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Learn to apply best practices and optimize your operations.

• Testing tools for continuous deployment

  Continuous testing and integration are the basis for continuous deployment without disasters. Expert Tom Nolle discusses the steps for automated and regression tests. Continue Reading

• Plan ahead: Build a container network for scalability

  Container connectivity is no small problem for enterprises with large Docker and Kubernetes deployments. Bring in tools designed to support the workload. Continue Reading

• Developers, prepare for the caveats of serverless frameworks

  While serverless has gained the attention of many developers, those that adopt serverless must stay on top of issues that it may bring, including portability challenges. Continue Reading

• Try this data science experiment for deep learning insights

  Deep learning professionals require a specific set of skills and tools. Follow this simple example of a data science project to learn more about the technology and related careers. Continue Reading

• Six simple cloud security policies you need to know

  Data protection takes center stage in modern IT. Step through this cloud security checklist to ensure your organization is covering all its bases. Continue Reading

• How to plan for network disaggregation with APIs

  Network disaggregation is a lot of work for engineers, and it's fraught with potential hurdles posed by sourcing hardware, a control plane, network operating system and how you manage necessary APIs.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

• 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

• Azure Container Instances provide an opt-out option for cluster ops

  Containers-as-a-service platform Azure Container Instances doesn't support clustering on its own, but features an open source connector tool for increased scalability.Continue Reading

• Add virt-manager to your set of KVM management tools

  KVM virt-manager provides a useful and simple VM management GUI. The console enables VM creation, deletion and troubleshooting. Learn the basics of its management and installation.Continue Reading

• Can cable be reused when upgrading 802.11ac wireless LAN?

  Is it better to repurpose legacy cabling when planning an 802.11ac wireless LAN upgrade, or does it make sense to buy new? Like many things networking, it depends.Continue Reading

• The role of container management software in IT ops

  Containers are a useful technology, but give some thought to how you'll manage them. Here's what to know about what's available and how to find the right fit.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

• Office 365 email encryption options grow for enterprise needs

  Each enterprise has different needs when it comes to preventing data leakage. Admins should be aware of the Office 365 mailbox and encryption features that help the organization meet its requirements.Continue Reading

• What security is needed for digital assistant devices?

  How should cybersecurity-enforcement efforts adapt as digital assistant devices become more pervasive in business enterprise networking to safeguard corporate data?Continue Reading

• Compare AWS container services for your cloud needs

  Amazon EKS meets user demand for Kubernetes support on AWS, but ECS is still an intriguing option for some use cases. See which offering best fits your needs.Continue Reading

• Create SCVMM user roles to define management, tighten security

  Using SCVMM user roles provides granular control in a virtual infrastructure. By defining a delegation model, admins also ensure that the infrastructure is more secure.Continue Reading

• Mount an ISO file to a virtual DVD drive with PowerShell

  It's easy to manage external media from PowerShell. It's worth noting, however, that the command syntax varies depending on whether you're referencing an IDE or SCSI drive.Continue Reading

• How can IT asset management tools aid in virtualization era?

  IT asset management tools allow businesses to track resources effectively. Platform organization is increasingly necessary in a virtualized enterprise.Continue Reading

• HIPAA-eligible services nudge enterprises toward compliance

  While certain services on AWS can help you ensure HIPAA compliance, don't view them as a complete replacement for proper security checks and approval processes.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

• Azure and AWS continue their race for public cloud dominance

  In the battle between public cloud vendors, Microsoft hopes its large enterprise customer base and a focus on hybrid cloud can help it close the gap with AWS.Continue Reading

• What are the QA risks in automated software release management?

  Beware the QA threats of software release management automation, warns Brian Kirsch. Application release automation enables fast deployment, but be sure to catch bugs first.Continue Reading

• Structure public cloud accounts for optimal resource tracking

  As enterprises move to public IaaS or broaden their existing deployments, cloud account management gets tricky. Follow this example to find the structure that works best for you.Continue Reading

• Three-step network strategy sells big changes as more doable

  A three-pronged network strategy takes an evolutionary approach to selling revolutionary technology changes internally, with a bigger chance of success.Continue Reading

• Be ready if Microsoft Exchange updates go wrong

  Everyone wants a smooth patching process, but things can fall apart despite everyone's best efforts. Develop a solid recovery plan and test it before trouble strikes.Continue Reading

• Citizen developers push the pace in BizDevOps

  BizDevOps is one way that companies large and small look for creative ways to break down functional silos and reduce operational friction.Continue Reading

• Lower the risk of change in continuous testing

  Expert Matt Heusser explains how to improve mobile and web application continuous testing in seven steps. Learn how to identify goals and avoid failures with continuous flow.Continue Reading

• How is startup culture different from a proven company?

