Problem solve

Problem solve

Get help with specific problems with your technologies, process and projects.

• Dealing with CICS/MQ trigger interface quirks

  Despite its simplicity, the CICS/MQ trigger interface has its share of quirks, such as messages left in queues and uneven workload distribution. An expert shares fixes for common CICS/MQ message triggering problems in this tip. Continue Reading

• Understanding cloud compliance issues

  Concerns about compliance have made companies wary of storing their data in public cloud environments. Continue Reading

• Upgrading to VMware vSphere: Five pros and five cons

  Increased performance, scalability and new features top the list as to why you should upgrade to vSphere, but proven product stability, third-party product and hardware compatibility are reasons you may want to stay with VMware Infrastructure 3 for ... Continue Reading

• What is the free VMware OVFTOOL and how can it help you?

  VMware's OVFTOOL is a conversion program that eases distribution of virtual machines, converting them from the OVF format to .VMX, .OVA, .VMX files and others. Continue Reading

• Fixing lingering object problems in complex Active Directory forests

  Lingering objects can provide an inconsistent view of the Active Directory and confuse administrators. Learn how to find and remove them in complex forests. Continue Reading

• Top threats in a PaaS cloud service and how to avoid them

  Platform as a Service offerings suffer from vulnerabilities, such as lax default application configurations and holes in Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocols, which should be monitored and mitigated.Continue Reading

• An introduction to data backup tape rotation schemes

  Learn about the different types of data backup tape rotation schemes to determine which one is best for your environment.Continue Reading

• Five requirements for deploying an application in a public cloud

  Thinking about deploying an application in a public cloud? Investigate these five requirements to ensure success.Continue Reading

• Perfmon made easy with PAL utility

  Performance Monitor in Windows is a great troubleshooting tool, but analyzing logs can be tedious. Learn to use the free PAL utility to take the time out of troubleshooting.Continue Reading

• Developing a successful mainframe migration strategy

  A successful mainframe migration strategy requires careful planning to avoid disruption to end users. This tip discusses best practices for migrating, regenerating or replacing mainframe applications.Continue Reading

• Sizing computer room air conditioners for data center energy efficiency

  Choosing a right-sized computer room air conditioner (CRAC) is crucial to data center energy efficiency, but there are many variables to consider. Learn more about data center air conditioning design, maintaining humidity levels and temperature, and...Continue Reading

• Host and guest virtual machine: Definitions

  We explain the two components of a virtual machine -- the host and the guest -- in this installment of virtualization explained series.Continue Reading

• Access and repair an ext3 file system with the superblock

  A damaged ext3 file system is accessible and repairable, thanks to the data within either the superblock or the superblock's backup.Continue Reading

• Check server specs before upgrading your operating system

  Operating system upgrades can be tricky with the number of variables involved. Users need to research server hardware specifications and OS requirements before upgrading.Continue Reading

• Problems caused by skipping analysis stage of SDLC

  A requirements expert explains the possible pitfalls of skipping the analysis phase in the software life cycle development (SDLC).Continue Reading

• Calculating mean time to failure in performance testing

  Calculating MTTF (mean time to failure) can be a difficult for testers in order to develop a performance test pass as there are multiple steps. This expert tip will guide you through process,Continue Reading

• Defining report requirements with use cases

  This tip offers a new and interesting way to go about defining and reporting requirements for use cases. There are a number of details that need to be attended to in defining requirements such as taking a look at users and then constructing use ...Continue Reading

• How requirements use cases facilitate the SDLC

  Learn software use case processes and techniques that result in better application requirements in this tip. Takeaways include use case diagrams and user acceptance test case examples.Continue Reading

• PowersHell: Factory Reset of ESXi

  During the course of my travels in powersHell with VMware – I’ve begun to put together my own JACS (Just-Another-Configuration-Script). The idea is to take a clean-factory set ESXi build, and use purely powersHell to configure it.Continue Reading

• Troubleshooting Logical Volume Manager boot problems

  If Logical Volume Manager (LVM) boots incorrectly, logical volumes are inaccessible and you can't manage server disk space. In this LVM how-to, we offer some simple steps to troubleshoot boot issues with LVM.Continue Reading

• How to deliver software with an SDLC iterative model

  The phases of iterative SDLCs come together to build better software applications faster, as long as the team avoids some common development and planning mistakes.Continue Reading

