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• AWS re:Invent 2018 predictions emphasize Lambda, containers

  Expanded serverless offerings, as well as new instance types and IoT services, are set to emerge from AWS re:Invent 2018, according to these predictions. Continue Reading

• How do you find Hyper-V nodes with PowerShell?

  Manage Hyper-V clusters more easily with PowerShell cmdlets and scripts that automate the retrieval and display of node information, including node statuses. Continue Reading

• How do last-mile connections work for SD-WAN deployments?

  SD-WAN technology plays well with existing last-mile connections, and it allows enterprises to use more than one type of transport link. But beware of provider sprawl. Continue Reading

• Here's what it takes to become a cloud automation engineer

  A cloud automation engineer is a challenging role for any IT professional because of the varied requirements. Find out what education, experience and skill sets you need to get the job. Continue Reading

• Use this Microsoft deployment tool for easier setups

  It's not new, but the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit tends to be overlooked when administrators need a way to set up Windows in an automated fashion. See why MDT is worth using. Continue Reading

• Definitions to Get Started

  • What is an API (application programming interface)?
  • What is a SAN? Ultimate storage area network guide
  • What is a data retention policy?
  • What is multi-access edge computing? Benefits and use cases

  • What is 5G?
  • What is 6G? Overview of 6G networks & technology
  • phase-locked loop (PLL)
  • What is millimeter wave (mmWave)?

  View All Definitions

• Monad Manifesto

  The Monad Manifesto is a document written by Jeffrey Snover in 2002 that outlined his idea for a new Windows systems administration tool named Monad, which was changed to Windows PowerShell.Continue Reading

• AWS Fargate

  AWS Fargate is a service that enables a user to run containers on Amazon's cloud computing platform without the need to manage the underlying infrastructure.Continue Reading

• Test your predictive storage analytics know-how

  As one of the major data storage trends of 2018, predictive analytics isn't a subject to overlook. See how well you understand predictive analytics and what it can do for you.Continue Reading

• Words to go: AWS business productivity apps

  AWS may be best known for IaaS, but the provider also offers SaaS apps to enhance business productivity. That said, they likely won't check off every box for enterprise users.Continue Reading

• Choose the right workloads for serverless platforms in cloud

  Serverless might be the next big thing in cloud, but that doesn't mean it's a fit for all enterprise workloads. See if your requirements align with these common use cases.Continue Reading

• How Amazon Cognito fits into AWS security best practices

  In this chapter excerpt from AWS: Security Best Practices on AWS, author Albert Anthony highlights how Amazon Cognito plays a role in application development on the AWS cloud.Continue Reading

• How blockchain data storage may revolutionize the enterprise

  Blockchain for data storage promises to bring added trust, reliability and security to storage, but is it ready to become a mainstream technology? Experts offer their views.Continue Reading

• What is the status of VNF deployments among service providers?

  Although service providers are undertaking VNF deployments in the network core, they're hard-pressed to deploy them at the network edge due to complexity and cost.Continue Reading

• Recommended QA conferences for software testers of all stripes

  Testing, QA and development conferences host a breadth of experts and helpful peers. From one-day vendor events to weeklong national shows, there's an option to fit your needs.Continue Reading

• Research advances data center liquid cooling tech

  You might want to investigate alternatives to water and fans to keep your data center cool. Still, there are costs and environmental concerns facing researchers and IT administrators.Continue Reading

• Can you ace this quiz on cloud computing privacy issues?

  Consumers and enterprises are increasingly concerned about data privacy -- with good reason -- and cloud computing introduces a host of new challenges. How well do you know them?Continue Reading

• Which NVMe fabric will win out?

