Minikube is a lightweight local Kubernetes engine for macOS, Linux, and Windows. You can use Minikube as a test bed, or if you are new to Kubernetes, explore how to configure and deploy pods. In this post, I will explain how to install Minikube on Ubuntu 22.04, and I will teach you how to take your first steps with Kubernetes.

The post Install Minikube to get started with Kubernetes first appeared on 4sysops.

Many organizations are migrating their on-premises email to Microsoft 365. One of the necessary steps is synchronizing your local directory with Azure Active Directory. The IdFix tool from Microsoft is meant to help correct issues before synchronizing your directory.

The post Prepare AD synchronization with Azure Active Directory using IdFix first appeared on 4sysops.

If you haven't yet begun using the PowerToys tools for Windows 10 and 11 to accelerate your workflows as a Windows system administrator, you should. Let Tim show you how and why.

The post PowerToys for Windows 10 and Windows 11 first appeared on 4sysops.

Microsoft last updated its security baseline for Edge browser 107, but it is still valid for the current versions. It contains the manufacturer's recommended group policy settings to increase security. However, none of the most recent policies are included in the list.

The post Recommended security settings and new group policies for Microsoft Edge (from 107 on) first appeared on 4sysops.

The integrated backup feature in Proxmox VE allows you to perform a backup of selected or all VMs at once. Unlike snapshots, backups are independent copies of original data that can be stored either locally or remotely so that you can recover from almost any kind of failure.

The post Backup in Proxmox VE first appeared on 4sysops.

The snapshot feature is available on every virtualization platform—whether you use Proxmox, Hyper-V, VMware or other virtualization tool. A snapshot enables you to preserve the state of a virtual machine, including virtual memory, virtual disks, and settings. Proxmox VE allows you to create live snapshots of the VM so that you can roll back to the point in time when something went wrong.

The post Snapshots in Proxmox VE first appeared on 4sysops.

Microsoft offers several options for storing the recovery key when activating BitLocker. Traditionally, you could print it out or save it to a file. The Microsoft account has also been available for this purpose for some time now. From there, it can be read on almost any device from anywhere.

The post Save and access the BitLocker recovery key in the Microsoft account first appeared on 4sysops.

Applications such as CCleaner and other utilities have been popular for years as a quick and easy way for users to scan for and clear out temporary files, caches, logs, and other files to boost performance. Microsoft has released a new utility called PC Manager, which provides interesting features, including performance and security apps, in one location for Windows 10 and 11 PCs.

The post Manage Windows security and optimization features with Microsoft’s free PC Manager first appeared on 4sysops.

Microsoft Azure offers a variety of backup and disaster recovery solutions. Let Tim iron out some common confusions about these entities and services: Azure Recovery Services vault, Azure Site Recovery, Azure Backup, and Azure Backup vault. In addition, you will learn important concepts for working with the Azure Recovery Services vault: Azure region dependency, content portability, and deletion workflow.

The post Azure Recovery Services vault: Ironing out the confusion first appeared on 4sysops.

Most users work with several apps at the same time. In the past, they had to reopen apps manually after a startup. Since Windows 10, the operating system has automated this task, albeit in an inconsistent manner. And there is only limited central management for this feature.

The post Reopen apps after Windows startup first appeared on 4sysops.

A little-known extension helps to increase the security of Windows Authentication to prevent credential relay or "man in the middle" attacks in Exchange Server and Internet Information Server (IIS). Microsoft is using Windows Extended Protection with modern security updates to enhance the built-in authentication capabilities found in Windows Server.

The post IIS and Exchange Server security with Windows Extended Protection (WEP) first appeared on 4sysops.

Learn how Visual Studio Code (VSCode) implements regular expressions (regex) to help you perform your complex pattern-matching duties more effectively. In addition, I will introduce a few useful regex extensions to VSCode.

The post Regex in VSCode first appeared on 4sysops.

Let's look at the general steps required to remove an old Windows certificate authority without affecting previously issued certificates.

The post Remove an old Windows certificate authority first appeared on 4sysops.

In my previous post, you learned how to get started with Proxmox VE as an alternative to VMware and Hyper-V. In that post, I covered how to run your first Linux VM in Proxmox. Today, I will show you how to create a Windows VM in Proxmox. This may sound like a straightforward task, but there are certain settings in Proxmox VE that are worth checking out to make sure you get better performance in Windows. If you install Windows with the default Proxmox settings, you will likely experience poor performance.

The post Create a Windows VM in Proxmox VE first appeared on 4sysops.

The Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager 2211 production version was released on December 6, 2022, in the early update ring. In this post, we will go through the new features in version 2211, followed by a step-by-step guide to upgrade the Configuration Manager.

The post Configuration Manager upgrade: New features and installation first appeared on 4sysops.

Learn how to assess and migrate your on-prem SQL Server databases to Azure SQL Database by using Microsoft's Data Migration Assistant and Azure Migrate products.

The post Migrate a SQL Server Database to Azure SQL Database first appeared on 4sysops.

Many people use VMware Workstation to set up lab environments. The first step in getting vSphere 8 with a vSphere cluster running is to install the vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA). Let's see how we can deploy vCenter Server 8 in VMware Workstation.

The post Install vCenter 8 in VMware Workstation first appeared on 4sysops.

In a previous post, we discussed how to quickly unlock AD accounts with PowerShell. However, the main problem admins tend to face is identifying the source computer or service that is causing the account to lock out in the first place.

The post Find the source of AD account lockouts first appeared on 4sysops.

Learn how the AI-powered GitHub Copilot pair programming engine can accelerate your Windows administration work by providing intelligent suggestions while you type.

The post GitHub Copilot for the Windows systems administrator first appeared on 4sysops.