Packet monitoring allows you to diagnose your server by capturing and displaying network traffic through the networking stack in a log that is filtered, organized, and easy to follow and manipulate.
Secured-core – recommended for the most sensitive systems and industries like financial, healthcare, and government agencies. Builds on the previous layers and leverages advanced processor capabilities to provide protection from firmware attacks.
In Windows Admin Center Security you can Configure Secured-Core :
Secured-Core in Windows Admin Center 21.10
You can activate 6 secured-Core feature :
Hypervisor Enforced Code Integrity (HVCI)
Boot DMA Protection
System Guard
Secure Boot
Virtualization-based Security (VBS)
Trusted Platform Module 2.0 (TPM2.0)
You now can simply activate the Security Feature.
Needs a Reboot
Hypervisor Enforced Code Integrity (HVCI) is enabled.
Installing Windows Server Insider Datacenter Azure Edition
In my last blogpost we installed Windows 11 Insider Preview Enterprise Build on a Microsoft Azure Virtual Machine. Now we do the same with Windows Server 2022 Insider build version on Microsoft Azure Cloud.
IMPORTANT
This blogpost is for testing only and not ready for production environments yet!
Before you Search for the Windows Server Insider Preview image, you need some preview features added to your azure subscription first. Here you find more information
One of the features is Inquest Hot patching, which we activate via Azure Cloud Shell with Bash Azure CLI :
az feature register –namespace Microsoft.Compute –name InGuestHotPatchVMPreview az feature register –namespace Microsoft.Compute –name InGuestAutoPatchVMPreview az feature register –namespace Microsoft.Compute –name InGuestPatchVMPreview
Register via Azure CLI with these commands.
Feature registration can take up to 15 minutes. To check the registration status:
az feature show –namespace Microsoft.Compute –name InGuestHotPatchVMPreview
az feature show –namespace Microsoft.Compute –name InGuestAutoPatchVMPreview
az feature show –namespace Microsoft.Compute –name InGuestPatchVMPreview
When registration is done, you will see this message.
Once the feature has been registered for your subscription, complete the opt-in process by propagating the change into the Compute resource provider.
Type the following Azure CLI commandline :
az provider register –namespace Microsoft.Compute
Now your Microsoft Azure Subscription is ready for the new Features with the Windows Server 2022 Insider Preview Datacenter Azure Edition Build.
You need the Core edition when you want to try hotpatching.
and you need to be a Windows Server Insider.
Add Storage to your Virtual Machine.
Because it’s for testing only I selected SSD.
Set your network settings.
Set Management settings like Hotpatch Preview.
At Advanced tab you can add Extensions and Custom scripts.
Click on Review + Create
Validation is passed, Click on Create and the
Windows Server Insider 2022 Datacenter Azure Edition will deploy.
IMPORTANT
Check the Network Security Group (NSG) of the Virtual Machine in Azure and set the security settings!
Set the Security Settings in the NSG.
Because we Installed the Windows Server Insider Core version,
Windows Admin Center (Preview) is very handy for Management.
Running Windows Server 2022 Insider Build 10.0.20348.166 in Azure
with Windows Admin Center (Preview) for Testing.
Now we wait for the Hotpatch 😉
Conclusion
Microsoft Azure Cloud platform is great for testing new products like Windows Server Insider Build versions, Windows 11 Insider Preview and the new Azure features. So when this becomes GA in the future you have already the experience and did some feedback to the Microsoft Product Team 😉
The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) gives you the most command-line tools, utilities, and applications directly on Windows. I’m using Microsoft Windows Admin Center and Windows Server Core 20H2 with Build version 19042.746 to deploy WSL 2 with Ubuntu 18.04 Linux Distro. Here you find the installation of the Windows Server Core 20H2 with Windows Admin Center
In the following steps we will install the Following :
Ubuntu 18.04 is Running in WSL2 on Windows Server Core 20H2 😉
Conclusion
First of All Microsoft Windows Admin Center is supporting me in the Installation of Windows Subsystem for Linux. We have WSL 2 Running with Ubuntu 18.04 with a lot of possibilities!
What I really like is integration, like in Windows 10 and Docker for desktop with the WSL 2 Engine. Here my Blogpost
Together with VSCode Remote WSL is Cool.
Would be awesome to run Docker Windows and Linux Containers in combination with WSL 2 integration on Windows Server Core edition. Maybe in the Future, who knows?
Windows Admin Center is a locally deployed, browser-based app for managing Windows servers, clusters, hyper-converged infrastructure, as well as Windows 10 PCs. It comes at no additional cost beyond Windows and is ready to use in production. If you want to work more secure with Windows Server Core images without the GUI or with Microsoft Azure Stack HCI operating system then Windows Admin Center is the tool for the Administrator to manage your workloads on-premises or in the Cloud. You have one web based interface for all your Server consoles (MMC) to manage your Hybrid Datacenter.
Here you can read more about Microsoft Windows Admin Center and download the free software.
