Tips

Tips

• Hunt zombie VMs and control virtualization sprawl

  VM tagging is an effective tactic for discovering and eliminating zombie VMs. Cut useless VMs, redundant data and confusing configurations to enable efficient resource consumption and limit VM sprawl.  Continue Reading

• Select the best container monitoring tools for your environment

  Organizations that run containers should monitor them, too. Choose container monitoring that integrates into other systems monitoring tools, or take a different route.  Continue Reading

• Four options to manage stateful apps in the cloud

  Stateful applications in the cloud pose an ongoing challenge for development and operations teams. Review four ways to address those issues and keep your apps running smoothly.  Continue Reading

• How to bridge the network engineering skills gap

  Training for new network engineering skills should emphasize basic concepts behind building a network, whether it's software-defined, intent-based or disaggregated.  Continue Reading

• Cloud-based email security tools barricade entry to Exchange

  The pressure is on Exchange administrators to avoid a ransomware outbreak that cripples the on-premises email system. Cloud-based security tools can help blunt trending attacks.  Continue Reading

• Azure Machine Learning services ease data science struggles

  With Azure machine learning services, such as Workbench, Experimentation and Model Management, Microsoft hopes to address common data science challenges in the enterprise.  Continue Reading

• Protect your serverless app with this mix of AWS tools

  As they move to serverless platforms, such as Lambda, development and operations teams need to acquire a new mindset -- and set of tools -- to keep their workloads safe.  Continue Reading

• IT's application support model depends on everyone outside IT

  IT wants to reduce application outages, boost performance and make users more productive. The best way to achieve these goals is to welcome outsiders onto the app support team.  Continue Reading

• Migrating public folders requires extensive planning

  Do your homework to find the right option for public folders when making a move to Exchange Online. Here are guidelines to help you navigate the requirements and limitations.  Continue Reading

• SaltStack Enterprise GUI features outreach Salt Open territory

  For enterprise IT shops that require a mix of reports on systems, and audit compliance, SaltStack Enterprise offers more than the pure open source version of Salt.  Continue Reading

• Azure AD B2B offers a secure way to grant external access

  Organizations that open up their resources to external users can restrict access using the Azure AD B2B service with minimal effort on the part of the administrators.  Continue Reading

• Improvements and features of the new POE standard, IEEE 802.3bt

  The new IEEE 802.3bt standard focuses on Power over Ethernet to improve efficiency and support the proliferation of edge devices, from lighting systems to point-of-sale.  Continue Reading

• PowerShell 6 expands reach but lags behind Windows version

  Cross-platform PowerShell arrived without all the functionality that's available in Windows PowerShell -- but it brings the ability to manage Linux and macOS systems.  Continue Reading

• Examine CORD architecture's benefits and challenges

  CORD architecture offers service providers a compelling way to combine open hardware and software in the central office, boost service delivery and enable NFV capabilities.  Continue Reading

• Network data analysis driving business intelligence

  According to a study from Enterprise Management Associates, network data analysis tools are now being used by enterprises to deliver valuable information to business units.  Continue Reading

• How Amazon Transcribe opens the door for speech recognition

  Amazon's audio transcription service, Transcribe, has caught developers' eyes for a number of reasons, but make sure its early limitations don't land you in trouble.  Continue Reading

• Build a data lake in AWS for analytics success

  It can feel overwhelming to migrate data to AWS for analysis. But, while there are challenges, Quick Start guides and services like Snowball and Glue ease the process.  Continue Reading

• Simplify multi-cloud management with two abstraction models

  To streamline management and reduce complexity in a multi-cloud model, enterprises can turn to two abstraction techniques: resource and orchestration.  Continue Reading

• Mind sensitive data during a hybrid cloud migration

  Many organizations fret over the security of sensitive data in hybrid cloud. And while that fear isn't totally irrational, there are solid options to keep your workloads safe.  Continue Reading

• NVMe compatibility is key when transitioning SAS and SATA SSDs

  Getting ahead of the SSD interface performance curve requires foresight and careful planning. As NVMe technology evolves, new adopters are looking for ways to ease the changeover.  Continue Reading

