999, in favor of a new sans serif colorful logo with a typeface dubbed Product Sans. With the emergence of the Alphabet parent company came a new look for its Google business.

GTalk
Google Talk had a good run, starting up in 2005, but it’s never good when Google pulls out the term “deprecated” as it did in February in reference to this chat service’s Windows App. Google said it was pulling the plug on GTalk in part to focus on Google Hangouts in a world where people have plenty of other ways to chat online. However, Google Talk does live on via third-party apps.

Maps Coordinate for mobile workforces
Google in January emailed users of its mobile enterprise workforce management offering, which debuted in 2012, that the service would be shutting down come January 2016. Google has been folding various mapping-related products into one another in recent years, and is putting focus on its mapping APIs in its Maps for Work project going forward.

Google Moderator
This tool, launched in 2008, was used to “create a meaningful conversation from many different people's questions, ideas, and suggestions.” The White House, among others, used it to organize feedback for online and offline events during the 2012 elections. But Google gave up on the tools in July due to its overall lack of use.

Helpouts
There’s no more helping Google Helpouts, which was discontinued in April. This online collaboration service was short-lived, launching in November 2013. While alive, it allowed users to share their expertise – for free or a fee -- through live video and provide real-time help from their computers or mobile devices. It exploited Google Hangouts technology, but was largely redundant with so many help videos found on Google’s very own YouTube.

Eclipse developer tools
Google informed developers over the summer that it was time for them to switch over to Android Studio, now firmed up at Version 1.0, as the company would be “ending development and official support for the Android Developer Tools (ADT) in Eclipse at the end of the year. This specifically includes the Eclipse ADT plugin and Android Ant build system.”

Flu Trends
Google in August said it was discontinuing its Flu and Dengue Trends, which were estimates of flu and Dengue fever based on search patterns. Flu Trends launched in 2008 as an early example of “nowcasting” and Google is now leaving the data publishing on diseases to health organizations that it will work with. Historical data remains available from Google.

Google+ ?
Google’s social networking technology has never had much life in the first place and isn’t “really most sincerely dead” like the Wicked Witch, but Google keeps messing around with it, such as extracting the Google Photos app from it, as announced at Google I/O this year, while adding a feature called Collections. Google also has stopped requiring people to have Google+ accounts to tap into other services, such as YouTube channel creation.

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QUESTION 1
You have a System Center 2012 Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) infrastructure that contains a
server named Server1. Server1 hosts the VMM library. You add a server named Server2 to the
network. You install the Windows Deployment Services (WDS) server role on Server2. You have the
Install.wim file from the Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1) installation media. You need
to install Hyper-v hosts by using the bare-metal installation method. What should you do first?

A. Add Install.wim to the VMM library.
B. Convert Install.wim to a .vhd file.
C. Convert Install.wim to a .vmc file.
D. Add Install.wim to the Install Images container.

Answer: B

---

QUESTION 2
You have a System Center 2012 Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) infrastructure that contains a
visualization host named Server2. Server2 runs Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1).
Server2 has the Hyper-V server role installed. You plan to deploy a service named Service1 to
Server2. Service1 has multiple load-balanced tiers. You need to recommend a technology that must
be implemented on Server2 before you deploy Service1. What should you recommend?

A. MAC address spoofing
B. the Network Policy and Access Services (NPAS) server role
C. TCP Offloading
D. the Multipath I/O (MPIO) feature

Answer: A

---

QUESTION 3
Your network contains a server named Server1 that has System Center 2012 Virtual Machine
Manager (VMM) installed. You have a host group named HG1. HG1 contains four virtualization
hosts named Server2, Server3, Server4, and Servers. You plan to provide users with the ability to
deploy virtual machines by using the Self-Service Portal. The corporate management policy states
that only the members of a group named Group1 can place virtual machines on Server2 and
Server3 and only the members of a group named Group2 can place virtual machines on Server4
and Server5. You need to recommend a cloud configuration to meet the requirements of the
management policy. What should you recommend?

