Tips

Tips

• Deploy vCenter and vSphere without using a VAR

  VMware platforms are more than just virtualization software; they create an SDDC. If you take the time to understand vSphere and vCenter, you can deploy them without a VAR.  Continue Reading

• How to approach test case design

  To be a good tester, start at requirements and user expectations, then develop test cases that make certain those needs are met. Walk through the basics of test cases with expert Gerie Owen.  Continue Reading

• Review latest investments to AWS' machine learning platform

  Improved deep learning capabilities lead this machine learning roundup. Learn how AWS is targeting both machine-learning-savvy developers and data scientists.  Continue Reading

• Take a closer look at the AWS Hero and Microsoft MVP programs

  Certifications are a popular option for candidates to gain credibility in a certain technology. Learn how AWS Heroes and Microsoft MVP programs help IT pros stand out from the crowd.  Continue Reading

• Debunking 5 common myths about data storage containers

  Storage containers can hold a lot of things, including misconceptions. Here are five common container storage myths that need to vanish.  Continue Reading

• Use these features and techniques to ensure Hyper-V security

  To successfully enhance the security of Hyper-V hosts and VMs, admins should consider network security, guarded fabric technology, Generation 2 VMs and Secure Boot.  Continue Reading

• Use these PowerCLI vMotion cmdlets to automate VM migration

  VMware vMotion moves VMs between hypervisors and storage devices to keep those VMs running. You can use PowerCLI to easily automate complex vMotion tasks.  Continue Reading

• What IT admins need to know about cloud application patching

  When they host apps in a SaaS or PaaS environment, IT teams offload some patching duties to cloud providers. But other responsibilities become even more important.  Continue Reading

• Tips and tools to achieve a serverless DevOps workflow

  Serverless functions bring the benefits of event-driven computing to a CI/CD pipeline -- but to get there, DevOps teams might need to lean heavily on services and tools from the major cloud computing providers.  Continue Reading

• Invoke these 3 commandments of microservice applications

  Unlock a microservice app's potential with a three-pillared approach centered on a thorough component directory, absolute service flexibility and reliable backwards compatibility.  Continue Reading

• Persistent memory in Hyper-V VMs offers better data retention

  When coupled with virtualization, persistent memory bridges the gap between traditional memory and storage devices by offering better performance and availability.  Continue Reading

• 5G frequency spectrum forces new look at coverage strategies

  New 5G frequency allocations will help make it an amazing technology, but it will also force a rethinking of how those signals are transmitted.  Continue Reading

• How network standards and open source organizations differ

  Both open source and network standards organizations want to develop the next-generation network. Yet their methods differ, and they can benefit different types of organizations.  Continue Reading

• How Cisco and Nexenta software defines storage for HyperFlex HCI

  See how Nexenta's virtual storage appliance software can extend Cisco HyperFlex HCI storage capabilities without additional hardware or complex system reconfigurations.  Continue Reading

• Top 6 Google cloud certification programs

  The cloud job market continues to grow, but it can be hard to get your resume to the top of the pile. Consider these Google cloud certifications to stand out from the crowd.  Continue Reading

• Decrease legacy hardware security gaps

  Dated infrastructure poses security threats to organizations -- especially with the amount of sensitive data used today. Address these concerns with active inventory audits.  Continue Reading

• A close look at different types of hyper-converged architectures

  Learn more about the major kinds of hyper-converged infrastructure available as we explore the evolution of HCI from basic storage-compute nodes to newer disaggregated types.  Continue Reading

• Secure configuration management tasks with a certificate authority

  A CA server is a limited shield for the data that configuration management tools collect, but IT admins can use one for many tasks -- like to create custom certificates -- and boost security.  Continue Reading

• Examine the growing role of VMware in the IoT market

  In a growing IoT market, VMware decided to focus on system management. Although users might not bet on VMware to become an IoT market leader, the company has its strengths.  Continue Reading

• Understanding why IPv6 renumbering problems occur

  IPv6 renumbering can be a challenge, especially if a host using SLAAC obtains stale prefixes. But there are steps you can take to reduce your vulnerability.  Continue Reading

• Are you ready for the Exchange 2010 end of life?

