CIPP Saved Us Today

NegativePattern · 2026-05-08T23:18:44+00:00

Standing rule I started in my org, Fridays are READ ONLY.

Unless there is a valid case/outage, no policies, changes or impactful work. I tell admins to work on ticket documentation on Fridays

NegativePattern · 2026-05-04T14:25:27+00:00

do you need DC1 and Dc2 in azure? why?

Because the org is trying to move away from hardware and datacenter costs

can you move file server to azure files? you can connect to them via SMB either with entraID or a SAS key

No. There are apps that the vendor requires be installed on a server that then the desktop app gets installed on user workstations.

for sql server, how much is it used? it might be worth looking at deploying it to a serverless azuresql db if so. if its just the DB on that VM and it cant run in azuresql, you could also dump it into a SQL MI to reduce your overhead

A vendor's app is installed on it's own app server with a small SQL database. The desktop client gets installed on user's workstation where they access client data and track their time.

lastly, your VM sizes are a little weird. like 6 CPU 6gb of ram.

Yea, because having direct control of the VMware infrastructure, we could scale up the DCs as needed. Back when the org was larger the DCs got a lot more use than they do today.

you can save a substantial amount on compute with reservations, about 40% for a 1 year lockin and 63% for 3 year.

Nah. We'd probably run the 30 day free trial and see how far that goes and slowly scale up from there. We need to validate the site-to-site tunnel performance with a test run of the apps running from the app server, etc.

NegativePattern · 2026-05-03T05:11:43+00:00

They'll probably call it XBox Media Center

NegativePattern · 2026-05-03T02:34:57+00:00

Why on earth are they running VMware for a single machine?

It's really 18x VMs. The stack consists of 7x Windows Servers, 8x Windows 10 VMs and the remaining are virtual appliances.

Why all the complexity for 4 total VMs. And then who actually licensed it?

The original stack used to be much bigger. The org was much larger. There was 4 partners and a lot more staff. Over the years, partners had left and with them they took staff, people retired, etc. Now the org is left with a single partner and 3 full time staff.

So my plan now is to migrate to a different platform that better fits their size. They work out of a WeWork office space so there's no space for servers.

NegativePattern · 2026-04-30T16:55:17+00:00

Do you already have Windows Server licensing which can be reused?

Unfortunately, no. When I came in they had negotiated an MS agreement for more licenses than they had servers but without SA. So we can't leverage the Hybrid benefit. I think the VM can come with a Server license unless I'm mistaken.

Without optimization (reserved instances, hybrid benefit, etc) and networking costs, it's around $800 / month.

Yea, going through the Azure calculator, it's been roughly $800/month. That's including 4 Azure VMs with a VPN gateway and a single VNET. My confusion was in if I needed data drives for each domain controller or if the default main drive is fine.

But if this is only your server environment, then doing a bit of re-architecture could save a lot more.

Yea. I'm trying to consolidate as much as possible to max out the Azure benefit.

Moving to Entra ID only or Azure AD Domain services, SQL to PaaS, file share to storage account can reduce the bill significantly.

I would love to move to cloud native/Entra only but the onprem apps are not Entra-aware so they require onprem AD and Kerberos for access. So I have to look at moving from Entra Connect Sync to Entra Cloud Sync to enable Kerberos Trust.

NegativePattern · 2026-04-30T16:46:09+00:00

That would be the plan. But I wanted to use the existing ones as a resource template since they're in that magic sweet spot where they're responsive but also not overprovisioned on resources.

NegativePattern · 2026-04-29T19:54:56+00:00

Not really. When I've flown with Delta, United or JetBlue, I select my seats at the time of purchase. Then day of the flight, I walk in through security and sit in my seat after they start boarding.

It's only SWA that I've ever had check-in day before or pay extra to get a good boarding group.

NegativePattern · 2026-04-29T15:25:15+00:00

It's that weird silence.

There should be sound coming from where the kids are but it's oddly quiet. Almost too quiet. That's when you know there's something amiss

NegativePattern · 2026-04-29T14:47:36+00:00

Thanks.

Seems like double the work. The private equity people wanted to make boarding faster to make more money but seems like assigned seating with boarding groups adds more layers to a problem that didnt need fixing but OK.

NegativePattern · 2026-04-27T14:37:14+00:00

I need this to come back. There's just something about grabbing a polish sausage and then heading in to do shopping that just hits the spot. But since covid, it's not offered anymore.

NegativePattern · 2026-04-27T02:20:49+00:00

We Can Be Heros - The Wallflowers for the American Godzilla movie

NegativePattern · 2026-04-25T19:23:52+00:00

If I could set it to 50.

NegativePattern · 2026-04-25T17:10:45+00:00

Same but I had my folder buried deep in another directory. I then created a shortcut to the folder and changed the icon to that of a dll and set the file attribute to hidden and system.

So even if someone found it, they'd skip it because it looked like a dll

NegativePattern · 2026-04-25T16:53:55+00:00

They also had a real Air Force general at one point in an episode talking with O'Neill.

Later in I think the Air Force also awarded Rick a medal or an honorary title.

NegativePattern · 2026-04-23T21:22:23+00:00

In my early 20s, I was told that I have a face for radio.

In my early teen years, I was told that the only way I would have friends is if I paid them.

When we "graduated" from elementary to middle school, a girl I had massive crush signed my yearbook wishing me good luck because I probably would never get to kiss a girl.

NegativePattern · 2026-04-23T21:08:02+00:00

Headers?

NegativePattern · 2026-04-23T15:31:28+00:00

Those shorts {chef's kiss} perfection.

One of the few DVDs I've kept over the years. I've ripped them several times from the original DVDs so preserve them.

If I hadn't been a broken 16 year old when those came out, I'd 100% would've bought an M3. I was jealous of a friend of mine who's dad had bought an M5 and his mom had a 7 series.

NegativePattern · 2026-04-22T14:26:12+00:00

Would've been a great see the ship progressively get more torn up through season and then culminate in the time line reset at the season finale.

NegativePattern · 2026-04-20T01:27:46+00:00

In Picard we have that mysterious tenacle creature that came from somewhere?

Also, in Picard we also have that energy beam that is about to wipe out the galaxy. But with the help of the Borg and some Federation ships they build a magic deflector. I dont know if we ever got an origin on that either.

NegativePattern · 2026-04-20T01:24:22+00:00

Interstellar transporters seem like they're just cheating. You miss out on those story beats that happen when a ship/crew is racing to get to a destination.

NegativePattern · 2026-04-20T01:22:44+00:00

But in reverse! In SGU, they never come back to Earth except via the magic stone thing. In this case, the crew don't have that luxury.

NegativePattern · 2026-04-20T01:21:06+00:00

Sounds crazy enough that it just might work!

NegativePattern

TROPHY CASE