by
James Fielding
18. October 2011 19:43
Here is a quick, and oh-so-easy, one-liner to see when you installed a machine’s Operating System:
([WMI]'').ConvertToDateTime((Get-WmiObject Win32_OperatingSystem).InstallDate)
The main part of the command gets the install date:
(Get-WmiObject Win32_OperatingSystem).InstallDate
The problem is, if you just run this command, the result is not so human-friendly:
20090328134854.000000-240
To fix this up, we can apply the ConvertToDate method, which is actually a Common helper method (that has nothing to do with the Win32_Service WMI class). To do this I used /\/\o\/\/’s method of
creating an "Empty" WMI class for this ([WMI]''):
([WMI]'').ConvertToDateTime()
Once we do this, we get a nice, human-friendly result:
March-28-09 1:48:54 PM
Happy OS Dating (…judging by the date on my system, it looks like it is time for a reimage),
James Fielding
Sciosoft Systems is a Canadian web design & development company based in Muskoka,
which is in central Ontario. We provide ASP.NET website & Windows Server application
development services to small and medium-sized business, as well as local government
and not-for-profit groups. If you have a website project you’d like to discuss,
please visit us at www.sciosoft.com.
by
James Fielding
22. April 2010 16:21
As hardware costs drop, and the need to control IT costs increases, we’ve noticed that colocation is becoming a viable option for many small and medium-sized businesses (SMB). Whether you're using a Microsoft or Linux-based system, here’s the bottom line:
Dedicated server(s): You’re renting servers from someone on a server-by-server basis.
With dedicated servers, you pay a premium for not worrying about the hardware: If there are any hardware issues, someone else replaces/fixes it.
Colocation: You’re renting space for your server from someone.
In the case of colocation, you get an allotted amount of physical space in a facility that provides your hardware with power and bandwidth, as well as an ideal environment (e.g. climate control, power supply management, facility security), but what you put in your space is up to you.
What’s Best for You?
Of course, there’s no "one-size-fits-all" answer, but here are some things to consider:
- In general, for short-term projects (less than a year), dedicated servers are cheaper and easier. But if your hosting requirements are more than two years in duration, you’ll likely see significant cost-savings in going with colocation.
- In the past, it used to be that if you needed only one or two servers, and after factoring for Microsoft license costs, you were left with the non-choice choice: You went dedicated. But today, with MS Small Business Server, and Essential Business Server being really cost-effective alternatives for SMB, we’ve seen a dramatic shift. Now, you can run a Small or Essential Business Server offsite using colocation, which is something that many dedicated server providers won't do for you. This has dramatically shifted the landscape for SMBs looking to implement MS server solutions.
- Also, a lot depends on your technical experience and abilities. If you, or a member of your team, is comfortable with computers, then colocation is a reasonable choice. If you know and/or care little about servers, switches, networking, and firewalls, then you may need to factor in the cost of outsourcing this portion of your IT administration.
- Finally, if you want to have physical access to your machine, then colocation is the obvious answer for you. More...
Sciosoft Systems is a Canadian web design & development company based in Muskoka,
which is in central Ontario. We provide ASP.NET website & Windows Server application
development services to small and medium-sized business, as well as local government
and not-for-profit groups. If you have a website project you’d like to discuss,
please visit us at www.sciosoft.com.
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