A. Create two clouds named Cloud1 and Cloud2. Configure the custom properties of each cloud.
B. Create a host group named HG1\HG2. Create one cloud for HG1 and one cloud for HG2. Move
two servers to HG2.
C. Create two clouds named Cloud1 and Cloud2. Configure placement rules for HG1.
D. Create two host groups named HG1\Group1 and HG1\Group2. Create one cloud for each new
host group. Move two servers to each host group.

Answer: D

---

QUESTION 4
Your company has a private cloud that contains 200 virtual machines. The network contains a
server named Server1 that has the Microsoft Server Application Virtualization (Server App-V)
Sequencer installed. You plan to sequence, and then deploy a line-of-business web application
named App1. App1 has a Windows Installer package named Install.msi. App1 must be able to store
temporary files. You need to identify which task must be performed on Server1 before you deploy
App1. What task should you identify?

A. Modify the environment variables.
B. Add a script to the OSD file.
C. Compress Install.msi.
D. Install the Web Server (IIS) server role.

Answer: D
QUESTION 174
Your company has three datacenters located in New York, Los Angeles and Paris. You deploy a
System Center 2012 Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) infrastructure. The VMM infrastructure
contains 2,000 virtual machines deployed on 200 Hyper-V hosts. The network contains a server
named DPM1 that has System Center 2012 Data Protection Manager (DPM) installed.
You need to recommend a solution for the infrastructure to meet the following requirements:
* Automatically backup and restore virtual machines by using workflows.
* Automatically backup and restore system states by using workflows.
What should you include in the recommendation? (Each correct answer presents part of the
solution. Choose two.)

A. Deploy System Center 2012 Orchestrator.
B. Install the Integration Pack for System Center Virtual Machine Manager (VMM).
C. Install the Integration Pack for System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM).
D. Deploy System Center 2012 Operations Manager.
E. Deploy System Center 2012 Service Manager.

Answer: AB

---

QUESTION 5
You are the datacenter administrator for a company named CertKingdom, Ltd. The network contains a
server that has System Center 2012 Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) installed. You create four
private clouds. Developers at CertKingdom have two Windows Azure subscriptions. CertKingdom creates a
partnership with another company named A.Datum. The A.Datum network contains a System
Center 2012 Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) infrastructure that contains three clouds.
Developers at A.Datum have two Windows Azure subscriptions. You deploy System Center 2012
App Controller at A.Datum. You plan to manage the clouds and the Windows Azure subscriptions
for both companies from the App Controller portal. You need to identify the minimum number of
subscriptions and the minimum number connections required for the planned management. How
many connections and subscriptions should you identify?

A. Two connections and four subscriptions
B. Two connections and two subscriptions
C. Four connections and four subscriptions
D. Eight connections and four subscriptions
E. Four connections and two subscriptions

Answer: A

---

QUESTION 6
Your network contains an Active Directory forest named CertKingdom.com. The forest contains a System
Center 2012 Operations Manager infrastructure. Your company, named CertKingdom, Ltd., has a partner
company named
A. Datum Corporation. The
A. Datum network contains an Active Directory forest
named adatum.com. Adatum.com does not have any trusts. A firewall exists between the
A. Datum
network and the CertKingdom network. You configure conditional forwarding on all of the DNS servers
to resolve names across the forests. You plan to configure Operations Manager to monitor client
computers in both of the forests. You need to recommend changes to the infrastructure to monitor
the client computers in both of the forests. What should you include in the recommendation? (Each
correct answer presents part of the solution. Choose two.)

A. Allow TCP port 5723 on the firewall.
B. Deploy a gateway server to adatum.com.
C. Create a DNS zone replica of adatum.com.
D. Allow TCP port 5986 on the firewall.
E. Create a DNS zone replica of CertKingdom.com.
F. Deploy a gateway server to CertKingdom.com.