  Expert Gerie Owen discusses the differences between a startup culture and an established company's work environment. Learn more about which would work best for you.Continue Reading

• Preserve Hyper-V security from Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities

  Protect Hyper-V VMs from Meltdown and Spectre security vulnerabilities, and install patches from Microsoft. Watch out for future revisions, performance impacts and recalls.Continue Reading

• Small business virtualization grows in mature market

  Virtualization isn't only for large enterprises anymore. New technology at cheaper prices has made SMB virtualization practical, while increased competition has made it necessary.Continue Reading

• Live-migrate Hyper-V VMs in and outside a failover cluster

  PowerShell commands save time and enable admins to migrate multiple VMs outside a Hyper-V failover cluster from one host to another, as well as VMs inside the cluster between nodes.Continue Reading

• Violin Systems and StorOne lead way to shared storage

  Two companies head toward a future of shared enterprise storage resources, moving away from siloed software-defined and hyper-converged approaches.Continue Reading

• Market for software-defined systems due for a correction

  Software-defined storage seems to relegate hardware to the sidelines, but that may change as hardware-centric offerings become attractive alternatives to software-on-COTS options.Continue Reading

• The best enterprise storage systems and services of 2017

  For 16 years, Storage magazine and SearchStorage have recognized the best enterprise storage systems with our annual Products of the Year awards. For this year's competition, vendors submitted new and upgraded products from the past year ...Continue Reading

• Customize a Hyper-V network adapter for security, performance

  Look beyond basic network adapter settings in Hyper-V to enable features like IPsec task offloading, DHCP guard, protected networks, port mirroring and NIC teaming, among others.Continue Reading

• Four tips to manage costs in a multi-cloud architecture

  For some enterprises, it's difficult enough to manage and optimize the costs of a single cloud platform. And in a multi-cloud environment, those challenges only increase.Continue Reading

• Forget grassroots: Why the CIO must be today's DevOps leader

  DevOps from the ground up sounds like a great idea. Too bad it won't work, at least in an enterprise. David Savage explains why the CIO must lead the DevOps journey.Continue Reading

• Reasons to consider an object storage architecture

  Object storage allows organizations to deal with the massive amounts of data generated by IoT and AI applications, but it's not the best fit for frequently accessed data.Continue Reading

• IT support and service contracts ripe for savings

  If you don't pay close attention to IT support, service and maintenance contracts, start now. Chances are your organization is paying more than it needs to.Continue Reading

• Network security features available in a virtual switch

  Virtual switch security is achieved through a number of features. Virtualization admins can create and enforce policies, lock down MAC addresses and block forged traffic from VMs.Continue Reading

• NIC teaming software enables load balancing and failover

  Load balancing and failover capabilities help optimize performance and achieve resiliency in your virtual infrastructure. Learn how NIC teaming provides both functionalities.Continue Reading

• What are some considerations for a public folders migration?

  Contemplating a move to Exchange Online? Be sure you know what you're in for when shifting on-premises features, such as public folders, into Microsoft's cloud.Continue Reading

• How component-based software engineering spurs innovation

  Demands for digital transformation in business may ring hollow to some architects. However, componentization can play a key role in making business innovation a reality.Continue Reading

• Build data storage reliability into a backup infrastructure

  In today's market, there are a variety of data backup options. Here's how to make sure your organization's essential data will always be there when it is needed.Continue Reading

• How to develop a UX workflow

  This approach to UX improves software design, whether your goal is to build a new product, modernize a legacy one or improve functionality and features.Continue Reading

• When to use TLC NAND flash memory

  TLC NAND flash storage devices wear out quickly, and they're not as fast as MLC or SLC. But TLC devices are a good choice for tier 2 storage and read-heavy applications.Continue Reading

• How your SD-WAN appliance can consolidate the branch stack

  The latest SD-WAN appliance technology promises expanded and accelerated consolidation of branch stacks. Learn how it works and how to make it work for you.Continue Reading

• Prep an OpenStack private cloud for a multi-cloud deployment

  Enterprises with an OpenStack private cloud can still jump on the multi-cloud bandwagon. But they should prepare for challenges around data management and platform compatibility.Continue Reading

• How can cloud management apps organize data across clouds?

