Evaluate

Evaluate

Weigh the pros and cons of technologies, products and projects you are considering.

• Learn storage techniques for managing unstructured data use

  Rearchitect storage to maximize unstructured data use at the global scale for larger data sets coming from big data analytics and other applications. Continue Reading

• A multi-cloud strategy provides more options and headaches

  The days of the cloud as a single, homogenous entity are long gone. Going forward, you'll likely have a multi-cloud storage strategy and work with multiple service providers. Continue Reading

• Big data network analytics: The next big thing

  Networking managers are trying to keep track of an ever-increasing number of moving pieces. To do so, they are turning to a new class of big data network analytics that applies machine learning and artificial intelligence to help improve performance... Continue Reading

• Network data analytics must work alongside human ingenuity

  Network data analytics offer a key tool in the arsenal of monitoring and understanding network behavior. But network professionals can't forget another crucial element -- themselves. Continue Reading

• Network analytics tools deepen with machine learning and AI

  Network analytics tools that utilize machine learning and AI can help IT pros with monitoring and performance evaluation, and provide business insight. But a holistic view of the network using analytics is still on the horizon. Continue Reading

• SaltStack Enterprise GUI features outreach Salt Open territory

  For enterprise IT shops that require a mix of reports on systems, and audit compliance, SaltStack Enterprise offers more than the pure open source version of Salt.Continue Reading

• Buy the right APM software with these key features in mind

  Compare and evaluate what notable vendors in the APM market offer in terms of monitoring, reporting and analysis capabilities, as well as emerging AI functionalities.Continue Reading

• Improvements and features of the new POE standard, IEEE 802.3bt

  The new IEEE 802.3bt standard focuses on Power over Ethernet to improve efficiency and support the proliferation of edge devices, from lighting systems to point-of-sale.Continue Reading

• Igneous Systems CEO: Data protection market transforming

  Igneous is seeking to take hold of a market that's 'up for grabs.' The vendor's Hybrid Storage Cloud provides backup and archive of unstructured data, as well as data management.Continue Reading

• Don't quit your day job to build smart-home applications

  Plenty of effort goes into the creation of Alexa skills and Google actions, but the market for those smart-home apps has yet to fully materialize for developers.Continue Reading

• Azure Migrate aims to attract VMware workloads to the cloud

  A new Azure service removes a lot of the guesswork for IT teams that want to move VMs to Microsoft's public cloud. But will a lack of early support from VMware hurt its appeal?Continue Reading

• Examine CORD architecture's benefits and challenges

  CORD architecture offers service providers a compelling way to combine open hardware and software in the central office, boost service delivery and enable NFV capabilities.Continue Reading

• The on-premises vs. cloud-managed WLAN architecture debate

  Although on-premises WLANs and cloud WLANs both offer significant advantages, determining which approach will provide the best return depends on several factors.Continue Reading

• Make the most of the hyper-converged cloud

  Hyper-converged infrastructures are similar to public cloud platforms in the way they use virtualization of resources. That makes them obvious partners in an IT architecture.Continue Reading

• Organizations don't have to pick private or public cloud

  Organizations don't necessarily have to decide between using a public or private cloud. For some companies, the answer is both. For others, it's neither.Continue Reading

• How Amazon Transcribe opens the door for speech recognition

  Amazon's audio transcription service, Transcribe, has caught developers' eyes for a number of reasons, but make sure its early limitations don't land you in trouble.Continue Reading

• Salary snapshot: Which city has the highest DevOps pay scale?

  Salary data from Glassdoor shows DevOps experience continues to give paychecks a substantial advantage over other developer roles. If you want to make the most money, move to San Francisco.Continue Reading

• With more providers, security issues in cloud computing rise

  We hear a lot about the pros and cons of a multi-cloud strategy, but a surprising number of organizations don't think they need to worry about it. They do.Continue Reading

• Build a data lake in AWS for analytics success

  It can feel overwhelming to migrate data to AWS for analysis. But, while there are challenges, Quick Start guides and services like Snowball and Glue ease the process.Continue Reading

• Simplify multi-cloud management with two abstraction models

  To streamline management and reduce complexity in a multi-cloud model, enterprises can turn to two abstraction techniques: resource and orchestration.Continue Reading

• Are hyper-converged infrastructure appliances my only HCI option?

