Tips

Tips

• Software-defined power offers benefits, but lacks popular interest

  Virtualized power systems promise to ease deployment and maintenance, but the market is still in its nascency.  Continue Reading

• How and why to implement Wi-Fi QoS

  Quality of service, as network pros know, prioritizes apps as they cross the network. But Wi-Fi QoS needs to be considered, too, in relation to the overall network.  Continue Reading

• Using the Office 365 Recommended Configuration Analyzer

  Learn how this free PowerShell-based utility digs into your Office 365 security setup and offers guidance for administrators looking to stop the latest online threats.  Continue Reading

• Django vs. Node.js: Pick the right web development framework

  Understanding the differences between Django and Node.js comes down to understanding their data capabilities and the programming languages that make up each one's history.  Continue Reading

• Harness these three types of developer collaboration tools

  More than ever, developers must work as a team to achieve business goals. Here are three types of collaboration tools to help developers work with ease.  Continue Reading

• Understanding the modular monolith and its ideal use cases

  While it isn't always the right fit, a modular monolith can often provide a happy medium between the simplicity of a traditional monolith and the complexity of microservices.  Continue Reading

• 5 machine learning skills you need in the cloud

  Put your IT team in the best position to succeed with AI. Develop these machine learning skills and see how they translate to the major cloud platforms.  Continue Reading

• Mini PCs for business offer improved performance, reduced costs

  Mini PCs are a low-cost hardware alternative to servers that enable organizations to maintain maximum data center features and capabilities in remote office locations.  Continue Reading

• How COVID-19 will reshape 2021 enterprise network spending

  COVID-19 has shifted enterprise network spending. Campus LAN traffic may never be the same, but companies are earmarking funds to better support the remote workforce.  Continue Reading

• Top 10 new vSphere 7.0 features

  With vSphere 7.0, VMware introduced several new capabilities and tools. Explore the top 10 most innovative features in this latest vSphere release.  Continue Reading

• 3 SaaS cost management tips for new-to-cloud usage

  When it comes to SaaS spending, IT must ensure that everyone from users to management is on the same page. Use these strategies to stay within your cloud budget.  Continue Reading

• How to work with Azure DNS zones

  Microsoft's hosting service for DNS domains is an option for organizations with a heavy Azure investment that want the benefits associated with a cloud service.  Continue Reading

• Manage Kubernetes pods and nodes with these native features

  In Kubernetes, pod management requires familiarity with the platform's native features. From Services and Jobs to taints and tolerations, learn how they help direct deployments.  Continue Reading

• Waterfall vs. Agile vs. iterative development explained

  Componentized software architectures gave way to new forms of software development. Learn when to implement simple iterative development versus wholesale changes with Agile.  Continue Reading

• How to hold Three Amigos meetings in Agile development

  Three Amigos is an Agile development strategy to keep projects on track with specifications, timeline expectations and more. Here's how to host the meetings, and who should join in.  Continue Reading

• The non-tech skills of software development project managers

  Teams are key to the success of any enterprise software project, but development teams don't run themselves. Managers need the right skills to keep their employees on track.  Continue Reading

• Compare Google Cloud Deployment Manager vs. Terraform on GCP

  Determine whether to opt for cloud native Deployment Manager or third-party Terraform for infrastructure as code on Google Cloud.  Continue Reading

• Infrastructure as code examples for DevOps, cloud deployments

  Administrators can use infrastructure as code to consistently manage a distributed set of resources. Follow these four examples to get started, and explore common IaC tool choices.  Continue Reading

• Explore the tools for disaster recovery on AWS, Azure and GCP

  Utilize cloud infrastructure for your disaster recovery plan. Learn about the tools and services from AWS, Google and Microsoft to see if they fit in your DR plan.  Continue Reading

• Figure out the differences of asset management vs. CMDB

  There is no shortage of software options for change management tools. Operational goals can help IT teams decide if ITAM or CMDB is the right choice for the organization.  Continue Reading