• Microsoft Outlook error message: 'Mailbox Size Limit exceeded'

  An Exchange administrator keeps receiving an error message stating 'Mailbox Size Limit exceeded.' See what to check before taking action.Continue Reading

• Top five keys to success for a new CMDB project

  Configuration management database (CMDB) projects require a steady hand and a lot of help from IT staff. Here are some tips to help you ensure CMDB success.Continue Reading

• How to choose the right uninterruptible power supply for your data center

  This tip discusses how to choose the right-sized uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for your data center. It also explains common mistakes in UPS sizing and why UPS power ratings can be so confusing.Continue Reading

• Is BASE a more scalable alternative to ACID transactions?

  ACID is used to summarize the basic properties of a transaction in the database sense of the word, not the logical "business" transaction sense. On the other hand BASE is used to summarize the properties many large scale Web sites follow to relax or...Continue Reading

• Avoid common pitfalls when calculating data center power load

  For data center pros trying to size an air conditioning system or UPS, accurately estimating data center power load is critical. But there are many common pitfalls to avoid.Continue Reading

• How SQL Server recovery models impact your SharePoint databases

  SharePoint administrators can minimize data loss by selecting the appropriate SQL Server recovery model. But which model is right for your enterprise?Continue Reading

• Installing VMware ESXi on a physical server

  In this two-part series, we show you how to convert an existing physical server into a virtual machine, then how to install VMware ESXi on the server hardware and load the virtual machine back onto it.Continue Reading

• Expert shows seven ways to improve your project management abilities

  Project management offices can benefit when the team has a diverse portfolio of skills. Learn how to become a better project manager by reading these seven suggestions, which range from developing talents and group leaders to better assessing ...Continue Reading

• Running a Web service on Google App Engine

  Google's App Engine for building Web applications in the cloud is beginning to support Java servlet-based Web services. It's still under development, but you can experiment using Eclipse support or command-line utilities in the SDK.Continue Reading

• Debugging Windows client logon delays: Narrowing the scope

  There are several potential causes of slow client logons. The question is, once you find the source, how do you fix it?Continue Reading

• Comparing Unix versions: AIX, HP-UX and Solaris

  In this comparison of the top Unix versions, learn what distinguishes the file systems, management tools and virtualization products in Sun Solaris, Hewlett-Packard HP-UX and IBM AIX file systems.Continue Reading

• Green storage best practices control costs, increase energy efficiency

  Green storage best practices control power and cooling costs, and increase energy efficiency in your data center. Tiered storage, consolidating storage arrays, solid-state drives (SSDs) and MAID can help.Continue Reading

• How to install and use RRDTool to speed up MRTG monitoring

  When monitoring a large number of hosts or devices with the MRTG graphing tool, the system experience frequent CPU spikes. In this RRDTool tutorial, learn how to install RRDTool and convert MRTG to use RRD storage to avoid system overload.Continue Reading

• Differentiating between Functional and Nonfunctional Requirements

  Many of the difficulties encountered in defining requirements relate to the functional-nonfunctional distinction. As so often happens, some of those difficulties are things of which people are aware, largely realizing after-the-fact that ...Continue Reading

• Symantec Backup Exec troubleshooting performance tips

  If you're using Backup Exec and your performance isn't what it should be, some troubleshooting may be in order. Here's a list of potential things to look out for.Continue Reading

• Troubleshooting Linux boot problems

  If your Linux server fails to show the login screen at startup, you have a boot problem. Learn some tricks on how to diagnose and fix a Linux server boot problem from Grub failure to init and runlevels.Continue Reading

• Sending poll questions through Exchange to non-Outlook users

  Learn if you can send out polling questions through Exchange Server to recipients who don't use Microsoft Outlook.Continue Reading

• How to install and configure MRTG, an essential sys admin tool

  Multi Router Traffic Grapher (MRTG) is an essential tool that allows systems administrators to monitor and graph network traffic and more. In this tutorial, an expert explains how to install and configure MRTG on Solaris 10.Continue Reading

• Identifying applications for public and private clouds

  Before leaping head first into cloud services, figure which applications are best suited to a public versus private cloud. This article will help you define target apps for the cloud.Continue Reading