  Preconfigured hyper-converged appliances aren't your only option anymore. Software-only and build-your-own hyper-converged infrastructure have unique pros and cons.Continue Reading

• Hyper-converged computing and VDI fit together well ... mostly

  The flexibility and ease of use of hyper-convergence fit the needs of VDI, but you should also consider other benefits and drawbacks of HCI in a VDI platform.Continue Reading

• Build the Kubernetes home lab that's right for your job

  Kubernetes and the growing number of commercial container management tools based on it require specialized skills and experience from the application to the infrastructure.Continue Reading

• The hyper-converged network becoming more common in HCI

  Virtualizing the network in a hyper-converged system has been the toughest part, but there are products on the market that achieve some of that function.Continue Reading

• BPM in cloud evolves to suit line of business, IoT

  While on-premises BPM tools have caused a tug of war between lines of business and IT, the cloud helps appease both sides. Here's what to expect from this cloud BPM trend and more.Continue Reading

• Casemore: Cloud, as-a-service honing networking industry trends

  Cloud and as-a-service delivery are bringing new urgency to networking. IDC analyst Brad Casemore cites the key networking industry trends worth watching in 2018.Continue Reading

• Now data center interconnect lets traffic ride the cloud

  SD-WAN and cloud data center interconnect options are becoming more common as a supplement or replacement for the traditional WAN. Should you to consider either, or both?Continue Reading

• Management tools emerge from VMware-AWS partnership

  VMware provides a series of tools, including Discovery, Cost Insight and Wavefront, to lighten the multi-cloud management burden for VMware Cloud on AWS customers.Continue Reading

• 5G service lifecycle automation may be key to business cases

  Network operators need a 5G service lifecycle automation roadmap that leads to revenue-producing business cases to make the evolution to 5G worth the investment.Continue Reading

• Digital transformation process includes the network

  The digital transformation process puts pressure on the network to support new technology. Network pros need to be transformative, too, adapting new skills to interact with business.Continue Reading

• Converged secondary storage for data protection carries risk

  Using converged infrastructure for the secondary storage in your data protection plan can be valuable, but you need to weigh the benefits and drawbacks before choosing that path.Continue Reading

• The future of SDN in 2018 moves toward increased automation

  Future SDN trends could show variations of the technology becoming more prominent among enterprises, as organizations look increasingly toward programmability and automation.Continue Reading

• Which is better for WLAN support: Mac or Windows?

  Choosing the right laptop for WLAN support usually boils down to Macintosh versus Windows. But of the two, there is only one OS clearly up to the task, our expert maintains.Continue Reading

• Hyper-V Manager update in Windows Server 2016 replete with features

  Microsoft developed several improvements to Hyper-V Manager in Windows Server 2016. These new Hyper-V features improve VM management with added security and flexibility options.Continue Reading

• Human error still poses a significant cloud security risk

  Even with the most sophisticated cloud security tools in play, human error -- both from end users and IT teams -- can open up your enterprise to numerous kinds of attacks.Continue Reading

• How AWS Lambda functions and API Gateway aid modernization

  Some organizations avoid modernization because of changes that need to be made to servers. But using AWS Lambda with API Gateway offers a way to modernize without the provisioning.Continue Reading

• Automated continuous deployment tools produce successful code

  Continuous deployment skips the operations oversight step in software production. So, automated tools must ensure code success in administrators' stead -- before mistakes go live.Continue Reading

• Predictive IT analytics improves distributed application monitoring

  Data analysis on app performance isn't an instantaneous process, but it's worth the wait given the time it will save IT admins in problem-solving in the future.Continue Reading

• A comparison of leading application delivery controllers

  You can simplify the process of buying an ADC device by examining how leading vendors address key considerations, including platform options, security and server load balancing.Continue Reading

• Where do mobile users fit in with SD-WAN as a service?