• How to start managing software development teams like a pro

  Team performance is vital to a software project's success. Avoid these common management challenges and learn about the key metrics that help monitor your team's effectiveness.  Continue Reading

• How to ensure a scalable SASE architecture

  Don't assume all SASE architecture is the same, especially when it comes to scalability. Enterprises should consider distance to vendor PoPs, office locations and agent onboarding.  Continue Reading

• Compare low-power Wi-Fi protocols and their roles in IoT

  Wi-Fi means more than faster speeds. Low-power Wi-Fi will help companies improve the efficiency of their IoT deployments, thanks to longer signal range and power consumption features.  Continue Reading

• Cloud storage best practices in the work-from-home era

  Find out what data and applications are best for cloud storage, what design factors to consider and how to choose the right service to meet short- and long-term needs of remote workers.  Continue Reading

• Learn SELinux commands for management and troubleshooting

  SELinux provides a more secure way to run Linux servers. Key commands for status, file management and troubleshooting can help you run SELinux smoothly on your infrastructure.  Continue Reading

• Evaluate SaaS integration tools for IaaS-hosted apps

  SaaS tools can enhance applications hosted on AWS, Microsoft Azure and other public clouds, but they also present integration challenges. See which tools can ease those burdens.  Continue Reading

• How and why to do parallel testing

  Parallel testing can be a boon to test coverage and test execution times. But while the practice is quite adoptable, testers still need a well-thought-out implementation strategy.  Continue Reading

• The value of an IoT implementation in the data center

  IoT can help with data center management and optimization. Before you embark on an implementation, evaluate use cases, software options and security concerns.  Continue Reading

• Compare runbooks vs. playbooks for IT process documentation

  Despite some contextual differences, runbooks and playbooks serve a similar purpose in the enterprise: to document critical processes.  Continue Reading

• How to build a resilient network design

  Everything fails eventually, even in networking. Enterprises can prepare for network failure by building resilience and redundancy into their network infrastructure design.  Continue Reading

• How static and dynamic code analysis boost app security

  Catch security vulnerabilities before they catch up to you. Here's how static and dynamic source code analysis help address application concerns, and the difference between the approaches.  Continue Reading

• Put an IT succession plan in place for your cloud team

  IT is a small world. Before you leave your current company and role, make sure your successor has the right training, support and documentation to hit the ground running.  Continue Reading

• A basic overview of micro front ends

  Microservices enable independent app-dev teams, asynchronous app updates and precise troubleshooting. If these benefits sound good for your UI, consider a micro front end.  Continue Reading

• QEMU 5.0 continues a legacy of emulation

  Admins looking for an alternative tool for emulating hardware should consider QEMU, which supports x86, PowerPC, ARM and SPARC architectures.  Continue Reading

• How to approach a GCP-to-AWS migration

  Before you move your GCP workloads to AWS, you need a clear cloud migration plan in place and a framework to understand the challenges and additional costs.  Continue Reading

• How to start DevOps: A step-by-step guide

  DevOps can be a grand departure from an IT organization's status quo. Follow these seven basic steps for a phased transition that staff will champion.  Continue Reading

• Learn what to test in a mobile application

  A lot goes into making sure an end user can interact with a mobile app seamlessly. Here are five ways to make sure a mobile app functions properly, without code or device challenges.  Continue Reading

• Microsoft 365 E3 vs. Office 365 E3: What admins need to know

  The rumors of Office 365's death have been greatly exaggerated. Microsoft still offers an Office 365 E3 plan, but how does it stack up to the Microsoft 365 E3 plan?  Continue Reading

• Global company weighs 5G for manufacturing, IoT analytics

  Global manufacturer Sanmina is studying the benefits of deploying 5G on its manufacturing floor to improve the speed of IoT and analytics data exchanges to the cloud.  Continue Reading

• Manage containerized microservices with a service registry

  It's easier than ever to spin up a containerized app, but that ease has created a problem: How to keep track of containerized microservices. Turn to service registries and orchestrators.  Continue Reading

