Azure Networking Fundamentals- MVA Course

I just noticed that the Microsoft Virtual Academy has a new course: Azure Networking Fundamentals for IT Pros. It's narrated by Aaron Farnell, and consists of 4 modules comprising of 4 modules taking around 120 minutes (including assessment time).  The MVA rates the technical level as 300 – which is fairly deep but not overly deep!

This MVP course consists of 4 modules:

• Intro to Azure Network Basics and VPN requirements
• Plan and Design your Cloud network infrastructure
• Configuring Azure and On-Premises
• Testing Connectivity and Monitoring

This is a good start to understanding Azure Networking! And like all MVA courses, you can download the MP4s of each module and take then on the road with you.

del.icio.us Tags: Azure,networks,MVA,training

Microsoft PowerShell V3 Course (10961) Announced

Microsoft’s just published details of it’s ‘official’ course on PowerShell V3. This is being written by Don Jones, so it should be a pretty solid course. I look forward to teaching this course, which is meant to go live in May. I don’t know who the TE will be, but I’ve certainly volunteered!

The course looks to be a good beginners look at PowerShell V3. As the Microsoft web site points out, this will be a 200-level look and is not intended to teach much about scripting or programming. For those IT pros who have never seen PowerShell, this looks to be a very good course, although it will be pedestrian and will not be overly technically deep.

I have my own PowerShell V3 material and have been teaching V3 for some months. My material is more condenses, and at a higher level (300-400), and I have more advanced material for those needing more specific PowerShell related skills such as using PowerShell to manage XML and SQL. One (if I do say so myself) awesome aspect of my material is that delegates build their own VM test environment using PowerShell scripts (i.e. ones I started blogging about this week).

I am looking forward to the new course – which should be great fun to deliver as well as being able to challenge delegates with more advanced material as needs be.

As soon as I get the courseware and am able to, I’ll post more about this course.

Technorati Tags: PowerShell training,PowerShell V3 training

PowerShell Weekend PowerCamp–Coming very soon

As many of you know, I’ve long been an advocate of all IT Pros (and devs!) learning more about PowerShell. There are a lot of ways to do this, and one great way is to attend a short (read 2 day at the weekend), jump start events. And as it happens, there’s one coming up soon.

This weekend coming, April 21-22, I’m holding the latest PowerShell PowerCamp, a weekend PowerShell jumpstart training event. We’re holding the event at Microsoft’s London offices in Cardinal Place Victoria from 9:00 till 5:00 – two long days of PowerShell, PowerShell, and more PowerShell.

The details of the agenda remain as I first published them back in January. There’s still a couple of places should you fancy the opportunity to learn more about PowerShell, so if you fancy it, let me know by emailing DoctorDNS@Gmail.Com and I’ll take it from there.

Technorati Tags: PowerShell,training

PowerShell Master Class Returns to Stockholm–March 8-10 2011

I’ve just had confirmation from Lab Center that I’ll be running another Introduction to PowerShell master class event in Stockholm on March 8-10.

Lab Center is one of the best training centres that I’ve had the privilege to work with – and given the great folks I hang out with these days, that’s saying something. The centre is in downtown Stockholm just 10 minutes walk from the central train statin and 2 minutes stroll from the nearest T-Banna station

The agenda for the lab is as follows:

Day 1 – The Basics

• PowerShell Fundamentals – the key elements of PowerShell plus installation, setup, and profiles
• Discovery – finding your way and learning how to discover more
• Formatting – how to format output nicely
• Remoting – working with remote systems
• Providers – getting into OS data stores

Day 2 – Diving Deep in to Scripting

• Scripting Concepts – automating everyday tasks including language constructs, error handling and debugging
• Modules – managing PowerShell in the enterprise
• .NET/WMI/COM Objects – working with objects

Day 3 – Practical PowerShell

• PowerShell and Windows Client/Server – how you can use built in PowerShell cmdlets
• PowerShell in Key Microsoft Servers - a look at PowerShell today in SQL, SCVMM plus a look forward to the future with SharePoint 2010
• Taking it to the Next Level – the stuff we can’t cover in these three days.

