Evaluate

Evaluate

Weigh the pros and cons of technologies, products and projects you are considering.

• Automate the IT service desk workflow for maximum success

  The automated help desk using ITSM software does for IT operations and support what the CI/CD toolchain has done for developers and DevOps engineers. Continue Reading

• How the SaltStack architecture enables config management at scale

  SaltStack's one-to-many communication model enables it to manage configurations in massive IT deployments without network strain. To get the most out of SaltStack, understand ZeroMQ. Continue Reading

• How ops teams stay relevant during a shift left in DevOps

  IT operations administrators should not perceive the shift left in DevOps as a threat to their relevance, but rather as a catalyst for a change in their priorities. Continue Reading

• Pop quiz: Can you identify these top IT trends of 2019?

  From serverless and AIOps to a widening tech skills gap, numerous IT trends bring momentum into 2019. See how ready you are for new opportunities and hurdles in IT with this quiz. Continue Reading

• Kata Containers, gVisor offer more secure container strategies

  Kata Containers and Google gVisor present different approaches to using VMs for container security. Evaluate their advantages to get insight into the future of container security. Continue Reading

• AIOps tools supplement -- not supplant -- DevOps pipelines

  While the line between DevOps and AIOps often seems blurred, the two disciplines aren't synonymous. Instead, they present some key differences in terms of required skill sets and tools.Continue Reading

• Explore the new year's emerging IT trends

  Small data centers, intelligent IT management tools -- digital diversity? Catch up on the 10 trends driving IT operations forward in 2019, and how they'll shape your organization.Continue Reading

• 10 tips to approach IT operations processes with confidence

  Stuck in the NOC over the holidays? To pass the time, improve your ability to plan projects and quash production infrastructure incidents with confidence.Continue Reading

• Bookmark 10 popular tips on containers and Kubernetes

  Should we go with an open source or commercial option? What about DevOps? These 10 essential tips explain how containers fit into complex modern IT environments.Continue Reading

• Top 10 IT tutorials of 2018 for professional development in 2019

  Most IT admins take control of their education via home labs and tutorials. Refresh skills in PowerShell or Python -- or learn new ones like Kubernetes -- with these popular walkthroughs.Continue Reading

• Estimate the cost of open source software in 5 practical areas

  Open source tools and technologies are free for the taking, as long as enterprise IT organizations correctly calculate the cost of implementation, support, contribution and more.Continue Reading

• IT organizations anticipate DevOps evolution in 2019

  DevOps shifts around like ice cubes skate across water: quickly and always toward its outer limits. Kurt Marko explores some areas where DevOps will go in 2019.Continue Reading

• Hyper-V Integration Services and VMware Tools improve OSes

  Hyper-V Integration Services and VMware Tools are similar utilities with a few small differences. One is that Hyper-V Integration Services supports fewer guests than VMware Tools.Continue Reading

• Establish a configuration management strategy to guide transition

  Humans are notoriously averse to change in routine -- even when it makes their jobs easier. Encourage innovation and be flexible: Strategy is a journey, not a destination.Continue Reading

• A configuration management plan can unite tools and teams

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• Expect more container evolution, growth in 2019

  Containerization shows no sign of winding down. With technologies, product options and providers focused on technological improvement, container ecosystems will develop rapidly in the coming year.Continue Reading

• AI for IT operations means smarter, safer deployments

  Anticipate developments in AIOps and IT automation in 2019, particularly in major spaces such as IT security. Help your organization look forward and adopt smarter automation.Continue Reading

• Use Puppet for Windows ops automation with dsc_lite

  With DSC and dsc_lite, as well as a native option, users operate in Puppet within the familiarity of PowerShell settings. Here's how each approach works.Continue Reading

• Key IT skills to make you current and capable in an ops role

  With the rapid pace of IT, it's easy to lose your edge -- even for technologically curious ops professionals. Master a balance of the best IT and people skills to get ahead in modern operations.Continue Reading

• Align KPIs for IT with corresponding business goals

  It's easy for IT KPIs to take a back seat to those of the business or vice versa. Instead, explore these ways to maintain a working balance.Continue Reading

• As-a-service at your service: Cloud tools simplify DevOps automation

  AWS offers the widest range of cloud-integrated DevOps tools. But Google Cloud has a strategy with more focus on integration, and Azure closely ties in with other Microsoft products.Continue Reading

• What's next for VMs vs. containers as isolation, performance evolve?

  With advances from Docker, Kubernetes and other container technologies, an ecosystem is emerging that threatens the existence -- or at least importance -- of VMs in enterprise IT orgs.Continue Reading

• When a NoOps implementation is -- and when it isn't -- the right choice

  NoOps skills and tools are highly useful regardless of the IT environment, but site reliability engineering brings operations admins into development when an organization can't afford to lose them.Continue Reading

• Compliance automation prevents regulation audit snafus

  Many IT organizations address compliance issues manually, even though Puppet, Fugue and other tools can enforce configurations that comply with regulations and even provide an audit trail.Continue Reading

• Should you use AI for security in the cloud?

