troubleshooting

Troubleshooting Azure Resource Manager Virtual Machine Extensions

Troubleshooting can be difficult, specially when one don’t know where to find corresponding log files. While I developed a Azure Resource Manager Template, I want to add a Virtual Machine Desired State Configuration Extension and a Virtual Machine Custom Script Extension.

When I tried to deploy the template I got that error:

 
Resource Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines/extensions 'vm01/script4configvm' failed with message 'The resource operation completed with terminal provisioning state 'Failed'.'

Now was the question, where to find more Infos about that. While searching in Azure Resource Manager Portal, I found it:

Troubleshooting VM extensions in Azure Resource Manager Portal

Troubleshooting VM extensions in Azure Resource Manager Portal

At the Azure Resource Manager Portal select the virtual machine resource to troubleshoot and click on “All settings”. On the “Settings” panel click on “Extensions”. In “Extensions” select the extension to troubleshoot and then in the upcoming pane on the right side click “View detailed status”.

This will open a JSON file containing the complete log of the provisioning process.

How to find existing Windows features for Desired State Configuration (DSC)?

Using Windows PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC) is the preferred way to configure a Windows Server. The only problem when starting with DSC is, to find out the names of the build in configuration entries, in special the Windows Features.

To get help with that you can use:

Get-DscResource

This will show a list with the build in DSC Resources:

Get-DscResource Result

Get-DscResource Result

To find out more about the Windows Feature type:

Get-WindowsFeature

Which information and variables can I reference in Windows PowerShell?

When creating scripts in Windows PowerShell, there is quickly the need for information about the environment, like the folder from which the script was executed or the version of Windows PowerShell that is running in the current session.

The solution for that are so called “automatic variables”, which are created and maintained by Windows PowerShell.

To find out more about that and which variables exists, use:

Get-Help automatic_variable

Windows PowerShell ‘#Requires’ Statement

The #Requires is a statement that prevents the script or module to run if the prerequisites defined with the requirement isn’t met. The statement can appear on any line in a script but must be the first item on a line. A script can include more than one #Requires statement.

To find out which parameters can be used, type

Get-Help about_requires

in the Windows PowerShell Console.

A cloud for everyone on every device.

Microsoft unveils Azure tweaks before partner conference

SAN FRANCISCO – Microsoft hopes to steer attention away from this week’s layoff news with the kickoff of its Worldwide Partner Conference July 12-16 in Orlando.

While CEO Satya Nadella delivers the keynote July 13, he may have to briefly address the topic of 7,800 Nokia employees who will be let go as the software giant continues to untangle itself from that acquisition. But the focus will be on urging the company’s army of global resellers to guide customers toward its growing cloud business, Azure.

To that end, Microsoft announced Friday that its Power BI business analytics service would be coming out of beta on July 24. The service promises to allow improved, streamlined access to cloud-based data.

“We believe Power BI is, by a very wide margin, the most powerful business analytics SaaS service,” wrote James Phillips, vice president of Microsoft’s Business Intelligence Products Group, in a blog post. “And yet even the most non-technical of business users can sign up in five seconds, and gain insights from their business data in less than five minutes with no assistance, from anyone.”

The company promises to unveil other Azure improvements during the conference, which also will feature talks by COO Kevin Turner as well as inspirational speeches by the likes of Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson. The two mountain climbers recently completed a daunting ascent of one of El Capitan’s toughest routes – the Dawn Wall – this past January in Yosemite National Park.

Original News: http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/07/10/microsoft-unveils-azure-tweaks-before-partner-conference/29999107/