  Whether you want to stay on premises with a newer version of Exchange Server or lift that workload into Microsoft's cloud version, there are pros and cons to weigh on each end.  Continue Reading

• Get to know Hyper-V 2019 new features and functionality

  Window Server 2019 showed fewer new features than first expected, but Hyper-V admins can benefit from improved support for shielded VMs and the new Admin Center feature.  Continue Reading

• How to achieve speedy application response times

  Development and operations teams both have a responsibility to ensure fast application response times. Follow this advice to measure and reduce delay.  Continue Reading

• Prevent VMware environment failure with a solid design

  You can mitigate the threat of failure through good VMware environment design, with practices such as creating management clusters and carefully considering host size and density.  Continue Reading

• The benefits of Wi-Fi 6 and how to prepare for them

  In order to glean the benefits of Wi-Fi 6, enterprises first need to determine the best steps for a migration strategy. Two key steps are implementing more power and faster uplinks.  Continue Reading

• How blockchain sharding solves the blockchain scalability issue

  Sharding is the answer to the scalability problem inherent in blockchain technology. Find out the advantages of sharding and the four problems associated with it.  Continue Reading

• How to plot out a test automation strategy

  Test automation can deliver great value or immense frustration. Map out a winning approach that helps engineers learn test automation skills and doesn't leave them exasperated.  Continue Reading

• Consider the when, why and how of a Mesos-to-Kubernetes migration

  Before choosing to migrate to Kubernetes, Mesos users should carefully prepare for the complexity of the move -- and first consider using the two technologies side by side.  Continue Reading

• Explore Robin hyper-converged Kubernetes for containerized apps

  Robin Systems new scalable and agile Kubernetes HCI platform aims to take the pain out of deploying and managing complex data-intensive systems in a containerized environment.  Continue Reading

• 4 steps for a smooth SDN installation

  Software-defined infrastructure can be tricky to implement. Automation, vendor-supported hardware and skilled developers are essential for smooth updates.  Continue Reading

• GPU repurposing helps improve infrastructure cost efficiency

  A GPU's cost efficiency decreases when left idle. But, by putting GPUs to work for virtual desktop infrastructure sessions, admins can reduce costs and ensure improved performance.  Continue Reading

• How client VPN technologies will evolve with AI and automation

  With help from artificial intelligence and automation, client VPN technologies could innovate the way they handle data flows within hybrid cloud environments.  Continue Reading

• 3 ways to approach legacy hardware maintenance

  Budget, maintenance cycles and specialized use cases are all reasons to keep legacy hardware. Minimize costs and outages with service contracts and emulation options.  Continue Reading

• Embrace an app-centric approach to monitoring in the cloud

  Cloud computing minimizes the need for IT teams to worry about infrastructure hardware -- which means their monitoring strategies can, and should, hone in on apps and the user experience.  Continue Reading

• VMware Workstation vs. VirtualBox: Which is the better hypervisor?

  The Type 2 hypervisor debate between VMware Workstation and Oracle VirtualBox has gotten tougher as the latter has caught up. Examine their advantages to see which fits your needs.  Continue Reading

• Maintain CMDB data integrity for automated disaster recovery

  For successful disaster recovery, IT admins must keep CMDB data precise. Learn best practices to promote data accuracy for an automated failover and DR plan.  Continue Reading

• How SD-WAN security can boost your network security strategy

  Many organizations say security is a top priority for their business, but most lack the necessary resources to thoroughly secure their networks and cloud services. SD-WAN could help.  Continue Reading

• Storing predictive analytics data can be tricky: Avoid these 5 errors

  Looking into the future is getting easier with predictive analytics, but only when your storage resources are able to meet the demanding needs of the data those tools generate.  Continue Reading

• Match market shifts with a lightweight enterprise architecture

  Lightweight EA can streamline and refine how IT software meets business needs. See which lightweight EA toolkit route fits your team: one focused on an EA model or workflows.  Continue Reading

• How Windows Admin Center stacks up to other management tools

  Microsoft is putting a lot of resources into this relatively new tool to manage Windows systems, but is it ready for prime time when compared with more seasoned offerings?  Continue Reading

