Tips

Tips

• How to monitor CPU usage in SDN environments

  Monitoring CPU usage in a software-defined network is necessary to determine adequate network capacity and compute capacity, especially if workloads are competing for resources.  Continue Reading

• 5 key management practices for a hybrid cloud architecture

  Workload bottlenecks easily arise between legacy and modern apps in a hybrid cloud. Coordinate integration with these five steps to prep a microservices application for hybrid cloud.  Continue Reading

• Cloud optimization hinges on smart instance size selection

  App performance can suffer from poorly sized instances, the wrong instance type for the workload and other setbacks. Use these techniques and tools to optimize cloud operations.  Continue Reading

• Bare-metal vs. VM container deployment considerations

  Consider your performance requirements, portability needs and what level of isolation and security you want when deploying containers in your environment.  Continue Reading

• Sizing and scaling VMware datastores 101

  When deploying vSphere, you must know how to size and scale your datastores for optimal VM efficiency. Discover what options you have and how best to use them.  Continue Reading

• Examine 4 hybrid cloud options from bursts to SaaS to CI/CD

  Hybrid cloud can provide an enterprise with a happy medium of cloud and on-premises benefits. Unsure where to begin? Try setting up hybrid web services, software services or development tools, and other practical approaches.  Continue Reading

• How to deprecate software features without bothering users

  There's more to software deprecation than it seems. Organizations must consider the method of deprecation, how to inform users and what alternatives they should offer.  Continue Reading

• 4 branch office server management best practices

  Setting up a ROBO server involves specific hardware and software configuration considerations, such as ensuring redundancy and connectivity for remote management.  Continue Reading

• Evaluate on-premises vs. SaaS tools for IT systems management

  While there are a lot of factors for enterprises to consider when choosing an IT management tool, the on-premises vs. SaaS decision can be a particularly tricky one.  Continue Reading

• Maximize Amazon S3 reliability with shrewd choices

  IT organizations moving to AWS might have data protection concerns. However, with replication across regions and versioning available, savvy S3 users get increased data reliability.  Continue Reading

• Practical ways to automate microservices' CI/CD processes

  Development teams need to make applications extensible and agile. Microservices bring those goals in sight, but an automated CI/CD pipeline is the key to success.  Continue Reading

• Accelerate data migration with AWS DataSync

  Dig into the details of AWS DataSync, such as deployment options and availability. Compare it to similar AWS services and see how it can fit into an organization's cloud strategy.  Continue Reading

• Learn how to use Salt orchestration with an example

  Admins can use orchestration features in Salt to centrally control a group of minions and machines. Follow this example, which features Orchestrate Runner, to get started.  Continue Reading

• Use the Ballerina language to ease into cloud microservices

  With native integration features, Ballerina promises to take care of lower-level technological considerations, while developers focus on building features.  Continue Reading

• Use PowerShell Docker to manage Windows container components

  Take advantage of the PowerShell for Docker module to easily create and manage Windows containers in your environment with this step-by-step installation guide.  Continue Reading

• Assess the micro VM market with AWS Firecracker

  Consider the benefits of AWS Firecracker as it compares to other micro VMs and system containers, but be wary of its limitations before installing this virtualization technology.  Continue Reading

• What is service chaining and where does VNF onboarding fit in?

  Service chaining and VNF onboarding aren't easy. Companies interested in these processes need to understand the challenges involved, as well as various requirements for onboarding.  Continue Reading

• What are the two types of hybrid cloud infrastructure?

