Tips

Tips

• How to calculate SASE return on investment and costs

  SASE return on investment will vary for each organization, depending on use cases and architecture requirements. But the metrics used to determine ROI and cost factors are the same.  Continue Reading

• Calculate HPC storage costs based on these 8 factors

  IT teams that want an accurate estimate of HPC storage costs must account not only for the technology itself, but for staffing, support and ongoing operational expenses.  Continue Reading

• WUfB vs. WSUS: Which handles Windows updates better?

  Trying to get a handle on Windows updates can frustrate even the most seasoned administrators. Which of these two patch management tools fit best in your environment?  Continue Reading

• Review these 7 CASB vendors to best secure cloud access

  CASB technology offers threat protection, increased visibility and policy enforcement. Explore how these seven vendors stack up and protect access to cloud applications.  Continue Reading

• Top 5 data center technology trends to watch in 2021

  2020 changed how IT pros managed and provisioned infrastructure. In 2021, organizations must find ways to support automation, AI and data analysis in the data center.  Continue Reading

• Top 5 SASE use cases balance network connectivity, security

  Secure Access Service Edge can enhance network performance and security controls for remote sites. Discover some of the other top SASE use cases and deployment options.  Continue Reading

• 4 monitoring and alerting best practices for IT ops

  Monitoring is vital in modern IT environments, but the variety of metrics to track can swiftly overtake admins' capacity -- and sanity.  Continue Reading

• OpenShift Virtualization 2.5 simplifies VM modernization

  Red Hat's OpenShift platform enables admins to take a phased approach to retiring legacy applications while moving toward a container-based environment.  Continue Reading

• Waterfall or Agile? Predictive vs. adaptive SDLC explained

  Waterfall and Agile epitomize the differences between predictive and adaptive SDLCs. Here are some considerations that a dev team should know before it chooses a methodology.  Continue Reading

• BPM vs. BPA: The differences in strategy and tooling

  The differences between BPM and BPA come down to process complexity, an organization's proficiency with software code and how quickly the business must see ROI.  Continue Reading

• Setting up and using a home VLAN to segment network traffic

  Virtual LANs can help homeowners segment their network traffic for enhanced control and security. Network analyst John Fruehe takes you inside his home VLANs.  Continue Reading

• Review these top FAQs on cloud development APIs

  APIs offer two capabilities central to cloud -- self-service and automation. APIs simplify application development, but there are limitations imposed by a lack of standardization.  Continue Reading

• VMware enhances NSX-T 3.0 to ease networking

  Version 3 of NSX-T gets new alarms, security features and admin tools, as well as new and improved integrations to provide VMware admins with better networking capabilities.  Continue Reading

• Get to know Oracle VM VirtualBox 6.1 and learn to install it

  Oracle VM VirtualBox offers a host of appealing features, such as multigeneration branched snapshots and guest multiprocessing.  Continue Reading

• What is SRE in DevOps and how do they work together?

  Site reliability engineering and DevOps share a close relationship -- but it's not always clear what, exactly, that relationship is. Walk through the basics of SRE, and its place in DevOps methodologies.  Continue Reading

• Smart UPS features for better backup power

  Vendors now offer UPSes with functions that help regulate voltage and maintain battery health. Before you upgrade, evaluate costs and confirm infrastructure compatibility.  Continue Reading

• Understand the differences between VPS vs. VPC

  Both a VPS and a VPC distributes resources and hosts applications, but a VPS is, essentially, a VM used as a server, whereas a VPC is a full private cloud environment.  Continue Reading

• How AI in the help desk transforms IT support

  For IT help desk staff, it should no longer be a question of whether AI will transform their jobs -- but when. Prepare for changes around ticket workflows, troubleshooting and more.  Continue Reading

• Azure AD Premium P1 vs. P2: Which is right for you?

