virtuEs.IT

… sharing my IT Quests

New Quests

This page gives an overview of the latest Quests I have undertaken.

A new ambitious Quest: Taking my Citrix certification to the next level

Sep 11

Posted by virtuEs in HomeLab, Quests | 2 Comments


The last couple of years, I’ve been taken on new customer assignments that took placed me in new roles. No more administration of existing Citrix XenApp environments, but I was given the assignments to design new Citrix XenApp environments and be the one to decide how they would be implemented. After commenting on improvements I saw as an administrator, I was now in charge of making those design calls from the start. So I’ve spent the last years reading about a lot of features, new version improvements and design consequences for Citrix XenApp and XenServer environments.

And even though I’ve been complimented by customers on the quality of my design documents and seen my designs grow into production environments, I still miss some recognition as a Citrix Architect by my peers and some colleagues.

So it is time to take my CCA certifications to the next level and go for the CCEE and CCIA certifications and ensure my level of expertise is reflected by the right set of certificates.

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Automatically build a Windows 2008 Stand-alone Domain

Aug 15

Posted by virtuEs in HomeLab, Quests, Scripts | 1 Comment


The last nine months at work have been spent on a project to create a fully automatic installation of a stand-alone Windows Servers infrastructure. Nothing fancy, just the basic Serverroles one might need in a stand-alone Domain.

I had alot of fun transforming all the needed commandlines, scripts and settings into RES Wisdom Modules and Tasks. So after that experience I’ve decided to recreate a new installation set for my own HomeLab. So alot of new posts will be describing the automation of Server Role and software installations and configurations.

I’ve found myself a new Quest!

My First Homelab

Feb 28

Posted by virtuEs in * News *, Hardware, HomeLab, Hypervisors, Quests, Storage | 2 Comments


A couple of weeks ago I started my first IT Quest. Reading on numerous blogs about the homelabs most of the Virtualization Experts have installed I figured it was the first big step for me to take as well. After all a XenServer certification isn’t worth much in my opinion if you don’t get the hands on experience to really know what you are consulting about. And I’d rather not be depended on the test facilities at the clients I’m consulting.

So to keep my knowledge up-to-date and learn even more new tips and tricks, I’ve bought two whiteboxes, a NAS and a 8-port Managed Switch. All the ingredients for my First Homelab experience. (Thankfully collected from the Expert blogs I’ve read.

 

The hardware specs

I decided to use my savings for the new motorcycle (didn’t hear a complaint from my partner on that one) to buy the good stuff right away. So here’s the specs for the hardware that from now on will be known as my first Homelab.

 

The configuration of each whitebox is:

  • ASUS V Series V7-P5G43M (Towermodel)
  • 1 x Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 / 2.66 GHz ( 1333 MHz ) – LGA775 Socket
  • 2 x OCZ Platinum Dual Channel – SDRAM – 4 GB ( 2 x 2 GB ) – 8 GB total
  • 1 x Intel PRO/1000 PT Dual Port Server Adapter
  • 1 x ASUS DVD E818A6T – DVD-ROM – 18x – Serial ATA
  • 1 x WD Caviar Black WD6401AALS – 640 GB – SATA-300 – 7200 tpm -buffer: 32 MB

 

Additional Hardware:

  • 1 x Iomega StorCenter ix2-200 Network Storage – NAS – 2 TB
  • 1 x Cisco Small Business Smart Switch SLM2008 – Switch – 8 ports
  • 1 x Laptop, provided by my employer, to be used as the management console.

So I’m all good to go for the next IT Quests to come …

The following sources have be read prior to ordering my own homelab configuration:
Gabes Virtual World » My new whitebox ESX home lab
NTPRO » A VMware High-Availability Cluster at Home
Yellow Bricks » My homelab

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Preparing the RES Wisdom Agent for Cloning

Jan 15

Posted by virtuEs in Management Tools, Quests | 1 Comment


When you are using RES Wisdom as a management and deployment tool, you know that it is set up to use Agents on the Servers/Workstations/Thin Clients you want to manage. You can use the RES Wisdom Management Console to remotely install the Agent on the target device. A methode that still requires manual actions

Even when you use the built in Prepare Agent for Image option in the RES Wisdom Console, the Agent will be linked to the unique GUID of the Dispatcher (or Management Console) that initiated the task.

Luckily I found a new option to be more flexible for the preparation of the RES Wisdom Agent to be used with VM Templates or other Imaged OS solutions.

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Let’s get started!

Jan 13

Posted by admin in * News *, Quests | Comments off


At the end of 2009, during my annual moment of reflection, I’ve decided to register a domain name and start a blog.  For me 2009 was a year of professional growth and new IT challenges and this blog is a great way to acknowledge the goals I’ve reached and start new adventures.

So with this first post I hereby  ‘open’  this new site ….. hoping it’ll reflect me and my personality ….. and offer you handy tips, tricks, insights and a laugh or two!

Have fun ….. cause I sure will ;-)

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