  Are you wondering how NVMe over fabrics will shake out? Expect RDMA to take the early lead, but storage pros will continue their love affair with Fibre Channel.Continue Reading

• PowerShell Core 6.1 offers many small improvements

  New PowerShell Core functionality includes the addition of Windows PowerShell 5.1 modules, making this version worth a closer look for administrators.Continue Reading

• How to choose between serverless and containerized microservices

  Explore the intricacies of serverless microservices and container microservices to discover which development requirements are crucial to your ultimate decision.Continue Reading

• An introduction to containers and orchestration for IT admins

  Given containers' radical effect on provisioning, resource planning and portability, an IT team's container education should begin well before the first one spins up on a host OS.Continue Reading

• Bring AI to the edge with AWS Greengrass ML Inference

  Learn the basics of machine learning inference with AWS Greengrass and how it can help train models and increase data value with real-time insights.Continue Reading

• Why do admins need both powershell.exe and pwsh.exe?

  While the PowerShell development team wants IT to move on to the newer PowerShell version, the powershell.exe executable will remain to avoid breaking changes.Continue Reading

• Pick up stateless software precepts for modern app design

  Change and state are complex interrelated concepts that shape how an application performs its tasks. Learn the meaning of state, mutability and change as they relate to app design.Continue Reading

• DNA data storage developments demonstrate serious potential

  As futuristic as it may sound, writing to DNA-based data storage is well on its way to becoming a possibility. Mainstream use may be a ways away, but development has been steady.Continue Reading

• How to use PowerShell JEA for task delegation

  System administrators don't have to do every mundane task themselves anymore with help from Just Enough Administration. Get started with these instructions using PowerShell.Continue Reading

• Top AWS re:Invent 2018 sessions to pencil in for Vegas

  Unsure which re:Invent 2018 sessions to attend? Check out this day-by-day guide for suggestions and options on a range of AWS topics, including migration, security and costs.Continue Reading

• 5 basic SOA principles that still apply to microservices

  Microservices often replace SOA, but these two architecture styles are still similar. Here are five basic SOA principles that never went away.Continue Reading

• NVMe fabric options include Fibre Channel, RDMA

  Planning NVMe over fabrics? Then get to know all about the Fibre Channel and RDMA fabric options to decide which of the two approaches fits your network best.Continue Reading

• Can this Active Directory quiz stump you?

  How much do you know about Active Directory? Find out with this Active Directory quiz on the service's basics, structure and capabilities.Continue Reading

• Does DevOps for operations mean learning how to code?

  What do operations folks need to know before they dive into DevOps? Automation is the key to a responsive environment, and users are your guiding light.Continue Reading

• What VM automation tools are available?

  There are many different VM automation tools available -- some of them part of much wider product and feature suites. Determine which features you need and find the tool that works.Continue Reading

• What are the most common virtualization automation mistakes?

  Avoid automation issues by coordinating with the wider organization to ensure employees know how to provision resources and remain aware of evolving business needs and policies.Continue Reading

• What are the primary use cases for VM deployment automation?

  Automate the deployment of VMs to meet the demand for resources while ensuring each VM remains properly configured and follows lifecycle and governance policies.Continue Reading

• How do you optimize a virtual database server?

  Avoid virtual database performance hiccups by incorporating monitoring and alerting tools. Stay abreast of any issues and head them off before users encounter them.Continue Reading

• Make your pitch for chaos engineering practices

  Is your QA team ready for chaos engineering? Find out how to prep staff for resilience engineering and why you should avoid that 'chaotic' name altogether.Continue Reading

• How do you virtualize database servers?

  Virtualizing database servers has consolidation and efficiency benefits, but you must carefully choose which databases to virtualize and which tools to virtualize with.Continue Reading

• Map out a smooth migration to Azure Resource Manager

  As the classic Azure portal becomes outmoded, enterprises need to migrate to ARM -- but the change doesn't always come easy. Follow these steps to ensure a smooth move.Continue Reading

• Make IT infrastructure documentation a regular task

  Even though documenting IT processes might not be at the top of an admin's to-do list, they should not let it fall by the wayside. Learn documentation best practices here.Continue Reading

• Getting started with AWS Tools for PowerShell

  Want to make a move from on-premises systems? The AWS Tools for PowerShell module builds on your knowledge of handling Windows machines and carries it into the Amazon cloud.Continue Reading