  Azure Active Directory is more than just Active Directory in the cloud. See how the premium editions of the directory service stack up to find the best fit for your organization.  Continue Reading

• Main factors that can guide your UPS selection process

  To choose the right UPS, be sure to figure out business needs, power supply size requirements and how long your backup systems must last during downtime.  Continue Reading

• The 4 rules of a microservices defense-in-depth strategy

  Learn the four must-follow rules when introducing defense-in-depth to a distributed microservices architecture, especially when services traverse numerous networks and apps.  Continue Reading

• What the 4 PMem App Direct Modes mean for your organization

  Do you know the difference between the four Intel Optane persistent memory App Direct Mode types? Find out how you can use each of them most effectively.  Continue Reading

• 4 Docker security best practices to minimize container risks

  Without the right tools and processes in place, Docker security can feel like a moving target. Use these four practices -- related to container images, hosts and more -- to keep deployments safe.  Continue Reading

• 9 VDI storage best practices to better connect remote workers

  Learn how to plan and deploy VDI storage to make your remote workers more productive and efficient. It's all about knowing your users and picking the right devices.  Continue Reading

• Report testing checklist: Perform QA on data analysis reports

  To incorporate data analysis features into software, fully test the reports they generate. Use this checklist to cover these reports' requirements, the test environment, APIs and test data.  Continue Reading

• Explore multiple Office 365 PowerShell management options

  Why use PowerShell for Office 365 and Azure? In some instances, it's the only way to tap into some of the hidden management settings in these Microsoft cloud products.  Continue Reading

• Deep dive into NetApp Converged Systems Advisor for FlexPod

  Converged Systems Advisor from NetApp helps FlexPod customers better manage their converged infrastructure deployments. Dive into its features to see if it is right for you.  Continue Reading

• Amazon Kendra vs. Elasticsearch Service: What's the difference?

  Amazon Elasticsearch Service and Amazon Kendra both handle search, but that's about where the similarities end. Learn how and when to use each AWS offering for your application.  Continue Reading

• Run Kubernetes at the edge with these K8s distributions

  The idea of edge computing is not as far off as it once was. Evaluate several ways to bring Kubernetes to the edge, and when an organization should use each approach.  Continue Reading

• 4 data center UPS vendors to evaluate

  UPSes are crucial components to any backup power system. Use power ratings, infrastructure voltage requirements and the UPS type to guide the selection process.  Continue Reading

• Network consolidation and virtualization solve management issues

  Consolidating networks can help organizations reduce costs and improve data center efficiency -- as long as they focus on security.  Continue Reading

• An overview of Apache Airflow for workflow management

  This introductory look at Apache Airflow walks through some of the basics of the workflow management tool -- from installation steps to its various GUI options.  Continue Reading

• Composable disaggregated infrastructure right for advanced workloads

  Composability provides the agility, speed and efficient resource utilization required to support advanced workloads that continue to grow ever-more sophisticated and comprehensive.  Continue Reading

• Two simple ways to create custom APIs in Azure

  Learn how to create custom APIs in Azure through both Azure Portal and Visual Studio Code, and review some post-deployment best practices that add value and security to those APIs.  Continue Reading

• Colocation vs. cloud: What are the key differences?

  An organization can host a private cloud in a colocation facility, but using the colocation facility isn't the same as building a private cloud; the two are exceedingly different.  Continue Reading

• Software-defined home offerings drive remote productivity

  Say hello to software-defined home, a 'branch of one' package that combines professional-grade Wi-Fi, security, SD-WAN and centralized management for remote workers.  Continue Reading

• How to become a cloud administrator

  Although the cloud admin role varies from company to company, there are key skills every successful one needs. Explore seven areas of expertise and how they relate to this role.  Continue Reading

• The CAP theorem, and how it applies to microservices

  Learn the fundamentals of the CAP theorem, how it comes into play with microservices and what it means for your distributed architecture design choices.  Continue Reading

• Inside 5 types of test doubles

  Spies, fakes and other nefarious-sounding test objects are actually beneficial to development teams. Learn about the five primary types of test doubles and when to use them.  Continue Reading