 

We’ve got a nearly full class – but there’s always room for on e more. So if you fancy Stockholm in the early spring along with as much PowerShell as your head can handle – book today. I hope to see you there…

Technorati Tags: PowerShell,PowerShell Master Class,PowerShell training,training,Stockholm

First PowerShell PowerCamp A Fantastic Success

Last Saturday (Dec 4th) a group of 29 hearty souls sat down at an absurdly early hour and began to experience the first ever weekend PowerShell PowerCamp. After a short intro from super-star technology writer and consultant Jon Honeyball, I took the floor and spent the rest of the guiding the attendees through PowerShell. I projected slides, did tons of demos, while the attendees typed along on their own laptops. We did take a few minutes out for coffee and lunch, but worked on into the darkness before gathering our senses and meeting for a lovely meal in a local pub. Sunday saw more of the same, with a most excellent presentation of the Managing Hyper-V with PowerShell by superstar ex-Microsoft superstar James O'Neil.

The attendees were from a variety of companies and backgrounds but all shared a desire to learn PowerShell. Unlike some of the folks I see in my general Windows courses, the PowerCamp attendees all see the value in PowerShell and also see the value, to their CVs and careers, of learning PowerShell. It’s clear that for some weekends like this are just the ticket!

Moving forward, I will be running two more PowerShell PowerCamp weekends. The next one is March 26-27 and will be held in York, England. Price and full details will be announced shortly. Watch this space!

Technorati Tags: PowerShell,PowerCamp,weekend,training

PowerShell Training

I’ve been doing quite a lot of PowerShell training of late for organisations big and small. The biggest organisation was Microsoft’s Hotmail team where I ran a week long class over the summer – organisations with that many servers to manage could not function as well with out PowerShell. But despite it having been around for few years, many (most?) IT Pros don’t really know PowerShell – well not yet anyway. Microsoft’s broad adoption of PowerShell has meant a lot of my customers moving over to doing things with PowerShell. This is a good thing – but there’s a lot of resistance that needs to be overcome.

As see it, organisations must acknowledge that PowerShell is here, is part of Microsoft’s Common Engineering Criteria (what every team in MS must do). PowerShell will only become more pervasive. In short, it matters. So it’s time to start learning it and adopting it as an enterprise tool.

While I can talk about PowerShell being a strategic task automation platform, IT Pros need to work with Powershell itself and the product specific cmdlet set(s). And they need to understand how to write scripts – detecting the errors that will happen, dealing with credentials, working with .NET/WMI/COM, etc. There is a bit of a learning curve here, and that’s something Microsoft can work on as they develop PowerShell Version 3 (which would be expected to ship inside the next version of windows in a couple of years).

So how do you learn PowerShell. Well – for those who are motivated there is a plethora of on-line material, ranging from blog posts, twitter references, web tutorials, free e-books, etc, etc, etc. Use your favourite search engine to mine a vast amount of content – most of it pretty good. For those who are self motivated, the internet is a good source of learning material.

If you prefer the structure of a formal class, as I know I do, then you have a number of options. Microsoft has issued two PowerShell official training courses:

• Automating Windows Server 2008 Administration with Windows PowerShell: course 6434. This is a three day introduction to PowerShell V1. It covers the key aspects of Powershell V1 and how to use it to administer Server 2008. This is a good course, but as I wrote parts of it, I am probably a bit biased.
• Automating Administration with Windows PowerShell 2.0, course 10325. This is a 5-day introduction to PowerShell class. I was Technical Reviewer on this – and feel it’s a very good course (provided the instructor really knows PowerShell!). Like 6434, this covers the basics of PowerShell V2 and how to write basic scripts. I am teaching this class in a couple of weeks for Global Knowledge in London – and if you want to attend, contact them – or contact me and I’ll gladly organise you a place!

Microsoft CPLSs also offer another 5-day class, PowerShell for Administrators. This is a 3 day class covering PowerShell V1.

As an alternative: I offer two 3 and 4 -day PowerShell classes: an Introduction to PowerShell class and an Advanced PowerShell Class. I find that, with PowerShell, this is enough time to get someone started. Armed with the knowledge and practice gained during those sessions, delegates begin their journey, and come back in a few months for more advanced topics like XML, database access, error handling, etc.

How you learn PowerShell is really up to you – you have options! So go on – you know it makes sense!

Technorati Tags: PowerShell training,PowerShell MasterClass

More PowerShell Training

It must be the season – but I’ve got another 5-day PowerShell course coming up in December. I’ll be teaching in London from December 13th – December 17th at Global Knowledge’s Baker Street centre. I’ll be running the full 5-day 10325 PowerShell V2 Microsoft official class. Five fun days – with lots of great labs. This is a great course and I’m looking forward to teaching it. If you are interested, contact me and I’ll ensure you get the details and can get booked on the event. And, for the lucky few, I’ll have a few copies of PowerShell Plus to give away. So book early!!