  SD-WAN as a service can act as a bridge between mobile users who want to access business apps on the go and network managers who want to manage and secure those users.Continue Reading

• How Amazon Comprehend works for basic text analysis

  Amazon's text analysis service, Comprehend, parses documents for key phrases, sentiment and more. But there are volume and input limitations to mind.Continue Reading

• What exactly is a digital business transformation strategy?

  What do you need for a digital business transformation strategy that will actually work to boost business value and change the enterprise operations model?Continue Reading

• Hybrid storage array vendors offer simplicity, ease of use

  Although hybrid arrays are similar in functionality from one system to another, subtle differences in features can make one array more appropriate for a given application.Continue Reading

• Match your hyper-converged hardware pick with your workload

  Overall workload demands and growth projections, not just user applications, should be top of mind when you choose among the hardware options in hyper-converged appliances.Continue Reading

• Collect and analyze performance data with APM software

  Admins must ensure that their applications are performing as expected. APM tools provide the necessary functions to discover and address possibly critical performance issues.Continue Reading

• Want to be the best at DevOps? You need a DevOps bot

  A DevOps bot with access to all business, technical and customer profile information would make software development and deployment a breeze. Expert Torsten Volk introduces DOBO.Continue Reading

• The benefits of machine learning in network management

  Enterprises and vendors alike are now undertaking machine learning deployment strategies. What are the benefits of machine learning in networking related to analysis and management tools?Continue Reading

• Ten lessons for enterprises deploying containers

  The majority of medium to large enterprises surveyed by EMA foresee containers replacing VMs in two to five years. Unsurprisingly, container management and shadow containers are pressing concerns.Continue Reading

• Alibaba Cloud services become strong IaaS contender

  Alibaba continues to gain traction in the IaaS market, and despite not having the same breadth of services as some of its rivals, it could lure some smaller shops away from AWS.Continue Reading

• Network subscription packages gain steam among enterprises

  Networking suppliers are increasingly offering network subscription packages, as enterprises have become more familiar with paying for services with monthly subscriptions.Continue Reading

• Ten ways to protect intellectual property and trade secrets

  Industrial espionage is on the rise, and more data means more risk. Find out how to control the growth of data stores and secure your organization's most valuable assets.Continue Reading

• Primary storage optimization overcomes a range of challenges

  Enterprises turn to different products, technologies and tools to optimize primary storage, overcome data storage challenges and make networked storage deployments more efficient.Continue Reading

• NVMe SSDs: Is there a need for all this speed?

  Everything you should know to decide if nonvolatile memory express is right for your enterprise and, if it is, how to plan for the future of flash storage.Continue Reading

• The danger of ageism in the tech industry and ignoring the past

  Monolithic storage rules the day in spite of the advent of software-defined storage, because vendors and enterprises ignore data storage history and discount experience.Continue Reading

• The future of flash storage: Is NVMe right for your enterprise?

  Cracks in the SAS and SATA protocols started to appear with the rise of SSDs and the exponential performance improvements they delivered over HDD technology. This led to the development of the nonvolatile memory express protocol to exploit flash's ...Continue Reading

• Is demand for data storage or supply driving increased storage?

  Figuring out whether we're storing more data than ever because we're producing more data or because constantly evolving storage technology lets us store more of it isn't easy.Continue Reading

• Embrace IT digital transformation and the new tech landscape

  The digital economy is increasingly defining business, and IT's relationship to business and the bottom line is becoming tied together more tightly.Continue Reading

• Why operations metrics and telemetry matter in DevOps too

  The earlier developers think about what operations pros need, the tighter the feedback loop will become. Expert Theresa Neate explains how metrics are key to shifting ops left.Continue Reading

• SDN marketplace sows confusion on network infrastructure upgrades

  The ever-evolving SDN marketplace continues to confuse IT departments as they determine what steps they should take with their network infrastructure upgrades.Continue Reading

• Can you choose the right tools to manage Azure resources?

