Routing from a single public IP with Azure Firewall

April 23, 2019 Graeme Vermeulen 0

In Microsoft Azure, routing to the internet works slightly differently than it would on-premises. When you build a machine out of a catalogue, all you can choose is the subnet that it goes into. The networking is handled from the Azure portal, and when you connect onto that VM and browse the internet, you might notice you get a different IP each time / from each VM. Note: You get a lot more granularity with extra options if you build via PowerShell, however most admins will probably build it from the browser. Once the VM is built, you can make its IP address static as well as change the DNS servers. This would be the case if you wanted to […]

How VMware Certifications changed my life

December 30, 2018 Graeme Vermeulen 1

Manny’s latest post really hit home for me, so I thought I would write one describing how VMware certification changed my life too!  I remember standing in New York at the end of 2013 looking at a poster in the subway, thinking “man, that’s the future”. It was a VMware poster, and although I had worked with VMware all that year (and a little bit in 2012), that’s when it really hit me. I was in the US for a 6-week project, delivering thousands of desktops (with the help of good ol’ SCCM) for a FTSE 100 company. With me, a fellow consultant and a project manager. It was one of the best projects of my life – despite being […]

Deploying Server 2012 R2 desktops through VMware Horizon View

August 24, 2018 Graeme Vermeulen 0

There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to desktop virtualisation, as I’m sure many will tell you. One of the ways you can drastically simplify things is by using VMware’s desktop virtualisation product, Horizon View. Some might say that it’s more complex than its competitors, however if you’re already using VMware products and are familiar with vSphere, is there really any other choice? Licencing TLDR; Even if you’re using PCoIP or Blast, you will still need to buy RDS CALs (here’s their licencing FAQ). It’s a real grey area, because in the brief it states you only need RDS CALs if you’re using RDS roles – in this case, we aren’t, but it still needs to be […]

Do IT people have to worry about AI taking their jobs?

July 14, 2017 Graeme Vermeulen 0

I’d like to preface this post by saying that it’s simply my own opinion, based on my own experience. I could be right, I could be wrong. I genuinely don’t think humans have anything to worry about. I’m not talking about mass automation of factories (a lot of which are already human-less), I’m talking about skilled professions that usually require training and a some form of certificate from a regulating body to participate in. Let’s touch on a few key industries, there are too many to cover all of them. AI has been in my life since as far back as I can remember. I’ve always played video games and in these games always encountered AI opponents. They can mimic […]

My CompTIA Cloud SME experience

April 24, 2017 Graeme Vermeulen 2

Well it’s been just over 2 weeks since I got back from Chicago where I was with CompTIA at their worldwide headquarters. As a long-time exam-taker, I’ve sat a lot of exams. You see, when you choose a career in IT, the learning never stops. It’s not really comparable to any other profession (well, you’re probably always learning, but not to the point where if you stop learning you risk becoming redundant!) in this regard. I mean just look around you and you’ll see how far the world has come technologically. Technology advances so quickly that Apple feels they need to release a new iPhone every 6 months, and other companies are busy testing driverless cars in California. There are rumours everywhere […]

HPE TSS, Cannes 2017 – Day 1 and 2

February 15, 2017 Graeme Vermeulen 0

I’ve had the privilege of being invited to the Tech Summit run by HPE. The venue this year – Cannes. It’s the same venue that the film festivals run from, so naturally, a lot of local speakers have expressed humility and gratitude to be standing on such a prestigious stage – the Grand Auditorium here at Palais des Festivals et des Congrès de Cannes. I’m here with my colleague, Rich Dunthorne. Rich runs the presales function at AN and is well known for his ability to get his hands dirty when necessary – some might say he even enjoys it! Well firstly, the security at this gig is tight. It definitely feels like we’re celebrities being herded around wearing badges […]

Why I gave up attempting the VCDX

January 14, 2017 Graeme Vermeulen 2

Note: I’d like to preface this post by stating that I have utmost respect for any individual who’s achieved VCDX-level certification or is in the process of doing so. I wrote this post here a while ago on why I will become a VCDX, and why it’s worth it.  I feel that I need to write this post out, if anything, for myself so that I can finally move on from the VCDX and not feel so guilty about dropping it! I’ve been working in the background on a design to submit, despite having a very busy life with my fair share of issues to deal with, all the while still doing my usual day job of consulting. I’ve really found that […]

Why Choose Colocation?

October 20, 2016 Graeme Vermeulen 0

Colocation is awesome. For those of you that don’t know what it is exactly, let me explain it quickly. Colocation means running your company-owned hardware off-premise, usually in a datacentre. You rent space in the datacentre in the form of racks or “rack units” which is encapsulated in a monthly fee. Why choose colocation? Convenience – No matter how big your company is, running servers and hardware on-premise is expensive. You’ll need a dedicated room which should have – actually NEEDS – reliable power supply, air-conditioning and redundant internet links coming in from the outside world. Not to mention the room needs to be physically secure to prevent hackers from being able to physically access or steal the hardware, and […]