Technorati Tags: PowerShell,V2,training

PowerCamp Weekend PowerShell Session–FULL!

WOW – I know PowerShell is on the minds of a lot of IT Pros, but the reaction to the weekend PowerCamp has been pretty overwhelming. We’re full but are taking names of folks for standby should some of the currently committed folks need to backout. However, we’re looking at some more options.

First, I’m hoping to run some more Weekend PowerShell PowerCamps. I have no committed dates yet, but I’m looking at a date in York late winter and Thames Valley in the spring. As things firm up, I’ll blog them. Where would you most like to spend a weekend – and would you?

Secondly, if you want to really master PowerShell, I am teaching the much longer 5-day Microsoft Class (course 10325) in December. This is longer than the weekend retreats, and has more hands on labs. (and you can more probably pay for the class using SA Vouchers which may help the Enterprise SA folks). The plan is to run this course in London – although the exact location is not yet clear. I’m firming up the location this week and should know by early next week.

Please let me know if you have any interest for any of these PowerShell training sessions!!!

Technorati Tags: PowerShell,training

PowerShell Weekend PowerCamp is Full!

In a blog post last week, I announced a weekend PowerShell PowerCamp event. At the time of writing, we had a few folks interested.  But following Jon’s article in PC Pro and my blog post – the event has generated a huge amount of interest. The original plan was for 10-15 attendees, but demand has exceeded that. The hotel has responded with a a bigger room. So the event is definitely happening and I’ll have a full house! There is a waiting list just in case folks have to drop out – and of course, I’ll be running other, more formal training sessions on PowerShell in the coming months.  And if there is sufficient demand, a further weekend PowerCamp might be a possibility!!

For those who are coming – I look forward to welcoming you on the day and to covering a massive amount of content in just two days. For those NOT coming, you will miss a very interesting and fun event!

Technorati Tags: PowerShell,training,Weekend PowerShell PowerCamp,PowerCamp

Weekend PowerShell Camp Event On The Cards

I’ve been advocating PowerShell to folks far and wide over the years – including evangelising it to my pal Jon Honey ball of PC Pro fame. His problem, like a lot of folks, is that there just is never the time to learn it – plus he knows VBS so that’s good enough, right?  Well, I think I have convinced him that that is the way dinosaurs think and that he really needs to to make the great conversion.

So he’s come up with a wizard idea: a weekend event in, where the dinosaurs and others have a fun time as they come up to speed and finally learn PowerShell. Maybe not EVERYTHING about PowerShell – that would be a pretty tall order for 2 days. But certainly gaining a good comfort factor backed up with lots of resources to help you when you get back home. In other words, a Weekend PowerShell Camp.

The way we’d work it is that I’ll run through the core aspects of PowerShell – and you follow along on your own laptop. I’ll have some exercises you can work through to demonstrate PowerShell’s key features. In preparation, you setup and configure your own laptop - you pick the virtualisation platform and load the VMs yourself. Then, you plug into the wireless and follow along with me. We’ll spend 2 long days drilling into the core of PowerShell and look at what you can do with it. And a nice meal on the Saturday. costs are likely to be around 100GPB for the weekend, including the wireless during the day, coffee/tea all day and lunch in the hotel (you can stay in the hotel overnight should you wish – but you would need to arrange that yourself).  We are planning for the 1st weekend in December at the Marriot in Huntingdon Cambridgeshire. 

As it happens, Jon announced the idea in the December of PC Pro magazine’s Real World Computing section. He has had a number of requests to come along already – with a bit of luck the weekend may already be a sell out.  But if you’ve not registered interest, get in touch with either Jon or myself and we’ll send you the fuller details.

Technorati Tags: PowerShell,training,UK

Microsoft Launches Course 10325–Automating Administration with Windows PowerShell 2.0

Over a year after Microsoft launched Windows PowerShell V2.0, Microsoft Learning has now launched a formal course with the above title.  This is long over due but very welcome.

From Microsoft’s announcement, this “five-day, instructor-led course offers you the knowledge and helps you develop the skills you need to automate administrative tasks using Windows PowerShell® version 2. The course describes core features and capabilities of Windows PowerShell version 2, using Windows Server® 2008 R2 as the example software environment.”