  Azure continues to evolve its tool set to simplify cloud monitoring and management for admins. Take this brief quiz to see how much you know about these tools' capabilities.Continue Reading

• Quiz: Test your knowledge on how SD-WAN works

  With SD-WAN deployment on the rise, take the time to test your knowledge about how SD-WAN works. This quiz covers SD-WAN technology basics, benefits of SD-WAN and common myths.Continue Reading

• What to know about container management tools

  Containerization isn't simple. Implementing a management tool that fits your strategy can make the difference between success and failure.Continue Reading

• Ceph vs. Swift: Two object storage systems for different needs

  Some cloud object storage experts think that Ceph is better than Swift, but that isn't true. The fact is that both options can work, but your workload needs matter.Continue Reading

• Keep DevOps operations relevant in the age of code

  The operations role isn't going away in DevOps, but it is going to change -- in some cases, dramatically. Expert Matthew Heusser explains what you need to do to be prepared.Continue Reading

• Use an IT incident management system to enable automation

  IT admins and gurus can't tackle every issue every hour of the day -- let alone predict them first. A dynamic combination of monitoring and incident management makes for better admins.Continue Reading

• Integrate DevOps and containers with simple tool adjustments

  Organizations with an established DevOps pipeline can migrate from VMs to containers without tossing out the entire toolstack. Focus on these steps to enable containers in production.Continue Reading

• Cloud computing with VMware evolves with products, partnerships

  VMware has stepped away from what originally made it successful to face the cloud future. Partnerships and acquisitions situate cloud computing with VMware as a competitive option.Continue Reading

• How to smartly manage APIs through their full lifecycle

  Even the most useful and well-designed APIs need to be managed. With the right tool, you can keep the upper hand on the API lifecycle from start to finish.Continue Reading

• Why use new lifecycle tools in API management platforms?

  Explore how full-lifecycle API management platforms can bring discipline and maturity to enterprise API strategies and end snags in API workflows, versioning, retirement and QA.Continue Reading

• Millimeter wave spectrum has key role in 802.11ay wireless

  IEEE 802.11ay Wi-Fi is getting closer to final ratification. The new standard relies on millimeter wave spectrum to deliver stronger and more robust services.Continue Reading

• IBM roadmap of cloud, AI-enabled IT drives Think conference

  IT operations must absorb automation, AI, machine learning and cloud trends, which result in a more data-driven, predictive and responsive department -- if everything goes right.Continue Reading

• Optimize serverless apps with real-time troubleshooting

  Serverless computing demands a new way of thinking to successfully troubleshoot apps. Carefully define error states, and maintain logs to pinpoint and solve performance issues.Continue Reading

• VMware Cloud on AWS pricing vs. running EC2 instances on AWS

  In this cost comparison of VMware Cloud on AWS vs. AWS EC2 instances, expert Brien Posey breaks down the pricing of each option and discusses additional purchasing considerations.Continue Reading

• Windows Server 2016 hyper-converged options are here

  The latest edition of Windows Server from Microsoft includes options for implementing a hyper-converged infrastructure in a Microsoft-only IT operation.Continue Reading

• Dropbox is likely an outlier with its successful cloud data migration off AWS

  Dropbox's move off AWS was a windfall for the company, but most traditional corporations shouldn't bank on similar success. The file hosting company saved nearly $75 million in infrastructure costs ...Continue Reading

• 5G architecture plus NFV, SDN offers performance gains

  The intersection of 5G architecture and virtualization technologies like NFV and SDN could result in better network performance, but it will take time to get there.Continue Reading

• How do IoT sensors intersect with SD-WAN?

  Most traditional WANs can't handle the increasing number of IoT sensors -- and the data they collect. But SD-WAN can help improve IoT performance and analysis.Continue Reading

• Can container tools box out configuration management?