• Yes, a true private cloud can now be built

  Forget everything you've heard about private cloud storage and start over with a true set of building blocks designed to let you create a public cloud-like infrastructure.Continue Reading

• Time-sensitive networking standards could boost industrial control

  With the help of VLAN priority levels, time-sensitive networking can make packet flow more predictable. The technology could especially benefit the factory floor.Continue Reading

• Understand how Docker works in the VM-based IT world

  With advantages for microservices architectures, disaster recovery and utilization density, among other areas, containers should step out from virtual machines' shadow.Continue Reading

• Top 7 system administrator interview questions and answers

  To land any IT job, you need to master the interview. Here are seven questions to expect in your next sysadmin interview and how to ace the answers.Continue Reading

• CAIQ (Consensus Assessments Initiative Questionnaire)

  The Consensus Assessments Initiative Questionnaire (CAIQ) is a survey provided by the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) for cloud consumers and auditors to assess the security capabilities of a cloud service provider.Continue Reading

• The first 5 steps to build a private cloud infrastructure

  To implement a private cloud, IT teams must start at the beginning -- and define what a cloud strategy will mean, exactly, to their organization -- before they proceed.Continue Reading

• AWS Single Sign-On (AWS SSO)

  AWS Single Sign-On (AWS SSO) is a service from Amazon Web Services that enables IT to manage user access to multiple applications and AWS accounts from a single, centralized console.Continue Reading

• For AI on AWS, it all starts with experimentation

  For enterprises, the term artificial intelligence comes with a lot of baggage. Start from scratch with these expert tips to get your Amazon AI project off the ground.Continue Reading

• Cloud-based predictive analytics seeing wider adoption

  A predictive analytics tool can give your storage strategy a boost by addressing storage issues before they even occur. What should you look for in a predictive analytics product?Continue Reading

• Use AWS DeepLens to develop AI skills

  The DeepLens service partners well with other AWS offerings and opens the door for numerous user- and customer-facing applications. Get started with the deep learning technology.Continue Reading

• Grasp container basics to plan enterprise adoption

  To transition from virtualization that mimics hardware to a new level of portable, isolated workloads, absorb key tenets of containers and where container deployment differs from VMs and cloud instances.Continue Reading

• Access vCenter MOB and enable advanced troubleshooting

  The vCenter mobile object browser provides a vast amount of information. Follow these steps to make it navigable and useful for some of the most difficult troubleshooting cases.Continue Reading

• How to drive an effective DevOps for business approach

  Don't adopt DevOps for the sake of operational and development efficiency. Do DevOps because it yields business gains. In fact, what you should be doing is BizDevOps.Continue Reading

• Understand business logic to fortify microservices design

  Before software teams introduce microservices, they must take a critical look at the business logic that frames their architecture because, as contexts change, so does the logic.Continue Reading

• Does software-defined networking architecture use segment routing?

  Segment routing steers packets using a list of instructions, and it can be used in MPLS and IPv6 architecture. But does software-defined networking architecture support it?Continue Reading

• 5 tips for making flash-based SSDs work with unstructured data

  Using flash storage effectively for unstructured data requires upfront analysis of cost, capacity and performance, as well as continued tracking of a rapidly changing flash market.Continue Reading

• How to manage distributed apps built on microservices

  Distributed applications can clearly benefit from the architectural benefits of microservices, but that has traditionally come with certain drawbacks. Discover how it's become easier to manage distributed applications built on microservices due to ...Continue Reading

• Words to go: QA testing methodologies

  Do bottom-up and top-down testing throw you for a loop? In the dark about the difference between black box and functional testing? Print out this handy cheat sheet of testing terms.Continue Reading

• Use nested virtualization to run a container in a VM

  IT administrators should familiarize themselves with the benefits and limitations of using nested virtualization to run containers in VMs before implementation.Continue Reading

• How do I begin network infrastructure planning for SD-WAN?