• Microservices challenges include latency, but it can be beat

  When working with microservices, latency is the cost. Read about the weak points of microservices and the necessary workarounds to latency and experience issues.  Continue Reading

• BPM in cloud evolves to suit line of business, IoT

  While on-premises BPM tools have caused a tug of war between lines of business and IT, the cloud helps appease both sides. Here's what to expect from this cloud BPM trend and more.  Continue Reading

• Management tools emerge from VMware-AWS partnership

  VMware provides a series of tools, including Discovery, Cost Insight and Wavefront, to lighten the multi-cloud management burden for VMware Cloud on AWS customers.  Continue Reading

• Using Microsoft Exchange certificates requires planning

  Exchange certificates typically require minimal management effort after they have been set up, and they offer a secure means of communication between different organizations.  Continue Reading

• 5G service lifecycle automation may be key to business cases

  Network operators need a 5G service lifecycle automation roadmap that leads to revenue-producing business cases to make the evolution to 5G worth the investment.  Continue Reading

• Converged secondary storage for data protection carries risk

  Using converged infrastructure for the secondary storage in your data protection plan can be valuable, but you need to weigh the benefits and drawbacks before choosing that path.  Continue Reading

• The future of SDN in 2018 moves toward increased automation

  Future SDN trends could show variations of the technology becoming more prominent among enterprises, as organizations look increasingly toward programmability and automation.  Continue Reading

• Hyper-V Manager update in Windows Server 2016 replete with features

  Microsoft developed several improvements to Hyper-V Manager in Windows Server 2016. These new Hyper-V features improve VM management with added security and flexibility options.  Continue Reading

• Human error still poses a significant cloud security risk

  Even with the most sophisticated cloud security tools in play, human error -- both from end users and IT teams -- can open up your enterprise to numerous kinds of attacks.  Continue Reading

• How AWS Lambda functions and API Gateway aid modernization

  Some organizations avoid modernization because of changes that need to be made to servers. But using AWS Lambda with API Gateway offers a way to modernize without the provisioning.  Continue Reading

• Automated continuous deployment tools produce successful code

  Continuous deployment skips the operations oversight step in software production. So, automated tools must ensure code success in administrators' stead -- before mistakes go live.  Continue Reading

• Predictive IT analytics improves distributed application monitoring

  Data analysis on app performance isn't an instantaneous process, but it's worth the wait given the time it will save IT admins in problem-solving in the future.  Continue Reading

• Five tips for testing with mobile app developer tools

  Mobile app developer tools can alleviate the confusion of mobile test projects. Here are five strategies to consider if you're in the midst of testing complications.  Continue Reading

• How Amazon Comprehend works for basic text analysis

  Amazon's text analysis service, Comprehend, parses documents for key phrases, sentiment and more. But there are volume and input limitations to mind.  Continue Reading

• Ten hyper-converged infrastructure architecture buying mistakes

  Buying hyper-converged infrastructure systems can be less stressful if you learn about and avoid these 10 common mistakes that trip up some HCI buyers.  Continue Reading

• Windows Defender Credential Guard secures login data

  Windows Defender Credential Guard uses virtualization to isolate access to domain credentials and diminish the threat of attacks based inside the data center.  Continue Reading

• Three steps to plan a self-service IT portal that actually works

  There's no point to a self-service IT portal if the offerings are out of touch with how its users conduct business or the instant builds are on hold while additional capacity spins up.  Continue Reading

• Get the most out of continuous testing with Jenkins

  With dev cycles shrinking all the time, Jenkins' compatibility continues to evolve. Set up Jenkins for effective CI/CD with quality plug-ins that enable continuous testing.  Continue Reading

• Testing tools for continuous deployment

  Continuous testing and integration are the basis for continuous deployment without disasters. Expert Tom Nolle discusses the steps for automated and regression tests.  Continue Reading

• Match your hyper-converged hardware pick with your workload

  Overall workload demands and growth projections, not just user applications, should be top of mind when you choose among the hardware options in hyper-converged appliances.  Continue Reading