Answer: AB

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Active malware campaign uses thousands of WordPress sites to infect visitors

Attackers have hijacked thousands of websites running the WordPress content management system and are using them to infect unsuspecting visitors with potent malware exploits, researchers said Thursday.

The campaign began 15 days ago, but over the past 48 hours the number of compromised sites has spiked, from about 1,000 per day on Tuesday to close to 6,000 on Thursday, Daniel Cid, CTO of security firm Sucuri, said in a blog post. The hijacked sites are being used to redirect visitors to a server hosting attack code made available through the Nuclear exploit kit, which is sold on the black market. The server tries a variety of different exploits depending on the operating system and available apps used by the visitor.

"If you think about it, the compromised websites are just means for the criminals to get access to as many endpoint desktops as they can," Cid wrote. "What’s the easiest way to reach out to endpoints? Websites, of course."

On Thursday, Sucuri detected thousands of compromised sites, 95 percent of which are running on WordPress. Company researchers have not yet determined how the sites are being hacked, but they suspect it involves vulnerabilities in WordPress plugins. Already, 17 percent of the hacked sites have been blacklisted by a Google service that warns users before they visit booby-trapped properties. Interestingly, Cid added, the attackers have managed to compromise security provider Coverity and are using it as part of the malicious redirection mechanism. The image above shows the sequence of events as viewed from the network level using a debugging tool.

Sucuri has dubbed the campaign "VisitorTracker," because one of the function names used in a malicious JavaScript file is visitorTracker_isMob(). Cid didn't identify any of the compromised sites. Administrators can use this Sucuri scanning tool to check if their site is affected by this ongoing campaign.

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13 more big data & analytics companies to watch

So many big data and analytics-focused startups are getting funding these days that I’ve been inspired to compile a second slideshow highlighting these companies. This new batch has reined in some $250 million this year as they seek to help organizations make sense of the seemingly endless pool of data going online.

So many big data and analytics-focused startups are getting funding these days that I’ve been inspired to compile a second slideshow highlighting these companies (see “13 Big Data and Analytics Companies to Watch” for the previous collection). This new batch has reined in some $250 million this year as they seek to help organizations more easily access and make sense of the seemingly endless amount of online data.

Alation
Founded: 2012
Headquarters: Redwood City, Calif.
Funding/investors: $9M in Series A funding led by Costanoa Capital and Data Collective.

Focus: Its data accessibility platform is designed to make information more usable by the masses across enterprises. The company is led by former Oracle, Apple, Google and Microsoft engineers and executives, and its on-premises and virtual private cloud-based offerings promise to help data analysts get in sync, optimize data across Hadoop and other stores, and ensure data governance. Boasts customers including eBay and Square.

Aviso
Founded: 2012
Headquarters: Menlo Park, Calif. (with operations in India, too)
Funding/investors: $15M in Series B funding led by Scale Venture Partners and Next World Capital, bringing total funding to $23M.

Focus: Data science-driven predictive analytics software for sales teams, including the newly released Aviso Insights for Salesforce. Co-founder and CEO K.V. Rao previously founded subscription commerce firm Zuora and worked for WebEx, while Co-founder and CTO Andrew Abrahams was head of quantitative research and model oversight at JPMorgan Chase. The two met about 20 years ago at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications.

Birst
Founded: 2004
Headquarters: San Francisco
Funding/investors: $156M, including a $65M round in March led by Wellington Management.

Focus: Cloud-based business intelligence and analytics that works across compliance-sensitive enterprises but also gives end users self-service data access. This company, formed by a couple of ex-Siebel Analytics team leaders, has now been around for a while, has thousands of customers and has established itself as a competitor to big companies like IBM and Oracle. And it has also partnered with big companies, such as AWS and SAP, whose HANA in-memory database can now run Birst’s software.

BlueData
Founded: 2012
Headquarters: Mountain View
Funding/investors: $39M, including a $20M Series C round led by Intel Capital in August.