• 7 steps to retiring storage hardware safely and efficiently

  Organizations put a lot of thought into the storage equipment they purchase. The decision to retire that same hardware should get just as much consideration.  Continue Reading

• A look at the main differences of Bourne shell vs. Bash

  Shells help admins run commands from the keyboard to the OS. Though Bourne shell and Bash are similar, there are differences in layout and code compatibility.  Continue Reading

• Clearing up the Nano Server vs. Server Core confusion

  The debut of Windows Server 2016 contained a lighter server OS deployment to replace Server Core, but then Microsoft made a drastic change that still has some admins puzzled.  Continue Reading

• An overview of Xen Cloud Platform components, features

  Xen's open source product, XCP, enables admins to perform various virtualization operations, such as live migrations and VM lifecycle management.  Continue Reading

• Learn how to perform TDD with a simple example

  Fizz, buzz -- no, it isn't cocktail hour, although we don't mind if you pour one. It's time to learn test-driven development with a simple example.  Continue Reading

• 6 tools to know for private cloud monitoring and reporting

  Cloud reporting helps admins address capacity issues and reduce outages. Effective tools should include role-based dashboards and track virtual and physical hardware.  Continue Reading

• Apache, Spring and Mule: Explore 3 top integration frameworks

  A good integration framework should underpin every application strategy. Apache Camel, Spring Integration and Mule ESB can simplify integration at scale. We deconstruct them here.  Continue Reading

• VMware product overview: Virtualization and end-user computing

  Confused by VMware's extensive product line? This guide examines VMware products and features to help admins identify whether VMware suits their workloads.  Continue Reading

• Tips for a smooth DevSecOps transformation

  DevSecOps is a natural progression of DevOps and spreads security responsibilities to other IT teams. Where to begin? Here are core concepts, helpful tools and ways to learn more.  Continue Reading

• Archive as a service: What you need to know

  Archive-as-a-service offerings could help simplify what can be a complicated process. Make sure you do the proper research and vetting before undertaking the cloud-based platform.  Continue Reading

• Top 6 complexity challenges of operating a cloud at scale

  It's not unusual for enterprises to scale their applications to meet demand, but they need to be aware of the associated cloud complexity issues. Look out for these six common problems.  Continue Reading

• Software accessibility testing: Standards, strategy and tools

  Assistive technology ensures that all customers can access software easily. Don't overlook this important element of software quality. Here's how to test software accessibility.  Continue Reading

• What's involved in VPN maintenance and management?

  Before an organization's VPN is up and running, IT teams must address four important aspects of VPN maintenance and management to keep abreast of transforming security concerns.  Continue Reading

• The basics of software coupling metrics and concepts

  To move toward a distributed, modular architecture, development teams need to carefully investigate software coupling concepts and learn how to measure dependency complexity.  Continue Reading

• When -- and when not -- to use cloud native security tools

  Security tools from cloud vendors are convenient, but that doesn't mean they are always the right choice. Learn how to decide when you should opt to use third-party security tools.  Continue Reading

• Ways to use feature flags in DevOps

  What's in a name? Whether you call them feature flags or toggles, this approach benefits enterprise IT all the same. Learn the basics and see how to apply them to DevOps.  Continue Reading

• Discover the main differences between COTS vs. GOTS

  When admins compare government versus commercial software options, they must consider cost, use cases and available support as part of the selection process.  Continue Reading

• 3 dramatic ways to increase developer productivity

  Developers work best when distractions are at a minimum, yet most organizations simply aren't doing their part to reduce them. Be brave and try these three aggressive methods.  Continue Reading

• How and when to establish enterprise 5G partnerships

  Enterprises that buy 5G public services, procure network slices or build their own private 5G networks need to establish the right partnerships for mobile services, equipment and software.  Continue Reading

• 4 alternatives to end-to-end testing microservices

  Microservices architectures deserve better than end-to-end testing. See how methods like contract testing, subsystem testing and more can fill the end-to-end test void.  Continue Reading