  When gearing up for SD-WAN upgrades, enterprises should take their time with network infrastructure planning. These three steps can help get them started.Continue Reading

• Use VMware vSphere templates to manage VMs at scale

  VM templates in vSphere enable IT administrators to manage large environments by rapidly deploying fully configured VMs using the content library interface.Continue Reading

• Can I use server automation for remote management?

  Depending on your server management workflow, you might want to consider automation and orchestration. Before going forward, you should figure out what scripts are necessary.Continue Reading

• BPM development goes beyond low-code with AI, RPA

  BPM vendors are enhancing their low-code process development tool sets with AI and robotic process automation.Continue Reading

• Consider storage backup devices for your data protection strategy

  A secondary storage device could be an important element of your data protection platform. Analyze accessibility, speed, scalability and cost before jumping in.Continue Reading

• Avoid these VMware host profile mistakes

  VMware host profiles make it easy to deploy new hosts -- but it's also easy to make mistakes. Before you create a host profile, check this list of common errors.Continue Reading

• Explore the Cubic congestion control provider for Windows

  Microsoft made Cubic the default congestion control provider for Windows 10 and plans to do the same for Windows Server 2019. Learn what this means for your organization.Continue Reading

• Discovery functions, FIPS compliance increase DCIM security

  Data center infrastructure management is one way to track security patches and unauthorized hardware access. There are a few features you can use to increase security.Continue Reading

• With NVMe-oF, who needs rack-scale PCIe?

  NVMe over networks is winning out as the best way to offer shared, flash-based storage systems, with Dell EMC, NetApp, Pure Storage, Western Digital and startups in the game.Continue Reading

• Cloud-to-cloud migration tools offer comprehensive services

  In a multi-cloud environment, data migration can take on a new set of complications. Luckily, there are a number of technologies available aimed at cloud-to-cloud data migrations.Continue Reading

• Data center admins gain the benefits of microservices

  Microservices bring perks to data center infrastructures, especially when it comes to long-term maintenance. But admins need to properly evaluate it before implementation.Continue Reading

• What is multi-access edge computing, and how has it evolved?

  Multi-access edge computing provides the processing capacity needed to support the increase of 'things' at the network edge. But for all its promise, MEC has challenges to face.Continue Reading

• Adopt the Git version control system for configuration as code

  Configuration files define infrastructure as code, which enables IT admins to control updates and enforce standardization. Start using a version control system to codify configurations with just a handful of commands.Continue Reading

• VMware finds its way in cloud cost management tools market

  VMware is one of the numerous companies providing tools that help organizations manage cloud costs. Though the demand is real, the market and the tools require more maturity.Continue Reading

• The future of composable infrastructure and virtualization

  Composable infrastructures -- frameworks of compute, storage and network resource services -- will still make use of virtualization to run applications.Continue Reading

• NVMe over FC is happening, and it's time to prepare

  The extent to which the recently published FC-NVMe standard lowers performance latencies in Fibre Channel SANs will be interesting to watch in the coming months.Continue Reading

• How does AD DS differ from Microsoft Azure Active Directory?

  On-premises Active Directory or Azure AD? It doesn't have to be an either/or situation, as more cloud services are making their way into traditional data center environments.Continue Reading

• Definition of hyper-converged infrastructure evolves, as do products

  Defining hyper-convergence can be a challenge. Focus instead on learning about hyper-converged infrastructure product options and how they fit your data center and cloud plans.Continue Reading

• Rev up IT with continuous delivery and DevOps

  IT operations is on the software team with continuous delivery, continuous deployment and DevOps. Done right, the collaboration in tools and culture produces better software faster than previous methodologies.Continue Reading

• Design a hybrid IT infrastructure with a strategic framework

  Hybrid IT demands that IT managers and teams use frameworks, best practices and governance structures to ensure the success of on-premises and cloud deployments.Continue Reading

• The developer's crash course to the application network

  Developers, we get it; you don't want to deal with the network. But hear us out, as a basic understanding of subnets, VPNs and IP addresses boost app stability and performance.Continue Reading

• Learn the tricks for using Microsoft Teams with Exchange

  As Microsoft Teams gains prominence for business collaboration, administrators should investigate the integration options with their Exchange Online or on-premises Exchange setup.Continue Reading

• Accelerate API dev with documentation-driven development

  A missing cloud API doesn't mean all work needs to stop. Engineering and development teams can work with a mock API server until the real API is production-ready.Continue Reading

• Dig into Azure Kubernetes Service networking options

  Enterprises that choose the wrong AKS networking option could face poor performance and higher costs. Evaluate the advantages and limitations of each option before you rush in.Continue Reading

• What are the top software testing methodologies?

