Manage

Manage

Learn to apply best practices and optimize your operations.

• VMware Site Recovery Manager: How it can help you

  VMware's Site Recovery Manager (SRM) application enhances the disaster recovery capabilities of your virtual environment. An expert discusses SRM implementation and use in this tip. Continue Reading

• Database grooming for System Center Operations Manager 2007

  This excerpt from "System Center Operations Manager 2007 Unleashed" takes you through the process of grooming your operational, data warehouse and ACS databases in SCOM 2007 Continue Reading

• How to test Exchange Management Shell commands

  Understand how to use the Exchange Management Shell parameters WhatIf and ValidateOnly in Exchange 2007 to preview and test EMS commands before executing them. Continue Reading

• How to size a SAN

  If your DAS storage infrastructure has reached its limits, or your existing SAN is out of date or just plain end-of-life, your first step will be to know what your storage requirements are. Continue Reading

• How to build redundancy in Active Directory replication

  Building redundancy in Active Directory replication is one way an administrator can ensure AD replication continues even if critical domain controllers fail. Continue Reading

• How to create a cross-forest trust in Active Directory

  Building a cross-forest trust in Active Directory allows a trust to be created between the root domain of two forests.Continue Reading

• Troubleshooting remote scripting using Network Monitor 3.0 -- Managing Windows networks using script

  Learn how to use Network Monitor 3.0 for troubleshooting a remote scripting error in this tip originally published on WindowsNetworking.com.Continue Reading

• Five tips for creating a backup service-level agreement

  Learn how to write a backup service-level agreement that will keep the peace between IT and information users.Continue Reading

• Testing for performance, part 1: Assess the problem space

  In the first article of this series on testing for performance, Mike Kelly outlines ways for you to understand your content and the system and figure out where to start testing.Continue Reading

• VMware DRS and VMotion: Improve workload balance, prevent problems

  Learn how both VMware DRS and VMotion work individually, how they work together, and get configuration tips for optimal virtual machine performance in an environment that takes advantage of both technologies.Continue Reading

• Testers' involvement in requirements gathering important

  In this increasingly complex software development era, it is important to include testing as early in the project as possible. And that means starting with requirements gathering.Continue Reading

• The state of performance testing

  Some might say 2007 was the year the software industry started taking performance testing seriously. In this month's Peak Performance column, Scott Barber takes a look at what happened in the performance testing field in 2007 that made that so, and ...Continue Reading

• How to set up Remote Desktop for Exchange Server administration

  Learn how to use the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) to manage and troubleshoot Microsoft Exchange Server from a distance via a terminal service session.Continue Reading

• Oracle on RHEL 5: Installation and configuration

  Install and configure Oracle 10 on RHEL 5. This tip shows how to set up a database with Oracle's Database Configuration Assistant (DBCA) and Oracle Enterprise Manager.Continue Reading

• How to use RACI charts to define service desk roles and responsibilities

  Using a management tool called RACI charting can help IT managers simplify the daunting task of clarifying the roles and responsibilities of the service desk.Continue Reading

• Best practices for using Outlook .PST files on portable USB drives

  You can save Microsoft Outlook email data in a .PST file to a portable USB storage drive, but make sure you understand these best practices first.Continue Reading

• How to define the scope of functional security testing

  With a many internal threats originating from applications, functional security testing is one of the most reliable ways to identify internal security vulnerabilities.Continue Reading

• Five steps for performing an effective software product review

  Review or inspection is an important activity in any project implementation. Performing a good review of the developed product, along with capturing metrics, helps in building a quality product. In this member-submitted article, Murugan Srinivasa ...Continue Reading

• How to write an effective test report

  This member-submitted tip provides a guideline for essential information that should be included in a test report.Continue Reading

• Don't mistake user acceptance testing for acceptance testing

  Despite the many references that concur on the definition of acceptance testing, people still get confused. Scott Barber clarifies things in this month's Peak Performance column.Continue Reading

• When and how to use worker process recycling with IIS

  Configuring Internet Information Services to automatically reset worker processes can solve a lot of Web application issues, but it should only be used in certain situations.Continue Reading

• How to manage and troubleshoot Microsoft Outlook rules

  Find out how to manage multiple Microsoft Outlook rules using the Outlook Rules Wizard to prevent potential email message processing conflicts.Continue Reading

• How to calculate available disk space on a RAID 5

  Storage management expert Ashley D'Costa answers a reader's question: "How do I calculate the disk space available on my RAID 5?"Continue Reading

• How to use Debug Diagnostics to troubleshoot IIS issues

  Learn how to use the IIS Diagnostic Toolkit's Debug Diagnostics utility to troubleshoot performance issues in any Win32 user-mode process.Continue Reading

• How to install the Microsoft IIS Diagnostics Toolkit

  In this excerpt from "Inside the IIS Diagnostic Toolkit," contributor Tim Fenner explains the ways Windows admins can install the Toolkit so they can use it to tackle IIS-related issues.Continue Reading

• How to use Microsoft's IIS Diagnostics Toolkit

  In this resource guide, contributor Tim Fenner offers an overview of the seven utilities in the IIS Diagnostics Toolkit and provides instructions on how to download and use them.Continue Reading

• Who does what in a Testing Center of Excellence?