• How to deal with the challenges of cloud storage vs. SAN

  Whether you're managing cloud storage or a local SAN, both have issues. Compare 13 areas where SAN and cloud storage challenges can arise and find out how to deal with them.  Continue Reading

• 6 steps for effective real-time monitoring across hybrid IT

  Infrastructure monitoring can span multiple stakeholders, data center sites and metrics. Use the five W's to establish a comprehensive monitoring strategy.  Continue Reading

• A lesson on how to test microservices locally

  Microservices are small pieces of a big picture, so they're difficult to test in isolation. Use these tips to run unit and integration tests locally on microservices.  Continue Reading

• Home SD-WAN will redefine next-generation WAN

  The need for home-office SD-WAN won't end when the pandemic does. Learn how best to provide this essential tech to your organization's at-home employees.  Continue Reading

• Explore cloud computing's effect on application development

  AWS and cloud computing changed the way organizations build and run applications. Explore why that happened and see what to expect in the future as more businesses jump on board.  Continue Reading

• SAN management best practices for optimizing performance

  SANs consolidate resources and provide a high-speed network for storage traffic, but that doesn't mean you're off the hook when it comes to performance management.  Continue Reading

• How to manage technical debt in IT organizations

  "Debt" is a scary word even without "technical" before it. We can't help you with dollars and cents, but we can share what IT technical debt is and how to create a debt reduction plan.  Continue Reading

• MVC vs. MVVM: 2 architecture patterns for modularity

  Both the MVC and MVVM design patterns separate front-end and back-end application components, but each one has unique methods of interface manipulation and abstraction.  Continue Reading

• How to approach IT logging in the cloud vs. on premises

  IT organizations must monitor cloud infrastructure and apps with a process that's different than they're used to for on-premises environments. Learn how to do cloud logging here.  Continue Reading

• Learn the benefits of microservices orchestration

  Orchestration plays a vital role in a microservices architecture, especially when it comes to communication, workload management and architecture readability.  Continue Reading

• VMware vSAN vs. SAN: What are the differences?

  VMware vSAN differs from a traditional SAN in a few crucial ways, including pooled vs. isolated storage, access management and optimization for different types of environments.  Continue Reading

• How to approach Agile team organization

  Should an Agile team have an architect? Does cross-functional mean constantly changing? How do teams set velocity and quality? Get the answers to set up and lead Agile teams.  Continue Reading

• Tips to get colocation contract renewal right

  During your team's colocation contract renewal process, be sure to reevaluate power requirements, spending flexibility and one-time cross-connect fees to gain better services.  Continue Reading

• How to calculate project completion times

  Good project managers deliver on schedule, despite the challenges they encounter. Become a time and resource management pro and deliver on the expected completion date.  Continue Reading

• Get started with Docker Bench for Security

  Common vulnerabilities in OSes and configuration files can plague Docker hosts. Learn how to set up Docker Bench for Security and use the open source tool to fortify hosts against threats.  Continue Reading

• Troubleshoot SAN issues to improve performance

  Common SAN problems include compatibility issues, hardware failures and sluggish storage response times, but a few proven strategies can easily resolve these issues.  Continue Reading

• Why development team membership should change regularly

  Static development teams might be hurting your company. But too much reorganization can cause chaos. Here's how to strike a balance that keeps teams engaged and innovative.  Continue Reading

• Examine the cloud industry's response to GDPR and CCPA compliance

  Explore the cloud industry's response to the GDPR and CCPA requirements and learn what types of organizations these governance policies have affected so far.  Continue Reading

• Threat identification is IT ops' role in SecOps

  IT operations teams can take steps to improve security as part of their daily tasks. Learn about the ways to identify threat incidents and reduce false positives.  Continue Reading

• Best practices for better server lifecycle management deals

  A buyer's playbook with granular forecasts of server refresh, upgrade, maintenance and precedent discount details strengthens your negotiation position with your server supplier.  Continue Reading