• Plan ahead: Build a container network for scalability

  Container connectivity is no small problem for enterprises with large Docker and Kubernetes deployments. Bring in tools designed to support the workload.  Continue Reading

• Developers, prepare for the caveats of serverless frameworks

  While serverless has gained the attention of many developers, those that adopt serverless must stay on top of issues that it may bring, including portability challenges.  Continue Reading

• How to mitigate SSD vulnerabilities

  SSDs could pose a security risk for organizations that aren't careful when they decommission drives. Learn what you need to know about keeping data stored on SSDs safe.  Continue Reading

• Considerations for creating a VM for a development environment

  Just because admins are working in a test/dev environment doesn't mean they can be lax about creating VMs. There are several items to consider, including licensing and compliance.  Continue Reading

• Google preemptible VMs reduce cloud costs -- with a catch

  With its preemtible VMs, Google offers spare compute capacity at a discounted price. But be careful not to run certain apps on these VM types, as they shut down at any time.  Continue Reading

• The benefits of machine learning in network management

  Enterprises and vendors alike are now undertaking machine learning deployment strategies. What are the benefits of machine learning in networking related to analysis and management tools?  Continue Reading

• Try this data science experiment for deep learning insights

  Deep learning professionals require a specific set of skills and tools. Follow this simple example of a data science project to learn more about the technology and related careers.  Continue Reading

• Six simple cloud security policies you need to know

  Data protection takes center stage in modern IT. Step through this cloud security checklist to ensure your organization is covering all its bases.  Continue Reading

• Use LinuxKit to increase container portability

  With LinuxKit, Docker continues its push for better container portability. Learn how the tool can help your apps run across various platforms, as well as its potential limitations.  Continue Reading

• How to plan for network disaggregation with APIs

  Network disaggregation is a lot of work for engineers, and it's fraught with potential hurdles posed by sourcing hardware, a control plane, network operating system and how you manage necessary APIs.  Continue Reading

• CLI vs. GUI: Find the right admin tool for various scenarios

  Standard Windows and Linux command-line utilities oftentimes have niche, yet important functionality not available in GUI tools that require IT workers to make custom workflows.  Continue Reading

• Network subscription packages gain steam among enterprises

  Networking suppliers are increasingly offering network subscription packages, as enterprises have become more familiar with paying for services with monthly subscriptions.  Continue Reading

• These PowerShell script examples help tidy up code

  Even the most grizzled scripting veterans might learn some new PowerShell tips and tricks to tighten their automation code or produce clearer error messages.  Continue Reading

• Jenkins basics: The DevOps and build platform for dev teams

  Software expert Walker Rowe discusses how Jenkins goes beyond a DevOps tool. Get a better understanding of how and why your enterprise should install Jenkins.  Continue Reading

• Build consistent, resilient microservices with Kubernetes

  A microservices architecture brings many changes to an enterprise IT stack. Kubernetes can help organizations manage, orchestrate and secure container-based microservices.  Continue Reading

• Azure Container Instances provide an opt-out option for cluster ops

  Containers-as-a-service platform Azure Container Instances doesn't support clustering on its own, but features an open source connector tool for increased scalability.  Continue Reading

• Add virt-manager to your set of KVM management tools

  KVM virt-manager provides a useful and simple VM management GUI. The console enables VM creation, deletion and troubleshooting. Learn the basics of its management and installation.  Continue Reading

• A complete beginner's guide to blending DevOps and security

  DevSecOps sounds like a mouthful for those new to DevOps, but building security in from the start is key to DevOps success. Expert Kevin Beaver explains.  Continue Reading

• Use an IT incident management system to enable automation

  IT admins and gurus can't tackle every issue every hour of the day -- let alone predict them first. A dynamic combination of monitoring and incident management makes for better admins.  Continue Reading

• Manage app dependencies carefully for serverless platforms

  Application dependencies are tough to manage in serverless computing. Developers need to take specific steps, including the establishment of a well-defined CI/CD process, to cope.  Continue Reading

• Integrate DevOps and containers with simple tool adjustments

  Organizations with an established DevOps pipeline can migrate from VMs to containers without tossing out the entire toolstack. Focus on these steps to enable containers in production.  Continue Reading