Focus: A founding team from VMware has delivered the EPIC software platform designed to enable customers to spin up virtual on-premises Hadoop or Spark clusters that give data scientists easier access to big data and applications. (We also included this firm in our roundup of hot application container startups.)

Datameer
Founded: 2009
Headquarters: San Francisco
Funding/investors: $76M, including $40M in Series E funding led by ST Telemedia.

Focus: Big data analytics application for Hadoop designed to let any employee analyze and visualize structured and unstructured data. Counts British Telecom and Citibank among its customers.

Deep Information Sciences
Founded: 2010
Headquarters: Boston
Funding/investors: $18M, including an $8M Series a round in April led by Sigma Prime Ventures and Stage 1 Ventures.

Focus: The company’s database storage engine employs machine learning and predictive algorithms to enable MySQL databases to handle big data processing needs at enterprise scale. Founded by CTO Thomas Hazel, a database and distributed systems industry veteran.

Looker
Founded: 2012
Headquarters: Santa Cruz
Funding/investors: $48M, including a $30M B round in March led by Meritech

Focus: Web-based business intelligence platform that provides access to data whether in a database or the cloud. A modeling language called LookML enables analysts to create interfaces end users can employ for dashboard or to drill down and really analyze data. Founded by CTO Lloyd Tabb, a one-time principal engineer at Netscape, where he worked on Navigator and Communicator. Looker claims to have Etsy, Uber and Yahoo among its customers.

Maana
Founded: 2012
Headquarters: Palo Alto
Funding: $14M, including $11M in Series A funding in May, with backers including Chevron Technology Ventures and Intel Capital.

Focus: Semantic search engine that plows through big data from multiple sources and delivers information in a way that can be consumed by line-of-business application users. The company announced in June that its platform is now powered by Apache Spark. Co-founder Donald Thompson spent 15 years prior to launching Maana in top engineering and architect jobs at Microsoft, including on the Bing search project.

RapidMiner
Founded: 2007
Headquarters: Cambridge, Mass.
Funding/investors: $20M, including $15M in Series B funding led by Ascent Venture Partners.
Focus: This company, which got its start in Germany under founder Ingo Mierswa, offers an open source-based predictive analytics platform for business analysts and data scientists. The platform, available on-premises or in the cloud, has been upgraded of late with new security and workflow capabilities. Peter Lee, a former EVP at Tibco, took over as CEO in June.

Reltio
Founded: 2011
Headquarters: Redwood Shores, Calif.
Funding/investors: $10M in Series A funding in March, from Crosslink Capital and .406 Ventures.

Focus: The team behind Informatica/Siperian MDM started Reltio, which offers what it calls data-driven applications for sales, marketing, compliance and other users, as well as a cloud-based master data management platform. The company claims its offerings break down silos between applications like CRM and ERP to give business users direct access to and control over data.

Sensai
Founded: 2014
Headquarters: Palo Alto
Funding/investors: $900K in seed funding from investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Formation8.

Focus: A “data science platform for the unstructured world.” Sensai’s offering makes it possible to quantify and analyze textual information, such as from news articles and regulatory filings. The company is focused initially on big financial firms, like UBS, though also has tech giant Siemens among its earlier customers. Two of Sensai’s co-founders come from crowdfunding company

Spare5
Founded: 2014
Headquarters: Seattle
Funding/investors: $13.25M, including a $10M Series A round led by Foundry Group, New Enterprise Associates and Madrona Venture Group

Focus: This iPhone app enables businesses to tap into smartphone users (or “Fives”) to clean up big data in their spare time for a little spare cash. The idea is that computing power alone can’t be counted on to crunch and analyze big data. Micro-tasks include everything from SEO-focused photo tagging to conducting surveys.

Treasure Data
Founded: 2011
Headquarters: Mountain View
Funding/investors: $23M, including $15M in January in Series B funding led by Scale Venture Partners.

