Microsoft Ignite 2019: Day 4

November 7, 2019

I just got back from Universal Studios where the annual Ignite Celebration party was held. It was my first time going to the park, and it was a real blast! I'm a little sad that we only have one more day of Ignite, but it has been so much fun so far.

Migrating to Server 2019

I began my day with a session by Rick Claus on migrating to Windows Server 2019. The session was primarily directed at administrators still running Server 2008 R2 in their environment (which we thankfully have migrated away from already), but it was very helpful information about migrating servers in general since we most likely will be moving to Server 2019 in our next big migration. The details about migrating domain controllers and maintaining the same IP address were great, but I was particularly impressed by the Storage Migration Services feature in Windows Admin Center that automates the process of moving file shares and the NetBIOS name from the old file server to the new one. Microsoft has really done a fantastic job with Windows Admin Center, and I'm really excited to see them continue to add new features to it.

Microsoft Mechanics

I spent the most of the day attending the Microsoft Mechanics sessions in The Hub. These are 20-minute live-streamed sessions on various topics. The ones I attended covered SQL Server 2019, Windows Admin Center, Microsoft 365, and Project Cortex. What I enjoyed the most about these sessions was that they were mostly live demos, so I got to see each of the products in action.

Microsoft Showcase

I spent some more time in the Microsoft Showcase speaking with some engineers about more questions I had related to Windows Server. I also got to play air hockey against Microsoft AI which was pretty fun. The "robot" has cameras to see the puck, and this allows it to move and block your shots. Here's a video of me playing against it. Unfortunately, I did not hold the camera up high enough during the recording, but you can catch better glimpses of the AI's puck towards the end.

Universal Studios Florida & Island of Adventure

Universal Studios was a great way to cap off a busy day of learning at Microsoft Ignite.The park was open exclusively to us, and all the games and concessions were free as part of our admission. My favorite rides at the park were the Incredible Hulk, Transformers, and the Camp Jurassic (not really a "ride," but an elaborate cave and wooden bridge obstacle course that makes you feel like you're on Isla Nublar. I also got to meet some more fellow IT pros on the bus and in the ride lines which was great! Here's some additional photos from the park below. This was an excellent choice by Microsoft for a celebration party venue, and I hope they will continue to do this each year!

Wrap-Up

This has been a fantastic week so far, and I'm a little sad that it's coming to an end now. Tomorrow, I'm most interested in attending the Windows Subsystem for Linux session to see how Microsoft is progressing with integrating Linux into Windows 10. Stay tuned for my final update from Microsoft Ignite tomorrow!