Getting docker running on Ubuntu on Windows is pretty simple. After installing the Docker Windows engine and restarting, run this in a bash session to bind the two together:

export DOCKER_HOST=tcp://0.0.0.0:2375

Pop this into your .bashrc and never think about it again.

Scenario

A file share that a group in your business is dependent on is running out of space. As usual, they have no idea why they’re running out of space, but they need you, the sysadmin, to fix it, and they need it done yesterday.

This has been really easy for Linux admins for a long time now: Do this

du -h / | sort -nr

and delete folders or files from folders at the top that look like they want to be deleted.

Windows admins haven’t been so lucky…at least those that wanted to do it on the command-line (which is becoming increasingly important as Microsoft focuses more on promoting Windows Server Core and PowerShell). `

In Powershell, a typical, run-of-the-mill pipeline looks something like this:

Get-ChlidItem ~ | ?{$_.LastWriteTime -lt $(Get-Date 1/1/2015)} | Format-List -Auto

but really looks like this when written in .NET (C# in this example):

Your servers are useless, and you should sell them.

Many businesses small and large buy servers for many wrong reasons. Some businesses want a server for an application they wrote. Some others want to keep their data “private.” Others still want servers for “better speed.” All of these reasons are wrong. There are only three reasons that I can think of that justify the purchase of physical servers (feel free to list more in the comments!):

1. A regulator your business is beholden to requires it,
2. Your app really does need that kind of performance (read on to find out if this is you), and
3. You have a strong passion for burning money.