Test Lab Notebook

A Rant.. Microsoft’s Own software and SQL Server Permissions: A Security Concern That is a real nuisance for DBAs Introduction: How many times have you heard the phrase “Microsoft best practice”? For many DBAs, it often rings hollow. We’re used to developers requesting sysadmin permissions to sidestep issues, sometimes out of laziness or convenience, but the real challenge often comes not just from our own developers or COTS packages, but from Microsoft’s own products. Microsoft’s installers frequently request sysadmin rights during setup — even if only temporarily. While this might seem necessary for some installations, it raises serious security concerns. Once granted, these permissions can lead to changes that DBAs may not fully understand or be able to track. This post explores why Microsoft’s approach conflicts with the security principles it advocates and why it’s a major challenge for database administrators. The Challenge: Sysadmin Permissions During Installation Many Microsoft...

Exporting the RADV Router VM as OVA and Vagrant Box for Fast Deployment# Continuing the Lab Build Process With the RADV Router now up and running, we’re continuing the lab build process by exporting the virtual machine as both an OVA and a Vagrant box. In our previous post, we stopped the OVA creation process, but now it’s time to complete it and ensure a repeatable deployment for the rest of the lab environment. This VM serves as the foundation for the entire lab, so getting it into a reusable format is crucial. Why Export the VM as an OVA? One of the main reasons I wanted to export the RADV Router VM as an OVA (Open Virtual Appliance) was to show how versatile and portable it can be. By converting the VM to an OVA, I make it much easier to move the machine across different platforms. It can be used not just in VirtualBox, but also in other hypervisors like VMware, Hyper-V, or even cloud environments. The OVA format is a great way to package a virtual machine because it includes ...