Well that’s the good news. The bad news, again from Microsoft’s formal announcement  “However, this course is not intended to provide comprehensive coverage of either Windows PowerShell version 2 features or Windows Server 2008 R2 features.

This is a good course (I was Technical Reviewer on it), and I will enjoy teaching it. Not only that, but it leaves room in the market for my own PowerShell Master Classes!

As an MCT, I am ready, able and willing to teach this class anywhere in the world. Have passport (and laptop), will travel.

43 Things Tags: Training,PowerShell,PowerShell V2.0

PowerShell Master Classes

I’ve been teaching my PowerShell Master Classes both in Europe and in the US over the past 6 months. After two classes in Stockholm, I taught in the US (teaching Microsoft’s Hotmail Engineering team), and in Copenhagen – plus a one-day session for a client in the City of London. 

There are now two classes – both three days. The PowerShell Basics class covers the basics of PowerShell both from the command line and as a scripting tool. The PowerShell Advanced class looks at more advanced features of PowerShell, particularly its use in the OS, as well as key applications including SQL Server, Exchange 2010, SQL and IIS.

The next runs of the PowerShell Master Classes are:

• September 21 2010 – PowerShell Basics - Stockholm.
• November 17 2010  - PowerShell Basics – New York (details due shortly)
• November 24 – PowerShell Advanced – Stockholm.

I’ll post more details on the agenda for these classes shortly. I am also working on a Weekend 2-day Script Camp – watch this space for more details once we have them finalised.

Technorati Tags: Lab Center,PowerShell,training,PowerShell Master Class

Training and the Cloud

I’ve been having some discussions with a client about the impact of cloud computing on the IT training business, particularly IT Professional training. If you believe the hype, cloud computing will take all the problems of running your IT suite and make it a thing of the past. Thus, you don’t need any more IT Pros and therefore no training. Of course it’s nowhere as simple as that! I’ve been reading an interesting blog piece by Alan Le Marquand titled From Servers to Services: the Role for the IT Pro in the Cloud. It’s provided some good input into the training question.

Alan first makes the point that 'the cloud’ is actually many things. Cloud computing has evolved in to distinct layers, each with their own approaches and IT Pro needs. Le Marquand breaks “the cloud” down into three main layers:

• Software as a Service (SaaS)– here you buy the software hosted by a supplier. For example, an organisation can use one of many hosted Exchange solutions for email. For this layer, the hardware, OS layers and application peices are for the most part gone. so IT Pros no longer need to worry about them. Of course, at the application layer, there is still a need to perform management and provisioning functions such as adding or removing email accounts as employees come and go. And since you are paying for the application, you need to monitor your SLA, possibly differently than today as well as manage your supplier.
• Platform as a Service (PaaS)– here the hardware and OS are provided by a supplier but you provide the application – Microsoft’s Azure is an example of this cloud layer. With PaaS, the OS and hardware are primarily managed by the supplier , but you manage the application that sits on top.This layer still requires IT Pros to handle all the application management functions plus the ability to manage the platform in the cloud. 
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) – here you just get the hardware provided by the supplier and you deal with the OS, application and everything above. To some degree, this is really not much different than from today in terms of the skills that IT Pros need – the key difference being where you put the hardware and how you scale it out (or not!). IT pros still need to know how to deploy the OS and the applications and manage them. Only the scale is different – you still need to patch, troubleshoot etc.

The role that the IT Professional plays in each of these layers differs, in some cases significantly, from today.  And of course, this means training needs differ too. All three layers require you to consider end-user/administration training in how to use and get the most out of the applications. PaaS and IaaS also require you to know how to develop and deploy your application solution. And finally, IaaS requires you to have broadly the same deployment skills as today since most IT Pros start their tasks once the hardware is in place.

The key first step all organisations considering the cloud need  to take is to get a good understanding of how to buy as well as deploy and manage cloud services. Organisations are being led to believe by the suppliers that the Cloud is the answer. That may be the case ultimately, but not all suppliers are equal and not all offerings are the same. So companies need to understand how to go about buying the services and then how to deploy them. For IT Pros, that deployment may be a challenge as there are new issues to consider. Deploying application to hundreds or thousands servers require you to have new automation skills than you might have needed if you just use the GUI to manage one server.