• Troubleshooting data backup error log messages

  Knowing what how to read your data backup error log messages can help you save time fixing common backup problems. Learn about the most common backup error messages in this tip.Continue Reading

• Capacity planning tools tutorial for Linux and Unix

  Effective capacity planning is a proactive way of ensuring that your data center servers will not prematurely run out of space or horsepower. Learn the tools available to help you, both native to Linux and Unix platforms including Solaris, Red Hat, ...Continue Reading

• SaaS shopping list for SMBs

  Storage-as-a-service (SaaS) companies have changed how they operate. Learn what to look for when shopping for an online data backup provider with this product features checklist.Continue Reading

• Air flow management strategies for efficient data center cooling

  To achieve efficient data center cooling, you must reduce your facility's air flow waste. In this tip, an expert outlines air flow management strategies and best practices that can improve data center air flow, including the installation of blanking...Continue Reading

• Defining requirements during software project feasibility analysis

  There are at least two key points in a software project when requirements should be defined. One point people often miss is during feasibility analysis, and failure to define requirements at this stage can doom a project.Continue Reading

• What is test granularity?

  Test granularity is the level of detail at which your software tests and test cases address your project.Continue Reading

• Optimizing server energy efficiency

  Reducing data center energy consumption is a hot topic in the IT industry, but server energy efficiency has only recently become a focus of discussion. Improving server efficiency means optimizing the main components that impact a server's overall ...Continue Reading

• Recovering RDM data with VMware ESX troubleshooting

  Accidentally deleting important VMware ESX partitions cost our expert raw device mapping data. But a last attempt with an unlikely solution finally saved the day – and the data.Continue Reading

• Why you should delete outdated vCenter Server data

  With SQL commands, you can delete superfluous vCenter Server database information and save disk space and boost system performance. But you need to monitor database table size.Continue Reading

• Group Policy Object modeling simplifies network security

  Group Policy modeling is a great security tool for troubleshooting Group Policy settings and testing GPOs before they are applied with Windows Server 2008.Continue Reading

• How to revoke and delete Active Directory user certificates

  In this Ask the Expert Q&A, our identity and access management expert examines how to set up Active Directory autoenrollment feature to revoke and delete user certificates on the Certificate Authority (CA) automatically.Continue Reading

• Difference between circuit-switching and packet-switching in examples

  What is the difference between a circuit switching and packet switching? Our networking fundamentals expert gives examples of packet switching and circuit switching in this response.Continue Reading

• VLANs versus IP subnets: Why use a VLAN over IP subnetting?

  A virtual local area network (VLAN) is better than IP subnetting because its advantage is security. Learn what a VLAN is and how it differs from creating IP subnets, in this expert response from our networking fundamentals expert.Continue Reading

• Using HP Systems Insight Manager (SIM) 5.2 for systems management and monitoring

  Hewlett-Packard (HP) Co.'s Systems Insight Manager (SIM) 5.2 offers systems management and monitoring for HP servers or WMI-, SNMP- or WBEM-enabled systems. SIM works with HP's Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) management modules to detect hardware ...Continue Reading

• Web application security testing checklist

  Testing your Web application security is something that needs be taken seriously. The best way to be successful is to prepare in advance and know what to look for. Here's an essential elements checklist to help you get the most out of your Web ...Continue Reading

• How to optimize your backup tape rotation strategy

  Backup tape rotation is an essential part of any good data backup plan. Here's a look at some of the more common tape rotation strategies and the pros and cons of each.Continue Reading

• How to avoid requirements creep

  Despite all the attention placed on defining requirements, creep continues to plague software projects. Learn how a different approach to requirements can curtail that creep.Continue Reading

• Making requirements walkthroughs more effective (and fun)

  Do you have to twist arms to get people to attend your requirements review sessions? It doesn't have to be this way. Learn how to use a simulation model to get everyone engaged in the walkthrough.Continue Reading

• Template for requirements use cases

  A user is looking for a template for writing requirements use cases. Robin Goldsmith walks through a few interpretations of this question.Continue Reading

• Formulating test status reports based on daily status criteria

  A user requests help deriving the daily status criteria for the test execution of a software project, with status criteria including test execution criteria, test case failure rate and bug rate.Continue Reading