Focus: Provides cloud services designed to simplify the collection, storage and analysis of data, whether from mobile apps, Internet of Things devices, cloud applications or other sources of information. This alternative to Hadoop platforms and services handles some 22 trillion events per year, according to the company, which has a presence not just in Silicon Valley, but in Japan and South Korea as well.

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Who's upgrading to Windows 10?

In the three weeks since the new OS's debut, Windows 8.1 users have been the most willing to migrate

Windows 8.1 users have been half again as likely to upgrade to Windows 10 as their compatriots running Windows 7, data from a Web metrics vendor showed today, confirming expectations about who would upgrade first to Microsoft's new operating system.

The ascension of Windows 10's usage share has largely come at the expense of Windows 8.1, according to measurements by Irish analytics company StatCounter. Of the combined usage share losses posted by Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 since the last full week before Windows 10's July 29 launch, 57% has been attributed to Windows 8.1 deserters.

Windows 7, meanwhile, contributed 37% of the losses by the last three editions, and Windows 8, 6%.

The disparity was not unexpected: Most pundits and analysts figured that users of Windows 8.1 -- like Windows 7, eligible for a free upgrade -- would be first in line to dump their existing OS and migrate to the new. The changes in Windows 10, including the restoration of the Start menu and windowed apps, were most attractive to Windows 8 and 8.1 users, experts believed, because their removal had been widely panned.

Simply put, Windows 7 users, who were more satisfied with the OS Microsoft gave them, would be less motivated to upgrade. That's been proven out by StatCounter's early numbers.

But there were recent signs that Windows 7 users have begun jumping to Windows 10 in numbers nearly equal to Windows 8.1.

During the week of August 10-16, the difference between the declines in Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 was the smallest it's been since Windows 10's debut. In that week, Windows 7 lost 0.55 percentage points of usage share, only slightly less than the 0.64 percentage points given up by Windows 8.1. The week before -- August 3-9 -- the gap between the two was much larger: Windows 7 lost 0.95 percentage points, while 8.1 declined by 1.42 points.

StatCounter's data also illustrated just how important Windows 7 conversions will be to Windows 10's ultimate success -- as Microsoft has defined it, that would mean 1 billion devices running the operating system by mid-2018. Even if it coaxed every Windows 8 and 8.1 user into upgrading, Microsoft would be looking at a usage share of less than 21% for Windows 10. It must convince large segments of Windows 7's base to migrate as well.

That may require modification of the Windows 10 pitch, perhaps with less talk about the return of the Start menu, say, and more about enhanced security. Working against Microsoft are a plethora of Windows 10 behaviors, particularly its mandated updates and the concurrent loss of control over what reaches customers' devices and when. That has raised hackles among the traditionalists who stuck with Windows 7.

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Microsoft explains timing of Windows 10 updates

Windows 10's staggered timetable will kick off by early December

If Microsoft follows through on its announced plans for updating and upgrading Windows 10 after the new OS launches in two weeks, it will issue the first update no later than the end of November or early December, then follow with three more in 2016, repeating with a trio each year following.

Lather, rinse, repeat.
The update churn will result in a near-constant patter about upcoming updates and upgrades -- Microsoft itself isn't sure which of those terms apply, using both interchangeably -- for customers to digest.

Microsoft has left those customers guessing on answers to a slew of questions about Windows 10 refreshes, ranging from how long the updates and upgrades will appear free of charge to how substantial those changes will be. But it's talked about the schedule, pulling back the curtain in small jerks.

Here's what's known about the timetable and what's still unknown -- or in the infamous words of former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, the "known unknowns" -- as the July 29 release date looms.
Updates will come every four months

According to a Microsoft-hosted webinar in late April, Windows 10 will receive updates about every four months, or three times a year.

It's likely that Microsoft won't hew to a set schedule, as does Mozilla, which rolls out a new edition of Firefox at almost-sacrosanct six-week intervals. Microsoft could trim the time between updates or extend the timeline, depending on whether it's satisfied with the quality and composition of the new build, or even on external factors, like the calendar.