• Sizing up the Office 365 protection options

  Get serious about protecting your organization from ransomware and phishing attacks by taking a closer look at the leading Office 365 security offerings.  Continue Reading

• Explore Docker vs. LXC through the lens of a three-tier app

  Containers are not small virtual machines, and they're not all the same under the hood. To make smart deployment choices, understand the nuanced differences between container types.  Continue Reading

• Unlock hybrid cloud with this AWS Transit Gateway integration

  AWS Direct Connect should be a much more attractive service for enterprises due to some recent changes. See how these upgrades can simplify your hybrid architecture.  Continue Reading

• Try these 5 team-building activities for software developers

  Whether it's a soft skills workshop, simulated outage exercise or in-house tech conference, these one-day events get dev teams out of a coding rut. Plan yours now.  Continue Reading

• Kick-start AWS cost reduction with these tools and techniques

  Never turn your back on a cloud deployment. Learn how to tame AWS bills through capacity planning and governance practices, relying on CloudFormation, Cost Explorer and other AWS products.  Continue Reading

• Follow these hybrid cloud infrastructure best practices

  Although a hybrid cloud approach can seem daunting, it enables enterprises to get the best of both worlds -- if managed correctly. Learn the dos and don'ts of hybrid cloud deployments.  Continue Reading

• Exchange troubleshooting tools help unclog email issues

  When problems with email occur, they can stem from an improper configuration of the Exchange Server system. Here's how to unravel some common messaging platform problems.  Continue Reading

• How to handle service downtime in the cloud age

  You know what happens when you assume. Don't set and forget those critical IT infrastructure services in the cloud without putting together a contingency plan.  Continue Reading

• What the VMware VCP certification backtrack means for you

  In 2019, VMware rolled back its VCP certification policy. This means that expired VCP 4 and 5 certificates have gone live again, and VCP names now correlate with year.  Continue Reading

• Top 8 cloud administrator interview questions and answers

  Hoping to become a cloud administrator? There's a lot to cover -- from tools to certifications. Prepare for your interview with these eight questions.  Continue Reading

• Simplify SaaS integration with an IT service aggregator

  SaaS management can cause as many headaches as SaaS apps prevent. Poor integrations between disparate tools can create bottlenecks and failures, but aggregators can help.  Continue Reading

• A comparison of 6 speech-to-text services

  AWS, Microsoft and Google can add speech-to-text capabilities to apps, but they're not your only option. Compare those cloud-based tools to other AI-infused transcription services.  Continue Reading

• 10 skills of highly effective software testers

  QA professionals with hands-on experience and a mix of technical and soft skills offer great value for software engineering teams. Testers with these 10 skills can boost their careers.  Continue Reading

• Design vSphere clusters with consistency in mind

  You can reduce the chances of poor performance and data loss with a solid vSphere cluster design, one that keeps networking and configuration consistency in mind.  Continue Reading

• Implement and manage an event-driven microservices architecture

  Learn the basics of event-driven architecture as they apply to microservices, with the help of real-world examples and three main architecture patterns.  Continue Reading

• Serverless testing in CI eliminates surprises in production

  Writing in a functional language without intuitive unit test coverage? Don't have control over resources or scaling? Here's how to make serverless testing work anyway.  Continue Reading

• Use modern cloud security best practices

  Enterprises still worry about the security of cloud and if migrating will put data at risk. Explore modern methods, technologies and tools that help strengthen cloud environments.  Continue Reading

• Assess the pros and cons of citizen developers in the enterprise

  When it comes to citizen developers and no-code/low-code, there really is no one-size-fits-all approach. Determine their value, as well as their limitations, for your specific app development needs.  Continue Reading

• 3 key unstructured data storage challenges and how to resolve them

  Volume, variety and value make storing unstructured data difficult. We look at how some vendors are helping enterprises get control of their burgeoning data stores.  Continue Reading

• Software reliability engineering practices for distributed apps

  Learn how these four software reliability engineering concepts -- inventories, monitoring, observability and Pareto analysis -- can aid API management and application performance.  Continue Reading