The suppliers of particularly PaaS and IaaS also need to deliver or facilitate training in their offerings. While SQL on Azure may be almost like SQL on your own server, there are differences. Also, deploying and managing larger numbers of servers will require new approaches to the tasks.

For organisations that are considering cloud computing, I’d recommend spending some time to think through just which cloud layers you are considering and the impact those have on your IT staffing. Then you should start to do some training needs analysis. The cloud offers organisations of all sizes some advantages and as Alan poitns out, IT Pros, and hence the training, will certainly adapt to fit the cloud model. But there is still some thinking and planning to be done before leaping off in to cloud-land!

Technorati Tags: Cloud Computing,Training

PowerShell Master Class – More Sessions

I’ve had a gratifying response to my first PowerShell Master Class event. Like all first time runs, you learn some things by running the event.  One of which is that three days is not long enough. So future events are not four days. Not that I neede dto learn it, but the last run shows that, given how vast V2 is,  there is stuff that even with four days, we still can’t cover. So I am planning an advanced seminar for later in the year – watch this space.

In the mean time, we have two more sessions currently planned:

• May 24-27 2010 – Stockholm (book now on http://www.powershellmasterclass.com)
• June 22-24 – Oslo (bookings open soon).

I’m also discussing a further session in Stockholm in September along with a more advanced workshop also in September in Stockholm.

Master Class outline

The class outline is as follows:

Day 1 – The Basics of PowerShell

• PowerShell Fundaments – the key elements of PowerShell including installation, setup, profiles
• Discovery – finding your way and learning how to discover more
• Formatting – how to format output nicely

Day 2 – From the command line to the script

• Remoting – working with remote systems and PowerShell’s remoting feature.
• Providers – getting into OS data stores
• Scripting Concepts – automating everyday tasks including language constructs, error handling and debugging

Day 3 – Practical PowerShell

• Modules – managing PowerShell in the enterprise
• .NET/WMI/COM Objects – working with objects of all kinds, including WMI, COM, .NET and your own custom objectw
• PowerShell and Windows Client/Server – how you can use built in PowerShell cmdlets and providers included with Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2

Day 4 – Applying PowerShell 

• PowerShell in Key Microsoft Servers - a look at PowerShell today in SQL, Exchange, SharePoint 2010, SCVMM/HyperV and CS 2010.
• Taking it to the Next Level – stuff to do later!

Technorati Tags: PowerShell Master Class,PowerShell,training

PowerShell Master Class in Stockholm – Filling Up Quickly!

In a recent blog post, I mentioned the PowerShell Master Class I am running in Stockholm on March 9-11 2010 (see Http://Www.PowerShellMasterClass.Com for more details). I’m pleased to say the class is nearly full! I am looking forward to three great days with PowerShell!

Technorati Tags: PowerShell,PowerShell Master Class,Stockholm,Thomas Lee

Formatting with PowerShell

PowerShell is an increasingly important tool for the IT Admin. In it’s early version, it didn’t do much, but with products like Exchange, SharePoint 2010, and System Centre being so PowerShell focused, it’s a tool every IT Admin needs to learn and learn how to leverage.

A key aspect of PowerShell is output – getting the output you need. In some cases, that output can be quick and dirty: how many mail boxes are currently on Mailbox-Server-1? Or how many handles has the DNS server used (and has that changed since last week).

But often, output needs to look good as well as being accurate. PowerShell has a wealth of formatting capabilities (and with 3rd party tools like PowerGadgets, you have a bunch more).

I’ve written a two part article for The Scripting Guys to explain some of these options. You can find Part 1 at: http://tinyurl.com/yhmvvul, and Part 2 at: http://tinyurl.com/ykt7wq6.

These articles are the basis for one of the modules in my upcoming PowerShell Master Class that I blogged about last week.  I’ve taken Module 3 of the class and turned it into these articles, although I’ll be adding some more stuff into the Master Class!

I’d be grateful for comments!