• Cloud computing with VMware evolves with products, partnerships

  VMware has stepped away from what originally made it successful to face the cloud future. Partnerships and acquisitions situate cloud computing with VMware as a competitive option.  Continue Reading

• Optimize serverless apps with real-time troubleshooting

  Serverless computing demands a new way of thinking to successfully troubleshoot apps. Carefully define error states, and maintain logs to pinpoint and solve performance issues.  Continue Reading

• Compare cloud vs. local archive benefits and drawbacks

  Local archives allow companies to use hardware they already own and save on cloud subscriptions, but cloud archives remove hardware maintenance tasks and costs.  Continue Reading

• NAND flash memory technologies evolve to support QLC

  QLC NAND pushes the storage capacity of flash devices higher, but devices can wear out more quickly than other NAND types because more data can be written to the same cell.  Continue Reading

• VMware Cloud on AWS pricing vs. running EC2 instances on AWS

  In this cost comparison of VMware Cloud on AWS vs. AWS EC2 instances, expert Brien Posey breaks down the pricing of each option and discusses additional purchasing considerations.  Continue Reading

• Office 365 email encryption options grow for enterprise needs

  Each enterprise has different needs when it comes to preventing data leakage. Admins should be aware of the Office 365 mailbox and encryption features that help the organization meet its requirements.  Continue Reading

• Get cloud computing certified, but don't abandon virtualization

  Cloud certification training can help an IT administrator's career, but it's only practical if it aligns with your company and you don't forgo virtualization upkeep.  Continue Reading

• Four things to know before an Azure Stack deployment

  Intended to simplify management and development across public and private clouds, Azure Stack looks to address some of IT's biggest hybrid hang-ups.  Continue Reading

• Windows Server 2016 hyper-converged options are here

  The latest edition of Windows Server from Microsoft includes options for implementing a hyper-converged infrastructure in a Microsoft-only IT operation.  Continue Reading

• A DevOps beginner's guide for user experience professionals

  If you're a UX pro brand-new to DevOps, you might wonder where to begin. UX columnist Jason Grant offers a step-by-step approach for designers who are DevOps newbies.  Continue Reading

• Create SCVMM user roles to define management, tighten security

  Using SCVMM user roles provides granular control in a virtual infrastructure. By defining a delegation model, admins also ensure that the infrastructure is more secure.  Continue Reading

• How microservices, lambda and functional computing differ

  While the terms lambda, functional computing and microservices may get intertwined, it's important to understand what makes them unique. Here, we dive into the differences.  Continue Reading

• Mount an ISO file to a virtual DVD drive with PowerShell

  It's easy to manage external media from PowerShell. It's worth noting, however, that the command syntax varies depending on whether you're referencing an IDE or SCSI drive.  Continue Reading

• Help ops to begin a DevOps implementation the right way

  DevOps can be difficult to get right, even with lots of experience. For those forging ahead for the first time, however, the hurdles can seem enormous. Stephen Bigelow explains.  Continue Reading

• HIPAA-eligible services nudge enterprises toward compliance

  While certain services on AWS can help you ensure HIPAA compliance, don't view them as a complete replacement for proper security checks and approval processes.  Continue Reading

• A comprehensive beginner's guide to DevOps for testers

  Newcomers to DevOps have a steep learning curve and nowhere more so than in test. Expert Matthew Heusser has a beginner's guide to DevOps and testing.  Continue Reading

• How to evolve architecture with a reactive programming model

  Looking to modernize your enterprise architecture? Learn why reactive programming and event-driven process management will be the foundation of this change.  Continue Reading

• Bare-metal cloud services lure legacy workloads off premises

  For some enterprises, bare-metal services in the cloud act as a crucial steppingstone to an IaaS deployment, and providers, including IBM, Oracle and AWS, have taken notice.  Continue Reading

• Virtualization trends in 2018 signal edge technology disruption

  New technologies build on virtualization and threaten disruption. Virtualization administrators must familiarize themselves with what's coming and plan their careers accordingly.  Continue Reading