• With Packer, VM template creation is easy

  Templates are the quickest, easiest way to deploy VMs in vSphere. You can use a free tool such as Packer and a builder such as vmware-iso to automate the creation of VM templates.  Continue Reading

• Managed Kubernetes doesn't mean set it and forget it

  Don't let the name fool you: Cloud-based managed Kubernetes services still require user management. Here's what IT teams still need to know when deploying on AKS, EKS and GKE.  Continue Reading

• Implement serverless architecture on AWS without Lambda

  Serverless on AWS isn't all about Lambda. In fact, many of the services developers use often -- such as S3, Aurora and others -- can fit into serverless orchestration patterns.  Continue Reading

• Don't buy a GPU for machine learning unless you have the workload

  Virtual GPUs and machine learning might seem like a perfect match, but specialized chips might not be worth the investment if your workloads won't use the cards' full capacity.  Continue Reading

• Public cloud services grow HPC market, but work remains

  HPC applications need a lot of resources, but not all enterprises can meet those requirements. However, new cloud services are emerging to address that gap in the market.  Continue Reading

• What semantic monitoring can and can't do for microservices

  Semantic monitoring can identify microservices performance problems, catch bugs in transactions and ensure uptime. But when you test in production, you'd better know what you're doing.  Continue Reading

• How to choose hyper-converged backup for data protection

  Data protection is essential for any hyper-converged infrastructure. How you back up data -- natively, agentless or using agents -- depends on your environment and other factors.  Continue Reading

• How to become a UX designer with your QA background

  If you're a tester, a switch to a UX role is fairly simple. A range of UX design skills are just a matter of evaluating user needs before developers build the app code -- not after.  Continue Reading

• What you need to know about Google Cloud Anthos

  It's time to learn the foundational concepts of Google Anthos, as well as its seven core components that set it apart from AWS Outposts and Azure Stack.  Continue Reading

• Understand KubeVirt basics to help get you started

  Getting to know KubeVirt prior to use is essential. Though it relies on core Kubernetes technology, running VMs alongside containers is something you might be unfamiliar with.  Continue Reading

• Think carefully about API language standards

  API language standards were few and far between in the past, but now cloud has made API standardization more important than ever. Learn what you need to know about these standards.  Continue Reading

• Data center performance requirements spur 25 GbE upgrades

  Enterprises are upgrading their data centers with 25 GbE to achieve better throughput and support I/O-intensive applications. Here are some best practices for making the switch.  Continue Reading

• Obtain and deploy Hyper-V with Admin Center rather than VARs

  Using Admin Center to deploy Hyper-V over VARs can offer admins flexibility and the ability to remotely manage servers, but the push toward cloud migration can be an issue.  Continue Reading

• How to live with loss of control with cloud software updates

  IT pros don't have the same control over updates and versions in the cloud as they do on premises. Stay ahead of the changes and communicate to staff to lessen any negative impacts.  Continue Reading

• How to get out of a bad colocation contract

  Renegotiation, legal action and cancellation are all options if your colocation service agreement isn't up to par. But each option requires research to avoid big fees or downtime.  Continue Reading

• Achieve network perimeter security through deep segmentation

  Firewall effectiveness is in deep decline, but there's still a way to create an effective security perimeter through the practice of deep segmentation. Learn how.  Continue Reading

• 5 steps to include on your software update checklist

  Training, testing and automation are all essential components to software updates. Implementing these concepts makes version maintenance a less herculean task.  Continue Reading

• Ensure cloud migration security with these tips

  Security is always a concern in the data center, as well as in cloud -- but what about during a migration? Learn how to protect sensitive data both in transit and before it goes live.  Continue Reading

• ALM tools face-off pits SpiraTeam vs. Jira

  Development teams must adopt an ALM tool that supports its procedures and objectives. Atlassian and Inflectra cater to different size dev teams. Which tool fits your needs?  Continue Reading

• Do multi-tenant environments still create noisy neighbors?