Technorati Tags: PowerShell,formatting,PowerShell Master Class

OCS R2 Training Materials

Earlier this year, Microsoft released an OCS R2 learning Portal – you can find this at:  http://www.microsoft.com/learning/ocs2007/r2/default.mspx. It contains some training resources for OCS R2. However, the page is both out of date, and is short on links. I have some more details to add to this page:

• As noted, the OCS R2 Resource Kit is available. This is a must have book!  The book is excellent, but it appears rushed and needed a better technical editing. Hopefully that will happen in the next release of the book!
• The Portal discusses the OCS 2007 R2 exam. The exam number is the same exam number as for the RTM exam, although the contents have been updated to reflect the new features in R2. If you have already passed the earlier RTM exam there’s no need to re-sit it. There is also a voice exam,but it’s not listed in the OCS Learning Portal (yet).
• The portal describes the training available for OCS (on a linked page). This page  lists 5177/8/9 (and clinic 6447A) which was RTM courseware (and fairly poor) and should probably be avoided. An updated version of the official courseware, released as CWL course 50214, was released, but the quality was so poor it has been withdrawn until remediation can be completed and properly tested. When this updated course is available, I’ll post here! I am anxious to see the updated courseware. The updated labs look good.
• The portal also lists the OCS Ignite course (50024A), but this material is both RTM only and not being run very often (although I can certainly offer it if clients really want it). A much better course is the OCS 2007 R2 Ignite content – course 50232A. This focuses on the R2 release, although it can be used to teach new to product folks. I teach this a lot and love it – but beware trying to do it in 3 days. With the right instructor, this course can easily fill 4 days and 5 (if the delegates are new to OCS). The labs are great too.
• Finally, the page does not mention the updated Voice Ignite workshop. Voice Ignite for OCS 2007 R2 has bee been created and is available.
• Note that all the courseware discussed here is Courseware Library content, content authored by a 3rd party with MS just acting as a reseller. Quality of CWL material has been variable, but MSL and the UC team are ensuring that all the courseware is good and fit for purpose. So you can book this training with confidence that the material is good.

OCS 2007 R2 is now in the field and customers should start to evaluate it for your organisation. If you have not yet deployed OCS at all, R2 is a natural next step. A new version of OCS, OCS “wave 14’ will be going into beta some time in the new year and is scheduled for release later in 2010 – dates are not yet firm on either the beta or RTM. Once I get more information, I’ll post it here.

OCS is a rich and complex application – if you are planning on deploying it, you could usefully do with some training. But before booking on the course, make sure you get a good trainer – someone who has been working with the product for a while and can explain the product and it’s values and can dive deep into deployment, configuration and support. Investing in some training would be a good thing!

Technorati Tags: OCS R2

Train Signal – Exchange PowerShell Training

Train Signal has released a new course: Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 PowerShell. This course includes 5 hours of video instruction and is delivered on two DVDs.

The course is designed to teach the basic concepts and capabilities of PowerShell. Key topics include:

• Variable Types, Manipulation, and Scope
• Functions and File Manipulation in PowerShell
• Active Directory and Exchange Objects
• Database Creation
• Creation and Automation of Recurring Administrative Tasks
• Creation and Management of Distribution Lists

The cost of this package is US$ 995, although there’s a special limited time  offer price of US$197.

Technorati tags: PowerShell, Training

More on Network Protocol Training

As  I noted earlier this week, NPS were running a Network Protocol webcast. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend my self as I got stuck in traffic and ended up getting to the web cast a few minutes after it ended. But good news – the webcast is available for download. On their web-site, it now clearly states: “Contact us at info@nps-llc.com to view a recorded copy of this webcast.”  So if you missed it, you can get access to see it.

There’s another web cast this week Using Display Filters Effectively and Long Term Captures. It looks to be useful but I know I can’t make it home to watch (what a pesky thing work can be at times!). Being able to get the download will be useful.

Thanks to the NPS guys for this cool training.

Technorati Tags: protocols,network protocols,NPS,webcast,wireshark

Ramp Up – Developer Training From Microsoft

If you are a developer, Microsoft has some new free training. Microsoft explains Rampup as: “free, online, community-based learning program, with a number of different tracks that will help you build your portfolio of professional development skills. Ramp Up has a solid foundation of premium technical content from subject-matter gurus, and provides easy-to-access content in a variety of forms that guide you in learning the important skills. Join Ramp Up (it's free!) and help advance your career”

The current offerings and current web site are clearly a work in progress. The site is a little clunk with the integration between MSDN and MS Learning being less than totally seamless. There’s a lack of discoverability, little integration between this training and the MSDN Library content and the material is not bang up to date. But that’s just work that needs to be done – the free training is still of benefit.

I’ve suggested that the next course to go up on the RampUp site should be PowerShell for developers. We’ll see if MS take me up on this suggestion.

So if you’re a developer, why not head on over to the new Ramp Up site and sign up?

Technorati tags: Rampup, training, Microsoft, PowerShell