  Hybrid cloud designs are shifting as public cloud providers push on premises with alternatives to a two-vendor approach. Learn the pros and cons of heterogeneous and homogeneous models.  Continue Reading

• How to strategize for WAN and SD-WAN performance monitoring

  The importance of WAN performance monitoring hasn't decreased with the introduction of SD-WAN and other technologies. Enterprises still need to enforce proper monitoring strategies.  Continue Reading

• How to implement a winning interoperability testing strategy

  From security to data transfers, network complexity and testing environments, development teams have a lot to address to perform effective interoperability tests.  Continue Reading

• Lessons learned during a migration to Exchange Online

  There are a number of perks for administrators who move to Exchange Online, but there are spots of frustration that will require a few workarounds to ease the transition process.  Continue Reading

• Compare trunk-based development to feature-based approaches

  The repo-centric trunk-based development model can be a good fit for teams adept enough to maintain a codebase. But it means taking the road less traveled.  Continue Reading

• 7 NVMe storage gotchas to avoid

  Avoiding common deployment errors when implementing NVMe technology will save you time, money and professional embarrassment. Here's what to look out for.  Continue Reading

• Get familiar with these SLA maintenance tips

  The basics of SLA management come at the intersection of business goals and the reality of possibility. IT teams must learn how to strike a balance between specific and conditional promises.  Continue Reading

• Achieve application state management in microservices designs

  Discover the how-tos for managing state in microservices applications, and then evaluate prevalent front-end and back-end state management approaches.  Continue Reading

• Network visibility challenges in modern networks

  To tackle current visibility issues, you must first understand the nature and sources of the problems. Learn why visibility is essential but so tough to achieve.  Continue Reading

• GitOps provides an answer for complicated IT deployments

  Version control isn't a new concept in IT, but ops pros are applying it to distributed environments for declarative configuration management.  Continue Reading

• AWS Security Hub centralizes an organization's cloud security view

  AWS Security Hub consolidates an admin's sprawl of cloud assets into dashboards for better security insights. But its resource limitations may blunt its effectiveness, for now.  Continue Reading

• How to configure Windows container networking

  The default network setting for Windows containers is Network Address Translation, but you can also set up a transparent Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol or non-DHCP network.  Continue Reading

• Steps to safely build and manage a preproduction environment

  A well-run testing lab is a true asset to developers. An uncontrolled one, on the other hand, is a massive liability that can cost dearly. Plan lab builds along these guidelines.  Continue Reading

• Get started with PowerShell Core on Linux

  PowerShell Core lets you configure and manage Windows, Linux and Mac-based servers in the data center. Learn how to install and navigate the command-line shell in this tip.  Continue Reading

• Study up on the best certifications for testing professionals

  Before you invest time into a certification course, decide if you want to step into a new career or want recognition for hard-earned experience. Then, peruse the apt certification options.  Continue Reading

• How blockchain storage could benefit the enterprise

  Whether your organization is a potential buyer or seller of blockchain data storage, the technology could change how you look at storage. Discover where blockchain is headed.  Continue Reading

• Use the right performance monitoring strategy for automated networks

  Virtual and automated networks can often hide performance issues that lurk within the network. Learn performance monitoring strategies to get the most out of these environments.  Continue Reading

• Amazon Forecast melds time series data with machine learning

  Consider Amazon Forecast to help with data predictions, resource planning and more. Find out how the service works and ways it can be customized to meet enterprise needs.  Continue Reading

• How to improve network speed and get faster Wi-Fi in 3 steps

  Proper router placement and maintenance, along with tighter security controls, can help IT departments improve network speed and boost Wi-Fi performance.  Continue Reading

• Google tool signals move to greater cloud transparency

  Access Transparency users can review the work Google admins did on their cloud accounts. It's a step toward greater accountability, but large organizations will want even more.  Continue Reading

• AWS vs. Oracle cloud services: Compare costs and capabilities

  AWS has established leadership in the cloud market, but long-standing software vendor Oracle could chase it down as a viable alternative. See how these cloud services compare.  Continue Reading

• How to measure IT performance, step by step

  While IT performance measurement can be a tedious challenge, done correctly, this process provides essential analysis and assessments. Learn how to optimize these reviews.  Continue Reading

• Take steps now to ready your network for 802.11ax specification

  The 802.11ax specification promises higher speeds and lower latency. Preparing now will help you make the transition easier. Here's what you need to know.  Continue Reading

• What to do when you can't deploy an OVF template

  Invalid certificates can keep OVF-based VM deployments from working properly. Luckily, admins can work around this issue by logging into the host or using the OVF Tool application.  Continue Reading