If Microsoft wanted to present a newer Windows 10 for the end-of-year holiday sales season, for example, it would like to have that on new devices no later than mid-November, meaning a release -- or, at least, finished code -- in October.

Such flexibility is not guaranteed: We simply don't know because Microsoft won't say, or doesn't know itself.

But on average, expect to see updates/upgrades spaced out every four months.

The first update will appear before year's end

Four months from the July 29 launch date would be November 29, close to the start of winter in the northern hemisphere.

Although that date may not be set in stone, it's clear that to make good on its promises Microsoft must roll out a finished first update/upgrade before year's end.

That alone will be a record for the company: The previous shortest lag has been the six months between Windows 8.1 (launched Oct. 17, 2013) and Windows 8.1 Update (April 8, 2014).

Consumers as guinea pigs get the first update
The first update/upgrade will be primarily, perhaps exclusively, for consumers, delivered to devices running Windows 10 Home by default via the Windows Update service. Microsoft is calling that update cadence or track "Current Branch" (CB), part of the new release lexicon the Redmond, Wash. company's invented.

Those running the more advanced Windows 10 Pro can also adopt the consumer-speed CB track. People most likely to do so are the power users, enthusiasts and work-at-homers with a Pro edition, as companies -- which also widely deploy the various Windows' Professional or Pro SKUs (stock-keeping units) -- will probably play it conservative and instead take updates from the Current Branch for Business (CBB) after they have moved to Windows 10 Pro.

Not everyone on CB will get the first update at the same time
Microsoft has provided some update flexibility (its take) or complicated matters (the cynic's view) by segmenting each "branch" into "rings." The latter is a second release timing mechanism that lets customers receive a branch's update as soon as the build is approved via a "fast" ring, or delay the update's arrival using a "slow" ring.

Rings on the CB were confirmed only this week by Terry Myerson, chief of the company's OS and devices division, and may number more than the two: Again, Microsoft's not elaborated.

The Windows Insider preview program, which will continue to run after July 29, has put devices into the slow ring by default; Microsoft may or may not do the same with the CB.

The one certainty is that not everyone on the CB will get the update immediately. "Some consumers just want to go first. And we have consumers that say, 'I'm okay not being first,'" Myerson said on Monday.

Most business PCs won't get the first update until the Spring of 2016
Because Microsoft will be using its Insider participants, and more importantly the millions of consumers running Windows 10, as testers, it will not release builds to businesses at the same time as those on the Current Branch.

With the four-month stretch between updates/upgrades and the automatic delay built into the Current Branch for Business (CBB), customers on the latter will not receive the first build until next year: On a strict schedule, that will be at the end of March or beginning of April 2016.

Microsoft's doing it this way, it's said, to produce more bug-free code to its most important users, businesses. Microsoft figures that the four months will shake out more bugs so that those running Windows 10 Pro or Windows 10 Enterprise will get a more stable update with a correspondingly lower risk of something breaking.

Users of Windows 10 Pro and Windows 10 Enterprise can stick with the old way of managing updates -- using Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) or another patch-management product -- or go with the new Windows Update for Business (WUB), an analog to the consumer-ish Windows Update service.

Those on WUB must deploy a given build within four months of its release or Microsoft will shut off the patch spigot: That means CBB users applying updates/upgrades with WUB must have the first build on their devices by approximately Aug. 1, 2016.

Businesses can delay the first update only so long

Microsoft's not giving anyone a choice: Either take the updates and upgrades or face a security patch drought. (The one exception: Windows 10 Enterprise.)

The longest delay allowed for CBB will be eight months from a specific build's release to the branch, or 12 months after the same build has hit the consumers via the CB.

Customers using WSUS or another Microsoft (or third-party) patch management solution must have the first build deployed no later than late November, early December 2016.

