I have been using Pester and integrated it with my dxExchange.WebServices module following HDD/TDD practices. I have wanted to start incorporating Pester testing into cloud configuration validation and management for some time, but never really got around to it. A couple of weeks ago, I participated in a Network DevOps course facilitated by Nick Russo … Continue reading Pester for Infrastructure Validation
I have begun preparations for the (ISC)2 CCSP (Certified Cloud Security Professional) examination. This would become my second (ISC)2 certification, supplementing my current CISSP and further reinforcing my knowledge as it relates to both the “cloud” and security. I will be reviewing one of the introductory concepts covered in the material relating to the cost/benefits … Continue reading Cost Benefits to Embrace the Cloud
I was just listening to episode 10 of the Office 365 Exposed podcast with Tony Redmond and Paul Robichaux. Tony was reviewing some of the conversation in his somewhat recent blog post, Why the PowerShell Module for Teams is Critically Flawed. We have seen some of the the issues outlined before, particularly with the means … Continue reading Microsoft Teams PowerShell Module and Insight into the Disappointment
During Microsoft Ignite 2017, Microsoft was promoting the #DeathToPasswords hash tag rather aggressively and socializing the problems that exist with passwords. Many of the highlights focus on the ineffectiveness of passwords, policies, and updated guidelines from NIST. One very interesting session involved a demo showing a Password Spray tool. Password Spraying is a nuanced means … Continue reading The Time for MFA is NOW
I had a rather meager set of legacy public folders that I was tasked to migrate to Exchange Online, with the single database weighing in at under 5GB. What was peculiar was the large number of folders and the percentage that were mail-enabled. The first set up challenges were cleaning up the folder names and … Continue reading The Tale of the Stubborn Public Folders
I have been reading a couple of Cal Newport's books recently, So Good They Can't Ignore You and Deep Work. These have been very popular in the self-improvement and productivity space over the past few years and I can definitely see why as there are many good concepts that can be used to sharpen the … Continue reading The “Any Benefit” Approach to the Cloud
Last week, released xAzureAD.DirectorySetting without a lot of thought. Over the weekend, I was thinking that it would be great to make it a bit more extensible and work with all of the various types of templates available. So, I now have the latest release, xAzureAD.DirectorySetting v0.2. Changes First, I changed the name of the … Continue reading xAzureAD.DirectorySetting v0.2 Released
In my previous post, Getting Started with Office 365 Groups, I outlined many of the steps necessary for controlling the creation of Office 365 Groups. I initially realized that this process is cumbersome but had it reinforced when I walked someone through it recently. So, I have a new module: xAzureAD.DirectorySetting. It provides a single function: … Continue reading Controlling Office 365 Groups Creation
On first day of Microsoft Ignite 2017, Microsoft announced the broad release of Exchange 2019 in H2 of 2018. The TAP program is open for application. This definitely answers some questions for us, like "Will Exchange Server 2016 be the last on-premises version?" Microsoft has little interest in ending Exchange on-premises for the foreseeable future; … Continue reading What Exchange 2019 Means for Exchange 2003
UPDATE: I have created a module to make the process more streamlined. The post has a link. Office 365 (O365) Groups have existed for a while now and have began to reach a level of maturity that supports broader usage. In addition, many newer features in O365 depend on O365 Groups. What are Office 365 … Continue reading Getting Started with Office 365 Groups
Dustin Dortch 