Get the best with Windows Admin Center Extensions
Windows Admin Center and the Container Extension
When you have installed Microsoft Windows Admin Center you can configure the settings and extensions for your environment. When you want the benefits of the Microsoft azure Cloud Services you can configure your Azure subscription and add the extensions to your Windows Admin Center. There are also Third Party extensions like Dell, DataOn, Fujitsu and more. Here you find more information about how extensions work.
Container Extension
In the following step-by-step guide we will work with the Container Extension of Windows Admin Center on a Windows Server 2019. You have already added the server in WAC and installed the Container extension. In my MVPLAB.CLOUD is that Windows Server 2019 datacenter Starship01.mvplab.cloud. When you open the server you will come in the Overview of the Windows Server:
Click on Containers.
Click on Install for the Docker installation on Starship01.mvplab.cloud.
This will install Docker on the Windows Server 2019 and reboot when it’s ready to use for Containers. From this moment you can work with Windows Containers on the host via Windows Admin Center.
Remote Desktop in Windows Admin Center, the docker host is installed with the Windows Filter by default.
When you want to use Docker Linux Containers with Windows Server 2019 host, you have to configure the Linux kit LCOW with a distro on the host. More info here
Containers on Starship01.mvplab.cloud
To start with containers you can create your own, or pull an image from Docker Hub with Windows Admin Center. In my case I pull Windows Server 2019 ltsc with IIS image.
mcr.microsoft.com/windows/servercore/iis (Image)
windowsservercore-ltsc2019 (Tag)
Click then on Pull.
Select your image and click on Run.
Give your Container a name and set your settings.
Click on Run.
Click on Containers tab and you will see your running Container
More details you see the IP-Address of the Container.
IIS is running on Windows Server 2019 ltsc in a Docker Windows Container.
That was easy right 😉
Making your Own Docker file with Windows Admin Center Container Extension
When you have your own Github repository with your software, you can make your own docker file and make a docker image on your host for deployment. To show this I have used this sample on Microsoft docs, but you can clone also a github repository and copy the dockerfile on the host.
I copied the dockerfile on the host C:\BuildImage.
—————
# Sample Dockerfile
# Indicates that the windowsservercore image will be used as the base image. FROM mcr.microsoft.com/windows/servercore:ltsc2019
# Metadata indicating an image maintainer. LABEL maintainer=”jshelton@contoso.com”
# Uses dism.exe to install the IIS role. RUN dism.exe /online /enable-feature /all /featurename:iis-webserver /NoRestart
# Creates an HTML file and adds content to this file. RUN echo “Hello World – Dockerfile” > c:\inetpub\wwwroot\index.html
# Sets a command or process that will run each time a container is run from the new image. CMD [ “cmd” ]
In Windows Admin Center comes ITpro world and DevOps world Together in One web based console like with the Container extension. Microsoft is developing really fast in Windows Admin Center to get all the right Feature for ITPro, DevOps and SecOps Administrators in one place. Awesome are the Windows Admin Center Extensions, developers makes these better and better to do the job for Administrators 🚀
Windows Server 2019 Core and Azure Stack HCI are Operating systems without a GUI, and with Windows Admin Center they are really good to manage, update and keeping in control of security.
I like Windows Admin Center a lot and it Rocks for managing your hybrid Datacenter 😉
Send your comments and feedback via Microsoft GitHub repoby opening a new issue for the Container Extension. Follow @vrapolinario on Twitter
You can Follow Windows Admin Center here on Twitter : @servermgmt
Microsoft Windows Admin Center is a web based App working in your modern browser like Edge or Chrome to manage your datacenter infrastructure. You can download it here
You can manage Windows Servers, Windows10 Desktops, Clusters, Hyperconverged Clusters, Storage Spaces Direct and more in a Hybrid environment and that’s what I like.
My Servers can be on-premises or in the Cloud like Azure and will manage them with Windows Admin Center.
Microsoft Azure Stack is a family of products and solutions that extend Azure to your datacenter or the edge. Includes Azure Stack Hub,Azure Stack HCI, and Azure Stack Edge.
The Power of Hybrid IT Management is awesome with Azure Hybrid Services for your Servers with Microsoft Windows Admin Center. While you can set up most Azure hybrid services by downloading an app and doing some manual configuration, many are integrated directly into Windows Admin Center to provide a simplified setup experience and a server-centric view of the services. Windows Admin Center also provides convenient intelligent hyperlinks to the Azure portal to see connected Azure resources as well as a centralized view of your hybrid environment.
Microsoft Windows Admin Center for Hybrid IT Management
I really like to work with Microsoft Windows Admin Center for managing my Hybrid workloads Windows Servers in Azure Cloud Services but also our On-premises Servers on Hyper-V and VMware platform. Even our physical Windows Servers can be managed from Windows Admin Center.
You can extend on-premises deployments of Windows Server to the cloud by using Azure hybrid services. These cloud services provide an array of useful functions, including the following:
Protect virtual machines and use cloud-based backup and disaster recovery (HA/DR) with Azure Site Recovery.