• Hire testers with a mix of technical skills and hutzpah

  There's a lot at stake when you hire a software tester -- and a lot to consider about the applicants. Matt Heusser shares how to evaluate capabilities and personalities.  Continue Reading

• Examine the top low-code development platform options

  Nontechnical users can now build applications with little or no coding experience. However, there are many factors to consider before you jump in.  Continue Reading

• 5 ways to manage multiple data sources for high-performance apps

  Applications can pull from and work with data from multiple sources, as long as the app design incorporates these five fundamental data management and mapping techniques.  Continue Reading

• Pick a cloud IDE that best fits developer projects

  Cloud IDEs give developers more flexibility with when, where and how they create, deploy and manage code. Although enticing, end users should understand all aspects -- the good and the bad -- of cloud IDEs.  Continue Reading

• The problems with cloud-based email security

  Cloud-based email security can be challenging for enterprises to achieve. Learn what makes it a challenge and how to secure email in the cloud from expert Dave Shackleford.  Continue Reading

• Explore FAQs on Azure subscription management

  For some IT teams, particularly those new to Microsoft's public cloud, Azure subscriptions spark a number of pressing questions related to billing, resource management and more.  Continue Reading

• Compare the pros and cons of container management tools

  From the ever-popular to the obscure, evaluate different container management options based on the user interface, documentation, ease of use, available features and integrations.  Continue Reading

• AWS App Mesh faces tough race in microservices market

  As AWS and its rivals continue to evolve their service mesh technologies, they'll have to do so with enterprise demands, including those for multi-cloud capabilities, top of mind.  Continue Reading

• Overcome IoT challenges for cloud-based workloads

  Organizations often build IoT apps on public clouds for their scalability, but these platforms introduce their own obstacles. Factor in these network, storage and security impacts.  Continue Reading

• Let an IT and application monitoring strategy drive tool choices

  A monitoring tool that simply gets the job done isn't always the best option for IT ops teams. Use metrics and staff feedback to determine if it's time for a change.  Continue Reading

• What container management software features are important?

  Because containers are easy to spin up, the infrastructure can quickly get out of hand. A tool that simplifies container management can help, if it provides certain capabilities.  Continue Reading

• Software resilience engineering helps teams quash chaos

  What does a nuclear power plant or government team of epidemiologists have to teach software engineers? Quite a lot, if your aim is not just better apps, but more resilient ones.  Continue Reading

• Create Hyper-V containers in Windows Server 2016

  Once you enable the Hyper-V role and Windows container feature, install Docker Engine, container modules and a base OS image to prepare the host for Hyper-V container deployment.  Continue Reading

• Use Packer for Windows to enhance machine image automation

  Packer can curtail time sinks for administrators, especially those dealing with rapid OS releases. But the DevOps tool can require additional effort to work for Windows.  Continue Reading

• Enable an antilatency cloud event processing architecture

  Event-based applications cannot tolerate unreliable networks or latency. Consider an architecture that puts some event processing local to the source to alleviate cloud traffic.  Continue Reading

• Where container infrastructure and management investments yield ROI

  Containers are efficient and flexible, but these benefits can come with a hefty price tag. Ensure these elements are in the container budget to escape unexpected charges.  Continue Reading

• Compare reserved instances pricing for AWS, Azure and GCP

  Got commitment issues? When it comes to long-term instance reservations, cloud users should look closely at what AWS, Microsoft and Google offer.  Continue Reading

• Know your options for Elasticsearch services on AWS

  Determine which Elasticsearch tool is right for your organization with a comparison of key features in Amazon's Elasticsearch Service and Elastic's Elasticsearch.  Continue Reading

• How to improve network security in 5 steps

  The basics of network security start with a proactive and comprehensive audit of connectivity points. Also, be sure to get end users involved with network security policies.  Continue Reading

• The clock is ticking on the Exchange Web Services change

  Another change that might affect your Exchange environment is coming in 2020. Here's what you need to know to prepare.  Continue Reading