• The new features of vSphere 7 DRS

  The updated version of Distributed Resource Scheduler that VMware premiered with vSphere 7 has several new features, including configuration options and scalable shares.  Continue Reading

• Objective-C vs. Swift: The war for iOS development supremacy

  While Objective-C still holds the crown, Swift is quickly mobilizing to rule iOS development. Let's examine and compare the most compelling features of each language.  Continue Reading

• What the critics get wrong about serverless costs

  While critics say serverless is an expensive, clunky way to deploy software, it really isn't -- if you use it right. Let's debunk some myths around the costs of using serverless.  Continue Reading

• Myth or emerging trend? Cloud repatriation explained

  Cloud customers may look to move workloads off the public cloud because of cost, security, availability and staff skill sets. But how common is the move itself?  Continue Reading

• Colocation pricing guide: Understanding data center costs

  Colocation facility costs can include anything from power fees and bandwidth service charges to connectivity expenses, change fees and support costs.  Continue Reading

• Avoid colocation and cloud noisy neighbor issues

  In any multi-tenant IT environment, noisy neighbors can be an issue. Here's a closer look at how the challenges differ in the public cloud versus colocation.  Continue Reading

• 9 considerations for a colocation data center selection checklist

  Use this data center selection checklist to make fair and comprehensive comparisons between colocation data center providers before making a decision.  Continue Reading

• Analyze Google's cloud computing strategy

  After a few false starts, Google has taken a different, more open approach to cloud computing than AWS and Azure. Let's take a look at this strategy and roadmap to date.  Continue Reading

• Retail colocation vs. wholesale data centers: How to choose

  One offers more control, while the other offers more flexible space. If you're considering a colocation facility, how do you decide between wholesale and retail?  Continue Reading

• Using the saga design pattern for microservices transactions

  We explore how the saga design pattern can support complex, long-term business processes and provide reliable rollback mechanisms for multistep transaction failures.  Continue Reading

• How and why to create an SRE error budget

  No IT service is completely immune to disruption. A realistic error budget is a powerful way to set up a service for success.  Continue Reading

• 7 benefits of colocation for your business and 4 challenges

  Colocation is not a silver-bullet solution for everyone. Discover the benefits and drawbacks that come with allowing a third-party to manage your IT equipment.  Continue Reading

• With SASE, security and networking tech come together

  SD-WAN, SASE or some combination of the two -- which approach will deliver the best and most secure network connectivity in your organization going forward?  Continue Reading

• VMware NSX vs. Microsoft Hyper-V network virtualization

  When comparing VMware NSX to Microsoft Hyper-V network virtualization, it's important to examine the software-defined networking features these two hypervisor platforms offer.  Continue Reading

• How to make remote pair programming work

  Two heads are better than one when you're writing software code. Learn how to get those two developers working together from separate locations in a remote pair programming session.  Continue Reading

• What's new with VCF 4.0?

  The latest major release of VMware Cloud Foundation features more integration with Kubernetes, which means easier container orchestration for your vSphere environment.  Continue Reading

• Multi-cloud networking -- how to choose the right path

  There are a couple ways to connect the disparate pieces of a multi-cloud architecture. Review your networking options and choose the best fit for your environment.  Continue Reading

• Cypress vs. Selenium: Compare test automation frameworks

  Testing a complex application front end? What about a web app written in Ruby? Pick a test automation framework -- Selenium or Cypress -- that fits the project.  Continue Reading

• Notable benefits of private cloud for IT ops staff

  Deploying a private cloud could provide more benefits than drawbacks -- although it certainly carries both. Know the specific implications of private cloud on IT ops staff.  Continue Reading

• Cloud automation use cases for managing and troubleshooting

  Cloud automation use cases highlight the benefits these tools can provide to companies evaluating how best to manage and troubleshoot their cloud connections.  Continue Reading