• SD-WAN vs. MPLS: The quality-of-service comparison

  Quality of service is often top of mind for IT leaders when debating SD-WAN vs. MPLS -- especially when it comes to using internet links for SD-WAN connectivity.  Continue Reading

• Nutanix Acropolis hypervisor components and capabilities

  Nutanix hypervisor components, including controller VMs, and Prism, its management control plane, help simplify management. Learn more about how these components work together.  Continue Reading

• Virtualization layer is HCI's secret sauce

  Knowing how virtualization software turns separate hardware components into pools of shared resources will help you plan and manage an HCI implementation.  Continue Reading

• Azure and AWS continue their race for public cloud dominance

  In the battle between public cloud vendors, Microsoft hopes its large enterprise customer base and a focus on hybrid cloud can help it close the gap with AWS.  Continue Reading

• Structure public cloud accounts for optimal resource tracking

  As enterprises move to public IaaS or broaden their existing deployments, cloud account management gets tricky. Follow this example to find the structure that works best for you.  Continue Reading

• SaaS support challenges IT ops admins to shift gears

  SaaS means no more app support, right? In practice, IT ops teams enter a new realm of upgrade management and capacity planning when their user base migrates to a SaaS offering.  Continue Reading

• Five system administrator skills Windows admins should hone

  IT workers need to learn how to ride the wave of innovation and master these five technologies related to Windows Server that can ease their workload and help the business.  Continue Reading

• DNS functions remain vital, but must adapt as demands shift

  The domain name system's tasks are simple, but essential, and the service faces challenges with the proliferation of devices that operate within IPv6 networks.  Continue Reading

• How IPv6 networks create DNS configuration problems

  DNS data is among the most basic and crucial information required for network connectivity, but configuring DNS recursive servers in IPv6-only networks can pose challenges.  Continue Reading

• OK of 400 Gigabit Ethernet adds horsepower to data centers

  Final approval of the 400 Gigabit Ethernet standard will provide data centers and cloud providers with the extra capacity they need to meet ever-rising data demands.  Continue Reading

• A comprehensive beginner's guide to DevOps for developers

  Starting DevOps in your organization and not sure where to begin? Cameron McKenzie explains everything a developer needs to know to successfully begin the DevOps process.  Continue Reading

• Three-step network strategy sells big changes as more doable

  A three-pronged network strategy takes an evolutionary approach to selling revolutionary technology changes internally, with a bigger chance of success.  Continue Reading

• Prepare for hybrid cloud implementation with these key steps

  As enterprises mix public and private IT resources, they grapple with app workflows, network connections and more. Here are four ways to alleviate common hybrid cloud challenges.  Continue Reading

• Learn Ruby language skills with these online resources

  Systems administrators spend more time programming than ever before. To excel in your current role or find a new, DevOps-heavy one, invest the time to learn a new language.  Continue Reading

• AWS Direct Connect gateway grants your network global access

  Large global enterprises will welcome AWS Direct Connect gateways, which enable multi-region connections to VPCs. However, some limitations to the service still exist.  Continue Reading

• Be ready if Microsoft Exchange updates go wrong

  Everyone wants a smooth patching process, but things can fall apart despite everyone's best efforts. Develop a solid recovery plan and test it before trouble strikes.  Continue Reading

• Build a multi-cloud app with these four factors in mind

  A multi-cloud strategy reduces vendor lock-in and outage risks. But to realize those benefits, development teams must first design apps to successfully run on various platforms.  Continue Reading

• Match your hyper-converged infrastructure appliance to your apps

  Planning a hyper-converged appliance purchase should start with determining which application it will run and which configuration options will meet apps' needs.  Continue Reading

• Evaluate read-intensive and write-intensive SSD use cases

  Consider write wear, performance and other factors when choosing between read-intensive, write-intensive and mixed-use solid-state drives.  Continue Reading

• Lower the risk of change in continuous testing

  Expert Matt Heusser explains how to improve mobile and web application continuous testing in seven steps. Learn how to identify goals and avoid failures with continuous flow.  Continue Reading