  Whether you want to discover new software testing methodologies or rejuvenate test cases, QA is all about efficiency. Evaluate these testing techniques and strategies to meet QA goals.Continue Reading

• Hire a software testing team that fits your startup culture

  Albeit strapped for cash and time, software startups need testers as much as large companies. Advocate for a testing team, and find candidates who will excel in a startup culture.Continue Reading

• Azure management groups ease policy enforcement

  It isn't easy to manage Azure subscriptions, but with management groups, admins can now simplify policy enforcement on a larger scale.Continue Reading

• Create a backup image in 7 easy steps

  Learn how to generate an image-based backup using our step-by-step instructions. Just remember to perform this activity in a test system to avoid wiping out source data.Continue Reading

• Assess VMC on AWS benefits against possible tradeoffs

  AWS provides the types of benefits many VMware -- and Amazon -- users want, despite some tradeoffs for those more accustomed to vSphere on premises.Continue Reading

• Get into DevOps with cross-functional skills and culture

  There's no well-traveled path to a DevOps career. But it's not rocket science. Learn how to explain DevOps and master skills, such as CI/CD, and you'll be on your way.Continue Reading

• Key steps to destroy an SSD and protect your data

  Donating a used SSD may seem like a nice thing to do, but not if you want to keep your data secure. SSD disposal and recycling are more complicated than you might think.Continue Reading

• Write your first Google Cloud Function with these three tips

  To build a serverless function, many developers require a shift in mindset. Use these three tips to create a cost-effective and high-performing function in Google Cloud Platform.Continue Reading

• Getting started with Linux containers

  Linux-based containers allow you to run applications in the data center without modifying OSes. If you're not sure how to get started, options such as Docker and CoreOS can help.Continue Reading

• Big data processing could be the way all data is processed

  Some organizations take their time with new technologies to let first adopters suffer the growing pains. But there's no treading water in the big data stream; the current won't wait.Continue Reading

• Benefits of infrastructure as code range from speed to scaling

  Provisioning large numbers of servers takes time. One of infrastructure as code's benefits is that once you declare a desired state, code maintains that environment with ease.Continue Reading

• Microservices development will fail with monolithic mindset

  Enterprises that build microservices with traditional development tools and practices can run into problems in configuration and dependency management.Continue Reading

• Note these Amazon Lex chatbot integrations, limits

  Amazon Lex opens the door for conversational interactions with apps. But, while it's easy to create a chatbot, you must have the right pieces in place to take advantage of Lex.Continue Reading

• Understand Active Directory basics for enterprise success

  You can't get the most out of a tool unless you understand its features. This tip explains the basics of Active Directory and how it controls access and maintains order.Continue Reading

• Microservices challenges fluster even the sharpest IT shops

  Freed from the needs of a large and traditionally structured application, a development team working in the microservices architecture builds apps via services that can be more easily isolated, manipulated, updated and fixed. Still, developers and ...Continue Reading

• How do compression and deduplication affect performance?

  Data reduction methods, such as compression or deduplication, can have a positive effect on performance, but the significant CPU resources required could overshadow the benefits.Continue Reading

• Move to NVMe technology will depend on need and speed

  As a replacement for the SCSI storage protocol, NVMe can provide more responsive storage and lower latency. But transitioning to NVMe in the data center requires thorough planning.Continue Reading

• Use API gateways to aid microservices communication, security

  Discover where API gateways fit into microservices architectures to help manage interactions between client applications and users.Continue Reading