Microsoft has talked about rings on the CBB since the May announcement of Windows Update for Business, but as with rings on the CB, details remain muddled. How long the slow ring follows the fast, for instance, is unclear.
Only Windows 10 Enterprise can ignore the updates and upgrades

The only Windows 10 edition that can pass on the constant updates and upgrades is Enterprise, the SKU available solely to organizations that have a volume licensing agreement tied to the annuity-like Software Assurance (SA) program.

The branch available only to Windows 10 Enterprise, dubbed Long-term Servicing Branch, or LSTB, mimics the traditional way Microsoft has handled its OS: Only security patches and critical bug-fixes will reach systems on the LTSB.

Every two to three years, Microsoft will create another LTSB build, integrating some or all of the feature changes released to CB and CBB in the intervening time, then offer that to customers. They will have the option to move to that build -- it won't be mandatory -- and can skip at least one build, passing on LTSB 2 (or whatever Microsoft names it), then years later adopting LSTB 3 with an in-place upgrade.

The code released on July 29 will be considered LTSB 1, Microsoft has said, so a second, optional LTSB won't appear until 2017 at the earliest.
By December 2016, there will be multiple update/upgrade builds being used

The staggered releases Microsoft plans will create a situation where multiple builds are in use at any one time, each by a segment of the Windows 10 device population.

Come December 2016, Microsoft will have issued its fourth build to the CB, and the third to the CBB. But there will be some still using the second build (those on the CBB managing updates with WSUS).

Analysts, however, have largely discounted fragmentation as a factor, arguing that while the delays offered to businesses on the CBB may be disruptive, Windows 10 will ultimately be a more uniform ecosystem than the current mix of vastly different editions of Windows.
What Microsoft gets out of this stretched, staggered release schedule

Microsoft may pitch the Windows 10 update and upgrade schedule as all about customers, but there's something in it for the company, too.

"Rings will be more about controlling the rate at which the updates flood out into market," said Steve Kleynhans, an analyst at Gartner, in a recent interview. "With potentially a billion devices ... eventually ... getting an update, you need some level of flow control or else you could crush your servers and a large part of the Internet. By using rings, Microsoft can stagger the release over the period of days or weeks."

In fact, the entire cadence, not just the rings, can be envisioned as Microsoft's way of reducing stress on its update servers. Although the second build for the CB -- slated for late March-early April 2016 -- will coincide with the launch of the first build for the CBB on Computerworld's timeline, it will not be a surprise if Microsoft staggers the two by launching first one, then the other.

Microsoft is clearly concerned about server load and the possibility that something could go awry: It's not releasing the free Windows 10 upgrade to all eligible customers on July 29. Instead, it plans to give the several million Insiders the code first, then gradually trigger upgrades on others' devices in an unknown number of "waves" that could run weeks or months.

The company will also control demand for the upgrade another way by silently downloading the bits in the background to eligible PCs and tablets, then notifying them on its own schedule that the upgrade is ready to process locally.

It may do the same with later updates and upgrades, Kleynhans speculated.

"I wouldn't be surprised if under the covers Microsoft uses a separate ring for each week after an OS is released, or maybe even one for each day immediately after it is out," said Kleynhans. "But these will be mostly invisible to users and really isn't all the different from the way some updates roll-out today."
The naming problem

Computerworld has used generic place holders to identify the various update/upgrade releases Microsoft will distribute to Windows 10 -- "first build" and "LTSB 2," for instance -- because Microsoft hasn't talked about how it's going to name each build.

That will have to change.

"Another factor that Microsoft has yet to discuss is how it will identify each update," Kleynhans said. "We know that the OS will be called Windows 10 regardless of what updates have been delivered and installed.... But as for identifying the state after each update, we don't know if Microsoft will stick with the build number, as it has during the preview program, opt for a simplified numbering scheme -- something similar to the build number but without the holes in the numbering scheme -- go back to point identifiers [like] Window 10 v 10.1 and Windows 10 v 10.2, [as] Apple does with OS X, or maybe use something more date oriented [such as] 'Windows 10, July 2016.' There will have to be something to help developers understand what they are facing in the field."

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