  If you need to pull together different data sets, cloud management apps can track information workloads across multiple clouds and present the data in a simplified way.Continue Reading

• M EC2 instance family offers versatile compute, at a price

  General-purpose EC2 instances, like the M and T series, fit many types of applications. But before you rush to use them, know your workloads and how much capacity they need.Continue Reading

• Understanding the benefits of serverless functions

  The use of serverless functions can help developers minimize the time spent managing resources by segmenting third-party dependencies. Zach Flower explains.Continue Reading

• Dive into AWS data lakes for analytics projects

  Data lakes on AWS can provide a treasure trove of information -- if you can work past complexity and management issues. Test the water with these cloud services.Continue Reading

• Catch the IT automation technology wave

  IT automation is taking over in operations as tasks get bigger and more complex, handling distributed systems. Stay current with these five big trends.Continue Reading

• Choose a loosely coupled architecture for DevOps success

  To successfully pivot your organization toward DevOps and cloud, carefully evaluate and fine-tune your architecture first, and then think about tool sets.Continue Reading

• Bulk manage a Hyper-V server group with PowerShell

  With only a few steps, you can use SCVMM to bring a Hyper-V server under management. This is limited, however, so use the SCVMM Command Shell to bulk manage Hyper-V servers.Continue Reading

• Curb stress from Exchange Server updates with these pointers

  Some administrators let the memories of a bad patch linger and put off Exchange updates. Here are some tips to make this necessary chore less of a traumatic experience.Continue Reading

• Hyper-V cmdlets for daily operational tasks

  With simple scripts, enable or disable VM Integration Services and Live Migration on Hyper-V hosts, reset VM replication stats, grant or revoke VM access, and optimize VHD files.Continue Reading

• Can containerization tools aid microservices communication?

  Containerization tools have taken on a critical role in managing communication between microservices, and two Kubernetes-based tools in particular are getting the job done.Continue Reading

• Roll your own Windows patching tool with PowerShell

  This tutorial based on PowerShell helps administrators build an automated routine that audits Windows machines, then applies missing patches to lighten this management task.Continue Reading

• Copy files from the host to a Hyper-V machine

  There are many ways to copy files from the host to a Hyper-V machine, including Enhanced Session Mode and the Copy-VMFile PowerShell cmdlet. Follow these steps for each method.Continue Reading

• Ensure container monitoring and control via smart tooling

  Don't try to stick with traditional monitoring tools when your organization matures to containers; they won't do enough. Seek out monitoring and management tools with targeted capabilities.Continue Reading

• How to use REST APIs in Python

  Using REST APIs with Python can offer storage administrators increased flexibility in their management tasks, but they need some knowledge of how to code.Continue Reading

• Take network configuration management tools to the next level

  Script management systems and intent-based networking are driving the future of network configuration management tools, shifting the paradigm of how networking systems are managed.Continue Reading

• What does 2018 hold for application containerization?

  There was plenty of movement around Kubernetes in 2017, and there seems to be more to come in the year ahead. Twain Taylor makes predictions about container management in 2018.Continue Reading

• Use virt-install to install VMs from the command line

  Learn the basics of virt-install, including standard use cases, executing it on CentOS 7, different command-line options and the creation of kickstart files.Continue Reading

• NFV disaggregates firewall appliance to increase scalability

  A traditional firewall appliance can incorporate many services, but NFV can virtualize firewalls to offer individual services that scale for application requirements.Continue Reading

• AWS-VMware partnership remains a win-win -- for now

  When AWS and VMware partnered up, it opened new revenue streams for each company. But does the deal mark a one-off collaboration or a long-term team-up?Continue Reading

• Transition to a hybrid cloud platform from a private cloud

  Consider factors like security, platform compatibility, data usage requirements and management when transitioning from a private cloud to a hybrid cloud.Continue Reading

• Hybrid cloud, SDDC products boost quarterly VMware revenue

  According to VMware's Q3 2018 earnings report, the company received a nice boost from VMware Cloud on AWS, but NSX and vSAN remain the biggest contributors to VMware revenue.Continue Reading

• IT ops pros predict routes to DevOps efficiency in 2018

  Operations admins have a lot on their plates already, and they'll pile on more in 2018. These IT pros and analysts share what's coming and how to handle it.Continue Reading

• Storage startup trends: Vendors to watch in 2018

  Another year is behind us, and 2017 wasn't kind to enterprise-storage startups, as a bunch went belly up or sold off their assets. Not deterred by this recent history and startup trends, a new group of companies has emerged to try and make an impact...Continue Reading

• NVMe flash storage doesn't mean tape and disk are dying

  The advent of NVMe, software-defined storage and other newer storage technologies doesn't mean we'll be looking at all-silicon-based storage any time soon.Continue Reading

• SDS, HCI and CDP are key to dream enterprise storage system

  Easy to implement and manage may be the buzzwords of the day for enterprise data storage systems, but too often daily experiences of IT professionals belie that rosy scenario.Continue Reading

• Application support best practices involve all teams

  There's more to app support than making sure the bits and bytes are in order; the user's experience is vital to uphold. Creating a smooth process takes more than just operations.Continue Reading

