I have a hypothesis that I want to put out there. I intend to explore it more soon.. this may have been attempted and disproven, but if not…
Quantum entangling an H2O molecule in a cavity vacuum with an H20 molecule exposed to criteria creating sonoluminescence will result in extended observation and potential energy suspension / capture.
I have not provided any updates lately, primarily due to work and study. However… there have been some significant changes that I am excited to share!
Let’s start with continuous learning. The last post about this included me obtaining my CompTIA Security+. Since then I have obtained the following certifications
I also completed four (4) university courses for good measure.
Lastly, and possibly more importantly? I started a new job at Microsoft! Which I’m incredibly grateful for.. and to be honest.. it still doesn’t feel real. This journey is just starting but I am looking forward to making a rapid impact. These past few weeks have been challenging and have introduced a change of pace – like all things new and different… we must adapt!
Totally looking forward to the future, this summer especially. COVID-19 is starting to flatten out a bit.. hoping to be vaccinated soon so that the thought of it can dissipate.
dreams come true..take life day by day.
Joe
About three months ago, Nym the DoD acronym chatbot, was brought into the world and I’ve been receiving a lot of great feedback.
For those of you who don’t know what CVR is, it’s a temporary commercial instance of Microsoft Teams, that has been stood up for DoD in response to COVID-19.
If you have a CVR account today, give Nym a try — ask it about a DoD specific acronym. Currently, the database contains around 5,000 terms.
This is a great example of how crowdsourcing can empower people to improve operational readiness, even in simple ways such as acronyms and doctrine.
I’m really proud to see this bot I made a few months ago being used and I hope to see it live on with more improvements (more on that soon).
Just a brief entry, for those who are following. Over the weekend I passed my Security+ exam. Also completed a degree course in the same day. I’m making progress towards ticking that box. Looking forward to the day that I can say I’ve wrapped up that era.
I always joke around and say having that piece of paper is like having a suit of armor in the workforce. Thereby equating my situation to that of a Spartan. While I don’t have the armor I have the skills. Lol. Though, soon I’ll have the armor too.
To quote the late great, Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.”
Well, it has been a while since I’ve posted… but I wanted to make a quick update for those of you following along.
Since my last update, I’ve obtained my Microsoft Certified Azure Administrator certification, and started a new job back in July. Oh and I relocated to the D.C. Metro area as well.
Whats the purpose of tonights post? To convey the importance of doubling down on your strengths and severing your weaknesses. I say this because doing so has been the cornerstone of my career. When I was young and naive, my goal was to be the “do-it-all” guy; you know… the jack of all trades type? This is something I say is worth doing early on in your career, while you try and figure out what you’re into.
However, once you have discovered what floats your boat, it’s time to really, and I mean REALLY double down on those interests. Not only because it’s the most efficient use of your time and energy… but also because… IT PAYS BETTER. Yup.. I said it.
it. pays. better.
Being a subject matter expert in a particular field, even if it is niche, will bring you home more bacon. Additionally it will make you happier. You won’t feel like you’re a n00b anymore, and as time goes on — people will come to you in their time of need; Looking for your hard earned expertise! With that said, I’m not saying disengage from your surroundings; On the contrary, it is important that you stay sharp and aware of trends in your industry so that you can apply and adapt that knowledge to your ever evolving skillset.
Thats the thing about your strengths, they stay the same, even as the technology changes — if you like building stuff, if you like coding, if you like breaking stuff and fixing it again — whatever it is… follow that itch!
Until next time~
J
When it comes to working in IT Operations or Development (software engineering), you have to learn and relearn CONSTANTLY. Recently in the news I saw how tech jobs rarely require a degree, and it’s for good reason. When you walk over and snatch that diploma out of your proctors hands, you’re already obsolete — or at least figuratively speaking.
The same goes for guys like myself whom are certified. While some of them may never expire, and others have a 3 year shelf life — the fact of the matter is; in the era of the Cloud… it’s obsolete within months. These facts are why I insist that pursuing a job in tech must be journey you love. Getting into tech can’t be driven entirely by pay (I do AGREE pay is certainly a motivating factor), but one must innately be drawn to the field through intrinsic means.
Most of the folks I work with or have previously worked with were big into PC gaming, electronics, building stuff, tinkering with things, etc. If this doesn’t sound like you, then I hate to tell you… you’re going to burn out faster than a match from your favorite pub.
It’s a labor of love. You’ve got to want to learn it not because you’re told or expected to, but because you’re curious and want to get in on it. Anybody can do something for a little while, but its that consistency, that grit that gets the job done. If you don’t love it, it’s not impossible… but it’ll be hard. The people who love it around you will get be getting certified and learning the bleeding edge stuff just because they feel like it, while those who don’t will find it a daunting task.
AZ-100 here I come.
To quote a colleague of mine:
“Be one with PowerShell”.
This statement holds near and dear to me.
Learning PowerShell has been a life changing skill, one which has paid many dividends. Having an understanding of PowerShell enables you to work with almost all of Microsoft’s services / products… and more importantly, understanding PowerShell lets you learn about a product quickly… it allows you to address problems at scale, on the spot, and get things done with relative ease.
There is practically a cmdlet for everything in the m365/o365 suite (except for intune, last time I checked). Therefore, understanding how to use get-help and Microsoft docs lets you administer things like Exchange Online, Skype for Business, SharePoint Online, and AzureAD with relative ease.