• Network operating system advantages extend to white box switching

  The network operating system is changing, moving toward software acceleration, open APIs and white box switching. Learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of the new NOS.  Continue Reading

• Add Elasticsearch nodes to a cluster in simple steps

  Elasticsearch, part of the Elastic Stack with Logstash and Kibana, uses YAML for configuration scripting. Follow these steps to configure an Elasticsearch cluster with two nodes.  Continue Reading

• AWS WebSocket support ushers in real-time serverless features

  The WebSockets vs. HTTP debate has changed for AWS users. With WebSocket support for Amazon API Gateway, users can build serverless applications that can communicate instantaneously.  Continue Reading

• 3 ways to grade integration platform-as-a-service vendors

  The best iPaaS vendors offer a mix of standardization and flexibility, and they can't leave out compliance. Learn how to compare offerings based on these crucial capabilities.  Continue Reading

• Hyper-converged integrated systems crucial to long-term HCI success

  No HCI platform exists in a silo. Learn why hyper-converged systems must communicate, interact and integrate with third-party management tools and the wider IT infrastructure.  Continue Reading

• How to get the most out of your SIEM system

  When it comes to threat protection, antivirus software is no longer enough. Data center admins need cloud-based SIEM to ensure their environments are fully protected.  Continue Reading

• How Jenkins X updates this CI/CD tool for the cloud, Kubernetes

  Jenkins wasn't built for the cloud or Kubernetes, but that's not so for Jenkins X. Here's how users can keep their favorite CI/CD tool to build modern cloud apps and work with containers.  Continue Reading

• How integration platform as a service stacks up against PaaS and SaaS

  IT orgs that face a hybrid mix of apps and data sets can turn to iPaaS for integration -- without the overhead of more software to manage. And there's more than one kind of iPaaS.  Continue Reading

• Data center budget process should review business goals first

  Discover four factors data center managers should evaluate when allocating financial resources and areas to address to ensure funding requests meet execs' business goals.  Continue Reading

• AWS predictive scaling boosts cloud's resource management

  AWS Auto Scaling offers adjustable resources for workloads with fluctuations in demand. With predictive scaling, AWS applies machine learning to anticipate spikes in capacity needs.  Continue Reading

• Determine the cost of app customization in the cloud

  Cloud applications are like icebergs: There's a lot users don't see below the surface. One apparently small change could have a massive ripple effect on operations.  Continue Reading

• SD-WAN cost savings hinge on underlying WAN technologies

  SD-WAN marketing almost always mentions the benefit of cost savings. Cut through the hype and discover how SD-WAN works with MPLS and internet connectivity to drive savings.  Continue Reading

• Automate tests with attention to UI, rapid feedback and more

  If your app-dev group just can't seem to get automated tests right, you're not alone. Here's how to implement an effective test automation strategy, one piece at a time.  Continue Reading

• Wireless network configuration basics: 5 steps to follow

  Different wireless networks have different requirements. However, some common principles exist for strategizing your wireless network configuration steps.  Continue Reading

• How shared Lambda functions help microservices access control

  Shared Lambda functions can help combat error message issues that arise when developers create custom authentication and authorization for microservices. Here's how they work.  Continue Reading

• Use AWS Firecracker to build micro VMs for containerized apps

  Firecracker has many of the benefits of containers and VMs, without some of their limitations. Here are a few things to know if you plan to use this technology at your organization.  Continue Reading

• Compare tools for multi-cloud Kubernetes management

  For IT teams that need to manage Kubernetes deployments that span multiple cloud platforms, here are seven tools intended to simplify that process.  Continue Reading

• Concourse vs. Drone: Pick a CI/CD tool that fits your team

  For CI/CD, a software team should weigh how well a tool fits into its existing practices. Drone and Concourse each highlight ease of use and pipeline features.  Continue Reading

• Non-IT software vendors stir up IT tool selection process

  Many non-IT vendors now offer homegrown software -- a model that carries benefits and risks. Weigh the pros and cons around support, availability and other factors before making a decision.  Continue Reading