  A noisy neighbor isn't just a real-world problem. Learn how a noisy neighbor can affect workload performance and how the public cloud has changed to address this issue.  Continue Reading

• An overview of VMware's UEM market involvement

  Despite a slow start, the UEM market is on the rise. VMware offers Workspace ONE and forges deals with Sprint, Dell and Honeywell in the hopes of increasing UEM adoption.  Continue Reading

• How to migrate from Azure to Amazon's cloud with AWS SMS

  AWS Server Migration Service can move large swaths of Azure, Windows and VMware VMs into AWS, whether it's a one-time migration or a periodic replication between environments. Learn how to put it to use.  Continue Reading

• API workflow design patterns for microservices scenarios

  When it comes to workflow systems for microservices, there's no one-size-fits-all approach. Learn about the API workflow pattern options that can set you straight.  Continue Reading

• What to expect with SD-WAN management, intent and usability

  Users can expect advancements in SD-WAN intent, usability and management, as vendors seek to improve their developer ecosystems, integration and multi-tenancy capabilities.  Continue Reading

• Compare Google Cloud Firestore and Firebase Realtime Database

  Managed NoSQL databases are increasingly popular for app development. Compare two such options from Google -- Realtime Database and Cloud Firestore -- to see if they meet your needs.  Continue Reading

• 4 QLC workloads and why they're a good fit for QLC NAND flash

  Find out about the read-intensive applications that work best with QLC NAND. Analytics, data archiving, streaming media and database workloads are all good options.  Continue Reading

• 6 multi-cloud storage challenges that affect strategic plans

  Using multiple cloud storage providers can affect more than just how and where your data is stored. Discover the areas you need to consider to improve performance and costs.  Continue Reading

• Understanding AWS security groups' capabilities and limitations

  Expand your knowledge of AWS security groups. Learn how to configure them for traffic protection, along with how they compare to other firewall options on AWS.  Continue Reading

• Cloud adoption questions every IT admin should ask

  For all of a cloud service's benefits, there are limitations, such as restricted access to infrastructure, that cause IT teams to be leery of adoption.  Continue Reading

• 3 key problems computational storage devices can solve

  This emerging technology brings stored data closer to compute processes, solving latency and performance issues. Discover the three potential advantages of computational storage.  Continue Reading

• BigQuery updates highlight AI push, but work remains

  Google took a different approach than AWS and Microsoft when it built a service for ad hoc SQL queries. See how that played a role in the latest round of updates to BigQuery.  Continue Reading

• NSX-T 2.4 could surpass NSX-V as VMware's primary SDN platform

  VMware NSX-T now includes High Availability, a simplified UI and firewall updates. If it can provide your data center the same functionality as NSX-V, consider making the switch.  Continue Reading

• Design a VMware environment with CPUs, storage in mind

  A solid infrastructure is critical to smooth operations in the data center. Admins designing a VMware environment should think about CPUs, storage and reference architectures.  Continue Reading

• Flexible consumption models lower IT overhead, help investments

  Flexible consumption lets you track infrastructure usage and decrease tech investment overhead. It may seem similar to the as-a-service model, but there are differences between the two.  Continue Reading

• 6 steps to a successful network disaster recovery plan

  Don't wait until disaster strikes to consider network resiliency and recovery. Use these six practical steps to build a network disaster recovery plan that fits your business needs.  Continue Reading

• How to troubleshoot unexpected ESXi host reboots using crash logs

  When your ESXi host abruptly reboots, you can use logs to track the potential causes, whether they are planned, environmental or hardware-related.  Continue Reading

• Weigh infrastructure as code risks against the benefits

  Infrastructure as code can transform the modern data center, but maintain a healthy dose of caution -- and thorough documentation and testing environments -- to prevent chaos.  Continue Reading

• Staging environment best practices that boost software QA

  Despite advances like shift-right testing in production environments, staging environments still have a crucial role to play.  Continue Reading

• Prepare your organization for 100G data center Ethernet

  Leaf-spine topologies, Ethernet and optics research are driving the next generation of data center networking infrastructure. Stay ahead of the curve with these technologies.  Continue Reading

• Check Office 365 usage reports for user adoption insights

  Microsoft gives administrators access to many Office 365 reports to pinpoint ways to improve user adoption rates and tighten up potential security leaks.  Continue Reading