Product knowledge is without a doubt of great importance, understanding the fundamentals and principals behind the technology you’re administering is certainly helpful. Knowing where to look, though, is king. In the age of the cloud, where everything is fluid and changing — it’s not entirely about what you know at any given moment… rather… the value comes from what you can potentially know, how fast you find it, how quickly you can learn it and what skills you have to ACT on the findings.
PowerShell is the backbone of enablement, onboarding and administration.
Having been with one of most decorated Microsoft partners in the U.S. for nearly 3 years now, I’ve impacted some of the largest customers in the world. Having played a critical role on multiple projects has provided me insight into the things I’ve stated above. That is to say.. PowerShell is truly the great equalizer. Know it well. Know its inner workings and the world is yours.
This entry is mostly to provide myself and others a place to find links to content and training for Azure Architecture and Administration.
This list will grow and be updated. As of now, this is the list of online resources I have stumbled upon as I begin my journey towards obtaining the Azure Solutions Architect Expert certification.
As with all things, hands on experience and utilizing labs regularly is crucial to passing any Microsoft Exam.
Azure Code Samples:
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/resources/samples/?sort=0
Official Azure Documentation:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/
Microsoft Learn:
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/learn/browse/?roles=solution-architect&products=azure
Azure Citadel – Labs and Workshops
https://azurecitadel.com/
Azure Hands on Labs
https://www.microsoft.com/handsonlabs/selfpacedlabs
Official Microsoft Azure YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/user/windowsazure
Official Microsoft Developer YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsMica-v34Irf9KVTh6xx-g
Download the Azure SDK’s for .NET, PowerShell, CLI and other languages
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/downloads/
Official Github Repository for PowerShell Scripts
https://github.com/Azure/azure-powershell
Azure REST API Browser
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/rest/api/?view=Azure
A common bad practice when it comes to migrating mailboxes, is to set the badItem limit to 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 etc, and keep incrementing until Resume-MoveRequest finally works. When you do this, you’re blindly accepting large data loss, without knowing exactly what kind of items are corrupt or the total amount beforehand.
Here is a simple way of determining the total number of corrupt / bad items a mailbox move request has encountered, and exactly what type/kind the bad items are. In order to utilize this guide, you will need to connect to Exchange Online PowerShell if you’re moving the mailbox to o365, or use the on premises Exchange Management Console if you migrating on premises.
Before we start I will provide you with a basic summary of what we’re doing to accomplish this task. We are going going to take the MoveRequestStatistics of the mailbox and export that data to XML. Doing this supplies us with a number of details that are not prevalent within the standard -IncludReport switch. Once we have exported the data to XML, we will import it back into powershell and store it in a variable, which we will access using dot notation.
Step 1. Connect to Exchange Online Powershell OR open Exchange Management Console.
Step 2. Export the MoveRequestStatistics Report to XML:
Get-MoveRequestStatistics -Identity user@contoso.com -IncludeReport | Export-CliXML C:\Location\of\YourChoice\FileNameGoesHere.xml
Step 3. Import the XML data and store it in a variable:
$BadItems = Import-CliXML C:\Location\of\YourChoice\FileNameGoesHere.xml
Step 4. Review the total number of items and the kind of items that are corrupt:
$BadItems.report.baditems.count
##(this is to get the total count)
$badItems.report.baditems.kind (this is to view the kinds of bad items)
**Bonus**
BadItems.report.baditems | Out-GridView
##(This will open a GUI explorer to review all of the bad items and their kinds.
Before we go on to step 5, I would like you to understand a few types of acceptable bad data… that would be Security Descriptors and Calendar Properties. Those tend to be the most common. Be careful not to accept actual corrupt items. Once you have determined the kinds of items are within scope of acceptable data loss.. move on to step 5.
Step 5. Increase the bad item limit to the total number you retrieved for the cmdlets above:
Set-MoveRequest -Identity user@contoso.com -BadItemLimit 25
Step 6. Resume the move request (or set -CompleteAfter switch to $null, depending on your scenario)
Resume-MoveRequest -Identity user@contoso.com
OR
Set-MoveRequest -identity user@contoso.com -CompleteAfter:$null
Scenario:
A Hybrid Exchange Environment is in place and you are having problems migrating a mailbox from Exchange Online (Office 365 Email) back to Exchange on premises.
Symptoms:
When you attempt to off board the user, the move request takes an unusual amount of time to validate. Once it finally validates, the move request is generated but the request gets stuck at 0% and shows a StatusDetail of “RequestExpiryCleanup”.
Things You’ve Already Tried:
You have attempted to remove the move request and have created a new off boarding request a few times. However, the problem still persists.
Solution:
Do a targetless move request from within Exchange Online. This will move the mailbox into a different database within Exchange Online. Here’s how:
1. Connect to Exchange Online PowerShell
2. Remove the problematic move request and migration user:
Remove-MigrationUser -Identity stuckuser@contoso.com
Remove-MoveRequest -Identity stuckuser@contoso.com
3. Perform the targetless move request (move the mailbox to a new DB in EXO)
New-MoveRequest -Identity stuckuser@contoso.com
4. Monitor the move request, until completion:
Get-MoveRequestStatistics -Identity stuckuser@contoso.com
Once the new move request finishes, go back into the Exchange Admin Center via the O365 portal (or use PowerShell) and generate a new off boarding request.
Hope this helps!
josephbenfante.com 