• Infrastructure as code principles: How IaC works and how to use it

  What are the most important things to know about infrastructure as code if you're going to implement it? Follow these guidelines to build a solid IaC foundation.  Continue Reading

• Avoid server overheating with ASHRAE data center guidelines

  Finding the right server operating temperature can be tricky. ASHRAE standards provide guidance for all server classes and what factors can play into temperature readings.  Continue Reading

• How HPE OneView composes, manages Synergy infrastructure

  HPE OneView enables Synergy composable infrastructure to do its job. Learn how OneView enables users to manage compute, storage and network for composing virtual servers on-demand.  Continue Reading

• How to master microservices data architecture design

  Microservices have data management needs unlike any other application architecture today. You'll need the right set of knowledge, mechanisms and design principles to succeed.  Continue Reading

• How to apologize for server outages and keep users happy

  Nobody panic: The servers are down. How IT communicates an issue often means more to users than resolution speed. An admission of struggle is more forgivable than silence.  Continue Reading

• Boost Windows Server performance with these 10 tips

  A small investment in time to execute these Windows Server performance tuning tips and techniques can optimize server workloads for more satisfactory results.  Continue Reading

• VMware-Pivotal acquisition leads to better cloud infrastructure

  VMware acquired Pivotal in 2019 to bolster its cloud infrastructure lineup. Now, more than a year later, learn what Pivotal has brought to VMware and what still needs doing.  Continue Reading

• 5 ways a remote hands data center ensures colocation success

  Off-site hardware upkeep can be tricky and time-consuming. With remote hands options, your admins can delegate routine maintenance and monitoring to trained, on-site service staff.  Continue Reading

• Explore the benefits of containers on bare metal vs. on VMs

  Advances in container and cloud technologies have morphed the debate over container deployment on bare-metal servers vs. VMs, with strong pros and cons for each.  Continue Reading

• Implementing an SDP architecture for added network security

  A key component of a software-defined perimeter requires client authentication before connection, while also making a network's internals invisible to outsiders.  Continue Reading

• These IT automation scripts take little effort and save a lot of work

  Doing some IT tasks by hand is doing them wrong. Whether to provision components, research an issue or report on performance, IT automation scripts are powerful and easy to write.  Continue Reading

• Navigating the evolving BPA tools market

  The BPA market tool landscape is still maturing, but organizations should prepare themselves to adopt it. Review the basics of BPA and learn how to start building your automation strategy.  Continue Reading

• Your guide to avoiding server rack setup issues

  Not all data center servers are created equal. Before you attempt a server racking project, double-check size specifications and account for fastening hardware and cabling needs.  Continue Reading

• A production deployment checklist for enterprise apps

  The more complex an app gets, the more complex production deployment becomes. Split the process into these nine areas to streamline team communication and tasks.  Continue Reading

• What network managers need to know about SaaS optimization

  When strategizing SaaS optimization tactics, network management teams should consider their traffic steering preferences and geographically dispersed access points.  Continue Reading

• How to containerize legacy applications in an Azure migration

  There are many benefits to containerization as part of a migration, but only for the right type of app. If you're moving to Azure, follow these steps to ensure it's a success.  Continue Reading

• Extend your power lifecycle with Li-ion data center batteries

  Backup system batteries are critical in any infrastructure. Developments in Li-ion technology can bring more power, lower TCO and a longer component lifespan.  Continue Reading

• Explore the benefits of Azure AD vs. on-prem AD

  A move to Office 365 doesn't require cutting the cord from on-premises Active Directory, but it is an option. Here's what you need to know when comparing Azure AD vs. on-prem AD.  Continue Reading

• How to test micro apps

  Micro apps are limited in functionality, but they still require a full slate of tests. Learn how micro apps and microservices differ, the benefits driving micro app adoption, and how to test them.  Continue Reading

• Basics of the pairwise, or all-pairs, testing technique

  Pairwise testing can improve test coverage without increasing wait times. Consider the QA technique's benefits, challenges and role within a test suite.  Continue Reading