Track what’s happening across your applications, network and infrastructure with the help of advanced analytics and machine learning in Azure Monitor.
Simplify network connectivity to Azure with Azure Network Adapter.
Keep virtual machines up to date with Azure Update Management.
Azure hybrid services work with Windows Servers in the following configurations:
Stand-alone physical servers and virtual machines (VMs)
I’m working with Windows Admin Center since day one, and you see the hybrid management tool evolving with great new features to make your life as an Administrator more easier. For example you get notifications when there are updates in extensions.
Notification details about update Extensions
When you click on the link “Go to Extensions” you will see the Extensions installed and the Updates which you can install from there.
Here you see an Azure Security Center Extension update.
There are not only Microsoft extensions, but also third party solution extensions and you could build your own extension for your solution. Here you find all the information about Windows Admin Center Extensions
Third Party Windows Admin Center Extensions
Installing a New extension is easy to do, the Azure Cloud Shell (Preview) was the last extension I installed in my Azure MVP Lab to work with. Azure Cloud Shell is an interactive, authenticated, browser-accessible shell for managing Azure resources. It provides the flexibility of choosing the shell experience that best suits the way you work, either Bash or PowerShell. Cloud Shell enables access to a browser-based command-line experience built with Azure management tasks in mind. So how does this look in Windows Admin Center?
Install the Azure Cloud Shell (Preview) Extension
You find the Installed Azure Cloud Shell in the pulldown menu of WAC
For Management of your Windows Servers you need some tools and consoles. Windows Admin Center is supporting you to get the Management consoles in one place to do your administration and updates.
The next tree Features are in Windows Admin Center to manage your Windows Server.
Powershell inside WAC of my Domain Controller
Windows PowerShell is a task-based command-line shell and scripting language designed especially for system administration. Built on the .NET Framework, Windows PowerShell helps IT professionals and power users control and automate the administration of the Windows operating system and applications that run on Windows.
Here you find more information about Windows Commands
Windows Update in Windows Admin Center.
Of course you need to update your Windows Servers, and what I like in WAC is that you get the information if an update needs a reboot before you click on Install Updates. This option is good for my Azure MVP Lab but when you need to update more then 100 Servers, you would do that centrally managed like with Update Management solution in Azure
Windows Remote Desktop in WAC
Remote Desktop is one of the Features of Windows Admin Center, to take over the desktop for installations of Applications for example.
Windows Admin Center got a lot more Features and Tools to Manage your Windows Servers in a Hybrid world.
Like these :
Storage
Security
System Insights
Scheduled Tasks
Installing Roles and Features of Windows Server
Registry
Processes running on your Windows Server
Managing and deploying Clusters
and much More………
You can install the following Resources to Manage with WAC
Windows Admin Center Overview
Conclusion:
Microsoft Windows Admin Center is the New Management tool for your Hybrid IT Management to Controle your Servers for your Business. It got all the Management consoles covered of Windows Servers to manage from one tool.
It’s easy to use and It keeps you Up-to-date of what is happening on your Windows Server but also what is New and updated. With Microsoft Windows Admin Center your are learning on the job and that’s what I Like 😉
Hope you will use Microsoft Windows Admin Center too for your Business, download it here for Free!
Windows Insider Program for Server allows you deploy the Windows Server 2019 Insider Preview builds in your enterprise. The docs cover the new enterprise features we’d like you to test and describes how to do the most common tasks.
To allow the Windows Admin Center gateway to communicate with Azure to leverage Azure Active Directory authentication for gateway access, or to create Azure resources on your behalf (for example, to protect VMs managed in Windows Admin Center using Azure Site Recovery), you will need to first register your Windows Admin Center gateway with Azure. You only need to do this once for your Windows Admin Center gateway – the setting is preserved when you update your gateway to a newer version.
In the following Step-by-Step Guide you will connect Windows Admin Center to your Microsoft Azure Subscription.
From here you have to copy the device Code and hit the Link device login ( https://aka.ms/devicelogin )
This will make the connection between Windows Admin Center and your Azure Subscription.
Paste the Code into here and Click on Continue.
Sign in your Azure Subscription.
From here you are connected to your Azure Subscription.
Select the right Azure Tenant and Click on Register.
Go to the Azure AD App Registration link.
Click on Settings
Click on Required Permissions and then on Grant permissions
Click on Yes.
Windows Admin Center has now Permission.
Microsoft Windows Admin Center (WAC) Gateway is now registered to your Azure Subscription and you can use Azure AD Multi-Factor Authentication and Azure Site Recovery to protect your Virtual Machines with WAC.
IMPORTANT : Before you can add Microsoft Azure VM’s to Windows Admin Center, you have to set the Azure Network Firewall portal settings and also the Microsoft Windows OS Firewall of the VM.
Networking Settings of the Azure VM.
Open for http WAC port 5985 and for https 5986.
To make the port more Secure you have these Options in the Firewall rule.
Now you have done this for Azure Networking in the portal, you have to do the same in the Firewall settings of the Virtual Machine Inside.
Cloud and Datacenter Management Blog 