  With a Testing Center of Excellence (TCE) an organization can improve its software testing. Learn how and what each TCE participant does in this article from David W. JohnsonContinue Reading

• How to use SMTP queues to troubleshoot mail flow

  Find out how you can use SMTP queues to diagnose and troubleshoot Exchange Server mail flow and email performance issues.Continue Reading

• How to create a network printer pool

  You can avoid congestion on a network printer by creating a printer pool -- a group of printers attached to a common print queue, so multiple documents can be printed simultaneously. Here's how to create a printer pool in a Windows Server 2003 ...Continue Reading

• How to retrieve email from an SMTP server using POP3

  Follow these steps to retrieve email from an SMTP server using POP3 in Microsoft Outlook 2003.Continue Reading

• How to get process information with Windows PowerShell

  In this column, Christa Anderson explains how to use Windows PowerShell's get-process cmdlet to retrieve information about the processes on your computer and how to kill the unnecessary ones.Continue Reading

• CICSPlex System Manager basics

  In this brief overview of CPSM, CICS expert Robert Crawford describes the risks and rewards of using it for system management, automation and workload management.Continue Reading

• How to properly authenticate a Linux client in a Windows domain

  MVP Gary Olsen describes the step-by-step process of configuring a Red Hat Fedora client into a Windows Server 2003 domain.Continue Reading

• Dual booting vs. virtualization: Using Windows and Linux on the same server

  Interoperability between Linux and Windows can be achieved in two ways: one, by installing each operating system separately via dual booting -- which allows both operating systems to run on the same hardware -- and two, by running one system inside ...Continue Reading

• How to choose the correct RAID level

  This tip offers nine things to consider when deciding which RAID level is right for your organization's needs.Continue Reading

• What to look for in a Web application security testing tool

  If you do a lot of Web application security scanning, any testing tool you use must have these features, says security expert Kevin Beaver. They will save you lots of time and effort and will increase the number of valid vulnerabilities found.Continue Reading

• How to test Web site login security

  Input validation is critical for the security of Web sites. Here's a techniques you can use to make sure your site isn't vulnerable to SQL injection.Continue Reading

• How to detect data corruption in files and folders

  Data corruption that occurs within a file or folder will usually go unnoticed if you're simply backing up the data and testing the backup by restoring it elsewhere. If the files or folders that have been corrupted are used infrequently, you may ...Continue Reading

• A Windows administrator's guide to file management

  File management in Windows is not just about finding the right places for user data and application data, but also anticipating and planning for changes that may need to be made in how things are stored—all the while, dealing with quirks of ...Continue Reading

• LUN management at the heart of SAN configuration

  LUNs are the basic vehicle for delivering storage, but provisioning SAN storage isn't just a matter of creating LUNs or volumes; the SAN fabric itself must be configured so that disks and their LUNs are matched to the appropriate servers. Proper ...Continue Reading

• How to retrieve lost files using Group Policy folder redirection

  Learn how to combat many file and folder disasters using the 'Redirect My Documents' option via Group Policy in the Windows domain.Continue Reading

• How to recover email in a specific date range from a .PST file

  Get step-by-step instructions on how to recover email that falls within a specific data range from a Microsoft Outlook 2003 .PST file.Continue Reading

• AGDLP reduces account management, permissions management headaches

  AGDLP is a practice that can greatly reduce your administrative headaches related to account management and permissions management.Continue Reading

• Software testing deliverables: From test plans to status reports

  Core sets of deliverable are required for any software testing phase. In many cases they include a test plan, test case, defect documentation and status report. Learn what is required for each in this tip from David W. Johnson.Continue Reading

• An overview of Microsoft Outlook email security features

  In the following tip from "8 tips in 8 minutes: A Microsoft Outlook email security tutorial," you'll gain an in-depth overview of Microsoft Outlook's email security features including security zone changes, the Outlook security update, S/MIME ...Continue Reading

• Create and manage hardware profiles

  Hardware profiles, which are set by a systems administrator, describe which pieces of hardware are enabled or disabled when a system is booted under a given profile. They eliminate the process of Windows having to redetect hardware. This tip will ...Continue Reading

• How to document system, software requirements

  There are various formats you can use to document system and software requirements. However, no single one is sufficient to represent all requirements. You need to follow an integrated approach.Continue Reading

• The role of a software test manager

  Effective software test managers not only understand the discipline of testing, but they are also able to manage and implement a testing process in their organizations. That requires team leading skills, communication skills, and being able to ...Continue Reading

• What are some of the best practices for managing the growth of unstructured data?

  It starts with corporate policies around data management ...Continue Reading

• What is unstructured data and how is it different from structured data in the enterprise?

  Expert Pierre Dorion talks about unstructured data and its impact on the data enterprise.Continue Reading

• Software requirements: Using models to understand users' needs

  Successful software projects involve users early and often to explore and reach closure on requirements. Using analysis models you can depict user needs with a combination of diagrams and structure text such as tables or templated text.Continue Reading

• Automating server management and IT processes

  Server automation can free up data center resources to focus on higher-value activities. This tip provides some suggestions for getting started by automating low level IT processes.Continue Reading

• I don't want a Web application security product; I want a solution

  The number of Web application security products available is enough to make your head spin. A better option is a total solution that handles all of your Web application security needs, says application security expert Anurag Agarwal.Continue Reading

• Calculating costs of data center cabling infrastructure

  In part two of our series on data center cabling decisions, data center infrastructure expert Carrie Higbie offers a cost calculator for determining TCO on a cabling project.Continue Reading

• Can you explain the ICMP ping test?

  Continue Reading

• Routing First-Step: IP header format

  Routing and Internet addressing are two important concepts involved in networking. Routing First-Step covers the basics of routing in clear, easy-to-understand language.Continue Reading

• Five critical planning steps for wireless LANs, Step 5: Manageability -- Switching to WLAN switches

  This article explains how WLAN switches will help to alleviate manageability issues.Continue Reading

• Modern Stack

  covers the latest cloud-native application design trends and the evolving platforms on which they run. We provide IT operations professionals and software development teams with the information they need to build and support new business ...Continue Reading