• Manipulating VMware log file space via log file rotation settings

  VMware ESX and vCenter log files are crucial for troubleshooting and need to be readily available, but log files can be space hogs. You can tweak log rotation settings to prevent log files from taking up too much space and designate additional space...Continue Reading

• Manage CICS workloads with transaction classes

  Using transaction classes is a great way to manage CICS workloads that come in varying or unpredictable increments. Learn how to define transaction classes, calculate a maximum active number and get examples on how to use transaction classes in this...Continue Reading

• Creating virtual machine clones and templates without vCenter Server

  Even if you don't have vCenter Server's virtual machine (VM) cloning feature, you can create VM templates with tools such as vConverter, vmkfstools and VMware Infrastructure Client – and a little technological prowess.Continue Reading

• A quick guide to Server Manager for Windows Server 2008

  New to Windows Server 2008, the Server Manager feature can be a huge benefit to admins – once they figure out where to find everything. This article gives you a crash course on everything Server Manager has to offer.Continue Reading

• Avoid high-risk data commingling with VMware virtual networks to prevent security vulnerabilities

  Avoid security vulnerabilities caused by placing VMware ESX and ESXi data of varying security and classification levels on a converged network by understanding how storage and virtual machine data interoperates over various networks.Continue Reading

• Is a requirements freeze in a software project a bad idea?

  Learn why imposing a requirements freeze in an application project is usually a misguided idea.Continue Reading

• Understanding VMware ESX virtual machine physical and virtual hardware

  You can better manage virtual machines by understanding the virtual hardware that makes up a VM. This tip explores VM physical and virtual hardware issues, including configuring virtual hardware and assigning virtual memory.Continue Reading

• Creating a SharePoint site map using out-of-the-box features

  Giving SharePoint site owners the power to manage their own part of the SharePoint site map frees up administrators to manage more critical areas of the SharePoint environment.Continue Reading

• Integration testing: Is it black box or white box testing?

  Integration testing of software systems can be black box or white box testing. Learn how each can be used in this Ask the Expert Q&A with testing expert Mike Kelly.Continue Reading

• Solve the startup error 00161 and 00163 with IBM TP600?

  Error 00161 on an IBM TP600 may be due to a faulty CMOS battery, and 00163 may relate to your version of utility PS2 EXE.Continue Reading

• Improving data center cooling capacity with chilled water plants

  With a chilled-water plant, you can improve your data center cooling capacity and possibly prevent more drastic measures, such as having to build a new facility.Continue Reading

• Ensuring server time synchronization with NTP on SLES

  Synchronize your SUSE Linux Enterprise Server times using NTP time server. Two servers are recommended for enterprise situations, as redundancy will save the day in case of a disaster.Continue Reading

• Repairing SUSE Linux Enterprise Server using a Rescue CD

  SUSE Linux Enterprise Server offers a Rescue CD for repairing the system if your hardware causes a crash at reboot. This tip shows you how to use it.Continue Reading

• Use DFHLS2WS to expose CICS applications as a Web service

  DFHLS2WS is one of the Web services assistants that allows traditional CICS applications to provide or consume Web services without significant changes and without getting into the details of SOAP or XML coding.Continue Reading

• Use cases and SRS for requirements gathering

  Before comparing use cases and software requirements specifications, you should know what each is. Requirements expert Robin Goldsmith explains how use cases and SRS work and how to use them for requirements engineering.Continue Reading

• How to match the test environment to the production environment

  Testers often find a gulf between test results in a test environment and test results in a production environment. Testing expert John Overbaugh offers strategies for ensuring that test results in different environments match.Continue Reading

• How to troubleshoot RHEL performance bottlenecks

  This tip provides a step-by-step approach to application-tuning, troubleshooting bottlenecks and enhancing performance on RHEL 5 systems.Continue Reading

• Running UAT and system testing in parallel

  Conducting user acceptance testing and system testing at the same time may or may not be a good choice. Expert Baher Malek discusses the factors that testers need to consider when attempting a parallel UAT process.Continue Reading

• Why can't I grant users permissions to an Exchange public folder?

  Exchange Server public folder permissions can be complex. Get troubleshooting advice on delegating permissions to Exchange Server public folders here.Continue Reading

• Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship, Chapter 1 -- What Is Clean Code?