• AWS Lambda functions become more flexible, but use caution

  AWS Lambda added custom runtimes and longer timeouts. Review the benefits, such as flexibility and easier migration, along with the drawbacks, which include potentially higher costs.  Continue Reading

• How to assess an SD-WAN product and determine which you need

  Two main differentiators have emerged in SD-WAN products. Learn how they work and how an IT manager can use them to assess network performance and diagnose problems.  Continue Reading

• How to improve network latency in 3 steps

  High latency can snarl network traffic and disrupt communications, resulting in unhappy end users. Check out these three steps to reduce and improve network latency.  Continue Reading

• The pros and cons of network slicing in 5G

  Although network slicing is useful for certain applications, like IoT and mobile networks, it might not be necessary at this point, especially when considering its cost.  Continue Reading

• Major I/O virtualization vendors and technologies explained

  Technologies that virtualize I/O components offer a number of additional capabilities, such as direct memory access remapping and network queuing for each VM.  Continue Reading

• How to improve your networking career path in 3 steps

  Network technology is always changing. As a result, your IT network skills need to evolve, as well. Take a look at three steps you can take on your networking career path.  Continue Reading

• Maximize Ansible scalability, performance as IT deployments grow

  There are several options to increase Ansible performance at scale -- a task that should move to the top of the to-do list as an IT deployment grows.  Continue Reading

• GPU virtualization evolves with new chip types on the horizon

  GPU-makers Intel, AMD and Nvidia all provide virtualization support; the next step is to merge CPU and GPU functionality to handle both application and math/graphics-related tasks.  Continue Reading

• Adjust IT team dynamics for a cloud-native approach

  As enterprises set their cloud-native strategy, they'll need to navigate major changes -- both from a technical standpoint and in terms of IT team structure and management style.  Continue Reading

• How SD-WAN architectures improve network flexibility and efficiency

  The key benefits of SD-WAN architectures include better network redundancy, efficient MPLS connections and added flexibility to deploy new services remotely.  Continue Reading

• 5 steps to troubleshoot a virtual machine problem in Azure

  If you're wrestling with a virtual machine problem, like a faulty connection issue, be sure to check the domain name system and network traffic routing.  Continue Reading

• 5 common traps lurking in RESTful development

  Unfortunately, many RESTful API developers fall into the same traps during design. Here are five common mistakes that you can avoid with the right planning.  Continue Reading

• How to prepare your data center for an HCI appliance

  Vendors tout hyper-converged infrastructure as a plug-and-play offering, but before you install anything in your data center, be sure your network supports the hardware.  Continue Reading

• Hyper-converged cloud key to private cloud success

  Granular scaling and rapid deployment help make hyper-converged infrastructure the ideal platform for building out, deploying and scaling out a private cloud.  Continue Reading

• Monitor APIs with these metrics for smooth app integrations

  What user information do you pull in from APIs? Do you even know how well they perform? Dev teams should track these metrics to create and maintain smooth API communication.  Continue Reading

• Evaluate the Mesos architecture for massive container deployments

  In addition to supporting large-scale IT deployments, Mesos takes a unique approach to data center and cloud resource pools that can benefit both containerized and noncontainerized apps.  Continue Reading

• Intent-based networking reality check for 2019

  The transition to intent-based networking won't happen overnight. But organizations can study up on different IBN approaches now to plan for future intelligent deployments.  Continue Reading

• How to use Jira as a test management tool

  While Atlassian Jira is a common tool to manage software projects, Amy Reichert's team uses it to manage tests. She details snags you might encounter with test cases and management.  Continue Reading

• The VMware CloudHealth acquisition extends cloud management

  VMware's acquisition of CloudHealth aims to expand VMware's line of cloud management tools to help clients centrally manage many services.  Continue Reading

• Evaluate remote office/branch office technology trends

  Traditional data center technology, including SD-WANs, HCI, and virtual backup and disaster recovery devices, often supports remote and branch offices.  Continue Reading