• Three requirements for a hybrid cloud computing deployment

  As the hybrid cloud computing approach gains steam, organizations will need to pay close attention to cross-cloud connectivity and management, plus microservices.Continue Reading

• AWS container services evolve, but remain a work in progress

  At re:Invent, AWS made a number of enhancements to its container services portfolio. But its bedrock container orchestration service, Amazon ECS, still vexes some dev teams.Continue Reading

• Error budget instills reckless IT project management mindset

  Just how many errors is the IT operations team allowed to make? Trendy organizations are answering this question with a budget, but it possesses some admins to push the envelope.Continue Reading

• Execute PowerCLI commands to manage VMware infrastructure

  PowerCLI cmdlets like Get-VM can be built out to obtain information about VMs in a VMware infrastructure, including those with attached CD-ROMs and those with snapshots.Continue Reading

• Unleash application dependency mapping tools to combat outages

  Create a detailed map of application dependencies from the CMDB and cloud resources and help prevent unexpected outages.Continue Reading

• Be wary of DevOps evangelists preaching a culture change

  There are many reasons to adopt DevOps, and there are many challenges involved in getting it right. But don't buy into the culture myth that many DevOps evangelists are selling.Continue Reading

• What is VMware Remote Console and how do you run it?

  A vSphere administrator can use VMware Remote Console to remotely access a VM's peripherals, configuration and desktop remotely through the vSphere Web Client.Continue Reading

• PowerShell commands for Hyper-V update bulk VM configuration

  Admins who don't have access to SCVMM can make configuration changes to multiple Hyper-V VMs at once with a few PowerShell scripts and the ForEach loop approach.Continue Reading

• Automated networks mean clearing some key hurdles first

  Obstacles facing IT adoption of automation in the network including training and trust. Now's the time to clear these hurdles and reap the benefits of an automated future.Continue Reading

• Set Office 365 group limits to avoid administrative hassles

  With help from PowerShell, administrators can tailor Office 365 Groups to develop common-sense restrictions on the tools and other components in the collaboration service.Continue Reading

• Use virsh commands to manage KVM networking

  Virsh commands enable you to manage network properties and can be used alongside brctl commands to help you create additional virtual bridges in your KVM environment.Continue Reading

• Use SpoofGuard to defend against malicious activity in VMware NSX

  SpoofGuard monitors network traffic to identify malicious activity and prevent phishing attacks. Before you enable SpoofGuard in NSX, there are a few things you should know.Continue Reading

• Monitor Active Directory replication via PowerShell

  Most enterprises rely on Active Directory to control access to resources on the network. Here's how admins can use PowerShell to check the health of the replication process.Continue Reading

• MTTR (mean time to repair)

  MTTR (mean time to repair) is the average time required to fix a failed component or device and return it to production status.Continue Reading

• NVMe-oF and storage class memory set to disrupt storage

  NVM Express over Fabrics and storage class memory may disrupt traditional storage over the next half decade in much the same way NAND flash did over the last five years.Continue Reading

• Trends in data storage 2018: Five hot techs to watch

  Our hot data storage technology trends for 2018 include predictive storage analytics, ransomware protection, converged secondary storage, multi-cloud and NVMe over Fabrics.Continue Reading

• Is Caringo leading the next wave in object-level storage?

  Caringo facilitates and simplifies cross-platform data movement by bridging its proprietary object storage system to Microsoft Azure object storage service.Continue Reading

• Peering into the future of enterprise storage for 2018

  Rich Castagna takes a crack at the annual rite of prognostication with a bold look -- unfettered by truth, reality and sanity -- at data storage trends in the coming year.Continue Reading

• Data storage considerations for a DevOps environment

  Having good storage can make all the difference when it comes to DevOps. As more organizations get on the DevOps bandwagon, see how storage has changed to match.Continue Reading

• How to select the best network monitoring tool

  Learn the criteria for choosing the best network monitoring tool for your enterprise.Continue Reading

• Set up remote domains to control Exchange messaging

  Administrators can configure a remote domain to perform particular tasks, such as converting certain email formats and stopping users from forwarding messages to another domain.Continue Reading

• With continuous security, SecDevOps deconstructs CI/CD

  Nothing is set in stone when an organization follows a DevOps methodology -- a DevOps security model pushes developers and ops to constantly retune, slow down and speed up.Continue Reading

• What you'll build with software-defined architecture

  It's been two years since Gartner declared that the future of the data center was software-defined. And while we're still a ways from that reality, there's plenty of reason to think IT is indeed moving toward the software-defined architecture.

  ...Continue Reading

• Need help making Wi-Fi secure? Consider some 'classic' approaches

  Keeping your Wi-Fi secure is a challenge, to say the least. Security hasn't kept up with Wi-Fi advances, but there are steps you can take to keep your Wi-Fi network protected.Continue Reading