• The vicious cycle of circular dependencies in microservices

  Modular design is impossible so long as circular dependencies lurk in your architecture. So how can you break problematic coupling between otherwise-independent components?  Continue Reading

• 7-step pandemic return-to-work IT infrastructure checklist

  As employees return on site, ensure your HCI can handle the changes. Follow these steps for checking system hardware and storage, as well as securing software and firmware.  Continue Reading

• Use virtual clusters to avoid container sprawl

  Virtual clusters enable admins to deploy, track and manage containers across various systems to ensure performance, security and governance, and low costs.  Continue Reading

• How to set up a VMware home lab on a budget

  Set up a small, energy-efficient, at-home VMware virtualization lab for under $1,000 by evaluating your PC, software subscription and storage options.  Continue Reading

• Hybrid cloud infrastructure design for AWS, Azure, Google Anthos

  Learn about infrastructure for tightly coupled hybrid clouds and delivering AWS Outposts, Microsoft Azure Stack and Google Anthos from an on-premises data center.  Continue Reading

• 4 innovations in software development and testing to watch

  These methods and technologies change the way developers and testers do their jobs -- or even what their duties are. Explore innovations related to AI, the flow of work and more.  Continue Reading

• Microsegmentation networking: Nutanix Flow vs. VMware NSX HCI

  Explore how microsegmentation improves network security and the differences in how Nutanix and VMware bring the technology to their software-defined hyper-converged infrastructures.  Continue Reading

• 4 mobile app security threats all developers must face

  Mobile apps carry their own set of code-based vulnerabilities and entry points, meaning developers need to step up their secure development, coding and deployment practices.  Continue Reading

• Transform your infrastructure to support parallel processing

  Quick, real-time data analysis is a boost to any organization's operations. With the right hardware and software, you can support parallelization in your data center.  Continue Reading

• How service mesh enables microservices networking

  As microservices applications grow more popular, IT teams need to enable reliable networking between them for proper communication. That's where service mesh comes in.  Continue Reading

• RAID vs. backup: Learn the differences and benefits of both

  In a battle of RAID vs. backup, both could win. While RAID offers disk failure protection, it falls short in other areas where backup comes in handy.  Continue Reading

• 9 tried-and-true open source frameworks for development

  No matter which type of application you are developing or what your priorities are, there is likely an open source framework that caters to your needs.  Continue Reading

• Automate these DevOps tasks for maximum productivity

  DevOps is hard work, but only upfront. The goal -- once teams build a pipeline and set up automation -- is to stand aside and watch the builds flow through.  Continue Reading

• Bolster remote IT management with these security tips

  The remote management of IT systems has become essential -- but admins need to uphold that responsibility in a way that doesn't compromise security.  Continue Reading

• 3 ways to ease the green data storage transition

  Energy-efficient storage promises several benefits. Finding the right approach requires carefully assessing available technology, where you keep your data and costs.  Continue Reading

• Reevaluate your cloud computing pandemic strategy

  If you jumped to the cloud at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, without much long-term planning, take some time now to evaluate your current cloud strategy.  Continue Reading

• Microservices logging best practices every team should know

  Creating a log system for distributed microservices is a task much easier said than done. Joydip Kanjilal offers a few best practices to shore up microservices logging processes.  Continue Reading

• How to use ChatOps to automate network tasks

  Integrating team collaboration chat systems with network automation results in the ability to automate tedious workflows, enabling faster problem resolution and streamlined operations.  Continue Reading

• Remote possibilities: Out-of-band management admin options

  COVID-19 puts added strain on administrators who need to compensate for lack of personnel in data centers, which leads to the need for a remote access strategy.  Continue Reading

• Write a software deployment plan under these guidelines

  A successful and comprehensive software deployment plan includes many moving pieces. But don't panic -- here are the key aspects to consider.  Continue Reading

• Why networks should apply security by design principles

  Security by design incorporates security and risk management directly into network architecture, using segmentation and Agile infrastructure design.  Continue Reading