  Agile software development calls on developers to write clean code, according to Robert "Uncle Bob" Martin. This free chapter introduces the concepts and methods programmers can adopt to write truly clean code.Continue Reading

• Troubleshooting Active Directory database errors

  While database errors in Active Directory can crop up occasionally, they are usually simple to fix. Check out these troubleshooting tips for when you think your AD database might be corrupted.Continue Reading

• Troubleshooting slow Outlook Web Access (OWA) performance

  Do your Exchange mobile users struggle with slow Outlook Web Access (OWA) server performance? The initial cause may not be your OWA server, but instead a firewall or infrastructure issue. To pinpoint the root cause of slow OWA server performance, ...Continue Reading

• How to estimate change requests in requirements

  Software requirements are often subject to change; using a sound estimation process helps greatly to manage change. Requirements expert Betty Luedke explains, in detail, how to implement good estimation techniques.Continue Reading

• Use cases: Who writes them, what data do you include?

  Typically a business analyst writes the use cases for a software project. But who writes them doesn't matter as much as what is included in them, says expert Robin Goldsmith.Continue Reading

• Using OpenSSL to create and manage certificates

  Establishing an independent certificate authority with OpenSSL enables you to create public key certificates and to verify that these public keys are authentic and that email messages are secure.Continue Reading

• Branch office security: Pros and cons of read-only domain controllers

  Windows administrators have long wondered whether or not to use domain controllers for authentication in remote branch offices. In this tip, learn about the pros and cons of domain controllers in Windows environments and how read-only domain ...Continue Reading

• VMware VI Client plug-ins and how to manage them

  VMware VI Client plug-ins can provide a VirtualCenter implementation with a functionality boost. Discover more on plug-in management tactics and plug-in options, including the Juxtaposition RDP plug-in, in this tip.Continue Reading

• Obtaining server health status in VMware ESX and VMware ESXi

  VMware ESXi can easily provide you with information about a server's CPU, memory, storage and more, but getting this info from ESX Server requires some additional steps.Continue Reading

• Storage options for virtual machines: Raw device mappings, VMFS

  Virtual Machine File System is VMware's preferred storage option for virtual machines, but raw device mapping provides similar performance and can be a better choice depending on the specific storage configuration.Continue Reading

• How to access SharePoint sites through Microsoft Outlook

  If you have both Microsoft Exchange Server and SharePoint, you can easily access SharePoint sites directly from Microsoft Outlook. Here's how.Continue Reading

• Uninterruptible power supply load bus synchronization: Yes or no?

  Should you consider paying the additional cost of a Load Bus Synchronization system for your uninterruptible power supply? Data center experts Syska Hennessy weigh in.Continue Reading

• 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

• Selecting a general contractor: Data center construction runbook, Chapter 3

  When you're building a new data center, it pays to bring the general contractor onboard early, rather than bidding out the process and ending up with unqualified subcontractors on your project.Continue Reading

• Troubleshooting common VMware ESX host server problems

  Get a grip on potential VMware ESX host server problems including the purple screen of death, a frozen service console, and rebuilding your network configurations after they've been lost.Continue Reading

• Use the Exchange Management Shell Set command to block senders

  Want to create a list of blocked mail senders and recipients in Exchange Server 2007? Use the Exchange Management Shell's Set verb to write this script.Continue Reading

• Determining the number of drives in a RAID group

  How many drives in a RAID group will it take to give you the performance you need for a database or email or file server, or for that new VMware implementation?Continue Reading

• Are you prepared for the Unix 2038 problem?

  All 32-bit Unix/Linux-based systems store the system clock time internally as the number of seconds since the "Epoch." The latest time and date that can be represented as seconds-since-the-Epoch in that 32-bit signed integer is 3:14:07 UTC on ...Continue Reading

• Determining the cause of Windows server hang

  Using the Windows Kernel Debugger (Windbg), learn to fix Windows server hang by analyzing a forced crash dump to determine the cause of the hung server.Continue Reading

• The scope of user acceptance testing

  User acceptance testing is ineffective if testers don't allocate the proper time and resources. Expert Karen N. Johnson explains how to avoid shortchanging UAT.Continue Reading

• Tracking a deleted Active Directory object's replication status

  Learn how to track a deleted Active Directory object's replication status and how to determine if the object has been replicated throughout the DC forest.Continue Reading