• 5 open source software applications for virtualization

  Open source software comes with many benefits, but admins must first determine whether each tool's use cases align with their workload needs.  Continue Reading

• Common functional testing types explained, with examples

  Not sure what to check during an integration test, or whether to combine regression and user acceptance testing? Learn what these functional test types cover, and when to do them.  Continue Reading

• A primer on the clean architecture pattern and its principles

  Stability is a crucial aspect of application architecture. Learn how clean architecture can straighten out your dependencies and make an app that is built to last.  Continue Reading

• Guide to Google Anthos architecture and management

  Explore the essential concepts that make Google Anthos work, including environs and groupings. Learn how to set up this Kubernetes-powered hybrid and multi-cloud platform.  Continue Reading

• How Lean value stream mapping cuts delay, boosts efficiency

  You have a backlog, work in short sprints, and track metrics on test coverage and defect rates -- so why does it still take so long to move code to production? Try visualizing it.  Continue Reading

• Best practices to maintain VPN security

  Enterprises looking to maintain VPN security should focus on proper endpoint security and authentication, VPN server security and documentation for security policies.  Continue Reading

• Benefits of intent-based networking for modern networks

  Intent-based networking can benefit network teams working remotely with increased workloads due to COVID-19. Benefits include reduced human error and automated manual tasks.  Continue Reading

• WVD vs. RDS vs. VDI: Which should you choose?

  Application and desktop virtualization delivered by Windows Server continues to do the job, but is it time to give Microsoft's new cloud-based desktop service a look?  Continue Reading

• 4 ways to minimize test automation maintenance

  Test automation maintenance is inescapable. Here are four ways to reduce maintenance and ensure software testing is as effective as possible.  Continue Reading

• Cloud VDI storage: Nasuni vs. Panzura and other competitors

  Data storage for distributed VDIs can be a challenge. Find out how Nasuni, Panzura and other vendors are overcoming obstacles with new approaches to cloud virtual desktop systems.  Continue Reading

• VMware general support for vSphere 6 ended; know your options

  VMware ended general support for vSphere 6.0 in March 2020. If you still use this version of vSphere, you should know your options moving forward.  Continue Reading

• Actual sales tactics vendors use during server refresh lifecycle

  See specific examples of the strategies server vendors use in order to better prepare for sales pitches throughout the five stages of the server renewal and refresh lifecycle.  Continue Reading

• A beginner's guide to hosted and bare-metal virtualization

  Choosing a virtualization approach isn't a matter of competition. Admins must consider their personal use cases to determine which hypervisor type suits their needs.  Continue Reading

• Adjust these 4 server BIOS settings to improve performance

  You can configure BIOS settings to get more productivity out of servers, but some high-performance settings could increase power consumption or put reliability at risk.  Continue Reading

• Single-socket servers offer cost, utilization benefits to admins

  Different server types bring advantages in processing speed, memory availability and overall cost. See what single- and dual-socket servers can add to your infrastructure.  Continue Reading

• How to build a successful IT service desk

  The IT service desk has a lot to manage. With a strong foundation and the right steps in place to handle issues, it can take on anything users throw at it.  Continue Reading

• Shore up defenses with help from Office 365 logs

  Logging on Microsoft's productivity platform used in conjunction with other tools can form an effective shield from malicious actors looking to find a way into your organization.  Continue Reading

• Orchestration vs. choreography in microservices architecture

  Orchestration and choreography are related, but they each have their own role to play. Get to know the basics of these service call approaches, including the use cases for each.  Continue Reading

• Understand the pros and cons of the IBM PowerVM

  IBM's enterprise virtualization product, PowerVM, offers a host of benefits, but it also comes with challenges that admins should familiarize themselves with prior to implementation.  Continue Reading

• 3 SD-WAN cloud connectivity options to explore

  Enterprises can connect their SD-WAN infrastructure to cloud providers' platforms using three methods: back-to-back access, private PoP connections and internet VPN.  Continue Reading