  What will happen to your infrastructure programming skills when containers take over?Continue Reading

• Look beyond public cloud giants for the right PaaS offering

  While the leading public cloud vendors remain a popular choice for PaaS, there are other offerings, ranging from Heroku to Engine Yard, that might be worth a closer look.Continue Reading

• Explore the revert-to-snapshot feature in OpenStack Cinder

  OpenStack Cinder has added a revert-to-snapshot function, enabling enterprises to recover from corrupted data sets. However, if the feature falls into the wrong hands, risks arise.Continue Reading

• Considerations for buying an application delivery controller

  Before you buy an ADC device, learn which features you should look for and what questions you should ask prospective application delivery controller vendors.Continue Reading

• Impact Awards honor the best cloud and data center tools

  Each year, the Modern Infrastructure Impact Awards program salutes the data center tools and cloud management technologies that stand out from the crowd. The winners are the products that prove particularly useful and draw raves from users. These ...Continue Reading

• What's our future if we don't secure IoT devices?

  When everything from the coffee maker to the manufacturing plant's robots to the electric grid is connected, shouldn't security be IT's primary concern?Continue Reading

• Rely on the DevOps methodology to avoid disaster

  DevOps concepts rely on both developers and operations to uphold the stability of applications in production. One side can't do it alone.Continue Reading

• Five reasons to consider data warehouse as a service

  DWaaS offers benefits that are unmatched by on-premises counterparts, including improved agility and cost-effective big data storage.Continue Reading

• Multi-cloud management still a work in progress for IT teams

  Multi-cloud deployments are a mixed bag, providing both business value and complex management challenges. Fortunately, a number of third-party management tools can help.Continue Reading

• Data center and cloud computing products that make an impact

  The Modern Infrastructure Impact Awards recognize the best IT infrastructure and cloud computing products in seven categories, from cloud to DevOps to converged infrastructure.Continue Reading

• Bare-metal cloud services lure legacy workloads off premises

  For some enterprises, bare-metal services in the cloud act as a crucial steppingstone to an IaaS deployment, and providers, including IBM, Oracle and AWS, have taken notice.Continue Reading

• Virtualization trends in 2018 signal edge technology disruption

  New technologies build on virtualization and threaten disruption. Virtualization administrators must familiarize themselves with what's coming and plan their careers accordingly.Continue Reading

• SD-WAN vs. MPLS: The quality-of-service comparison

  Quality of service is often top of mind for IT leaders when debating SD-WAN vs. MPLS -- especially when it comes to using internet links for SD-WAN connectivity.Continue Reading

• Nutanix Acropolis hypervisor components and capabilities

  Nutanix hypervisor components, including controller VMs, and Prism, its management control plane, help simplify management. Learn more about how these components work together.Continue Reading

• Virtualization layer is HCI's secret sauce

  Knowing how virtualization software turns separate hardware components into pools of shared resources will help you plan and manage an HCI implementation.Continue Reading

• Software-defined storage benefits to sway SDS holdouts

  Software-defined storage is often misunderstood, yet the technology offers some advantages over traditional storage systems for many organizations.Continue Reading

• What developers must know about supervised machine learning

  Humans play a vital role in training an ML/AI system. Expert Torsten Volk explains what software developers need to understand about machine learning education.Continue Reading

• DNS challenges have changed, but its vital role hasn't

  Developments like IPv6 and the internet of things are throwing obstacles into DNS operations. But this 'directory assistance of the internet' retains its vital role.Continue Reading

• DNS functions remain vital, but must adapt as demands shift

  The domain name system's tasks are simple, but essential, and the service faces challenges with the proliferation of devices that operate within IPv6 networks.Continue Reading

• How IPv6 networks create DNS configuration problems

  DNS data is among the most basic and crucial information required for network connectivity, but configuring DNS recursive servers in IPv6-only networks can pose challenges.Continue Reading

• OK of 400 Gigabit Ethernet adds horsepower to data centers

  Final approval of the 400 Gigabit Ethernet standard will provide data centers and cloud providers with the extra capacity they need to meet ever-rising data demands.Continue Reading

• How to blend the advantages of cloud computing with containers

  Containers and cloud sound like a perfect match. But how well does containerization help boost application portability? And will the effort be worth it?Continue Reading

• Prepare for hybrid cloud implementation with these key steps

  As enterprises mix public and private IT resources, they grapple with app workflows, network connections and more. Here are four ways to alleviate common hybrid cloud challenges.Continue Reading