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• Container hosting requires in-depth service network plans

  Microservices and containers complement each other with scalability and flexibility. But they can also compound network addressing problems in production without proper precautions.Continue Reading

• Hyper-V vs. vSphere high availability features

  Compare VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V HA approaches to see how they keep VMs and other workloads online when a host server crashes.Continue Reading

• Implement security for DevOps across the board

  Security for DevOps isn't about the devices or the data center facility anymore. Learn how to protect valuable data as it moves beyond the corporate network into hybrid cloud and among various applications composed of microservices.Continue Reading

• DevOps to DevSecOps adjustment banks on cross-group collaboration

  It takes collaboration across several levels -- between the C-suite and in cross-functional teams -- to successfully move to DevSecOps and meet compliance requirements.Continue Reading

• Bevy of Microsoft containers range from cloud to captive workloads

  Windows wasn't always an ideal environment for containers, but recent changes offer a wealth of options, including those for Windows Server and the Azure public cloud.Continue Reading

• Tap the Chocolatey package manager to usher in Windows DevOps

  Create a Chocolatey package with this tutorial on DevOps for Windows. Simplify package management and installation, and swap the GUI for a CLI client.Continue Reading

• Get to know the Hyper-V processor compatibility mode feature

  Hyper-V processor compatibility is relatively easy to use, but it disables some advanced CPU features and is only intended for specific circumstances on a temporary basis.Continue Reading

• Compare Go vs. Python for infrastructure programming

  Both code languages get the infrastructure-as-code job done, but each from a different angle. This comparison tutorial puts their similarities and differences center stage.Continue Reading

• Is 'Continuous Delivery with Docker and Jenkins' right for you?

  If your IT organization is ready to bring DevOps from mindset to tool set, containers and CI/CD are probably on the agenda. See what you'll learn from Rafal Leszko's book on Docker and Jenkins to advance a pipeline project.Continue Reading

• Top five SCVMM 2016 features to look out for

  SCVMM 2016 provides new features, such as Nano Server management, and enhancements to existing networking and security features to better manage the entire virtualization stack.Continue Reading

• How to drive an effective DevOps for business approach

  Don't adopt DevOps for the sake of operational and development efficiency. Do DevOps because it yields business gains. In fact, what you should be doing is BizDevOps.Continue Reading

• The journey to DevOps starts with solving problems

  If you want to do DevOps, don't just follow the prescribed strategies and roadmaps that other companies lay out. Assess your own process, and start addressing your own problems.Continue Reading

• How to achieve application performance improvement in ops

  With more complex infrastructure and applications comes increased need for sophisticated performance monitoring and management tools, accompanied by strengthened processes.Continue Reading

• Open source hypervisor technical support, update considerations

  Even though open source software itself is completely free to obtain and use, effective hypervisor technical support options for production environments might cost money.Continue Reading

• Is the XenServer hypervisor worth the cost?

  There is a free, easy-to-obtain version of Citrix XenServer, but additional features and commercial support from Citrix -- which some shops might need -- require a license.Continue Reading

• The DevOps hiring process should be audition-based

  How do we ensure competence? Certification is now a big business, but the way we test a 6 year old should differ from the way we test a doctoral candidate or DevOps engineer.Continue Reading

• Evaluate Oracle VM Server as a potential hypervisor

  Oracle VM provides useful features such as high availability and live migration, but it's important for admins to size the server for the workloads it's intended to host.Continue Reading

• Red Hat Virtualization hypervisor adoption considerations

  IT admins considering Red Hat Virtualization might inadvertently overlook certain system requirements or forget to consider whether they need support.Continue Reading

• Most jobs in the IT industry pay well, but skills matter

  A survey of tech professionals identified which IT skills are most in demand. Find out how salaries compare from region to region, and how expertise affects compensation.Continue Reading

• Benefits of infrastructure as code range from speed to scaling

  Provisioning large numbers of servers takes time. One of infrastructure as code's benefits is that once you declare a desired state, code maintains that environment with ease.Continue Reading

• Microservices challenges fluster even the sharpest IT shops

  Freed from the needs of a large and traditionally structured application, a development team working in the microservices architecture builds apps via services that can be more easily isolated, manipulated, updated and fixed. Still, developers and ...Continue Reading

• How a domain-specific language affects configuration management

  Learn a domain-specific language -- it's easier than French! A DSL's programming style enables administrators to operate with more precision and flexibility, but don't write off YAML yet.Continue Reading

• Let's develop best practices for security in DevOps

  We've turned to DevOps and microservices because they've made it faster and easier to release and update applications. It's past time we developed security practices for them.Continue Reading

• XCP-ng offers new hypervisor option for cost-conscious shops

  A new open source fork of Citrix XenServer includes many features proprietary hypervisors offer, but it's not likely to displace market leaders any time soon.Continue Reading

• SCVMM vs. Hyper-V Manager: Which tasks are best suited to each?

  Although SCVMM offers capabilities far exceeding those of Hyper-V Manager, Hyper-V Manager has the advantage of being simpler to use and not requiring an additional license.Continue Reading

• Three log analytics use cases set better ops in motion

  The path to more resilient, bug-free and available IT deployments is hiding in plain sight, in log data. Parse short- and long-term data these three ways to improve operations.Continue Reading

• Is the CTO the new standard for a DevOps leader?

  For DevOps initiatives to work, they need support from the C-suite. With more companies focusing on products, not services, is the CTO the flagbearer of DevOps leadership?Continue Reading

• Heuristic automation prevents unmitigated IT disasters

  IT automation isn't about doing everything faster -- although that's how it started. Heuristics make automation smarter and responsive to changes in the IT environment.Continue Reading

• Log analytics tools gain application performance support skills

  Log analytics tools are boosting real-time capabilities to monitor application performance, and users are in the market for tools that best slice, dice and store log data.Continue Reading

• Zabbix monitoring requires experience for best results

  Not every IT tool is as easy to learn as it is potentially useful. Zabbix offers several views into an environment, but that flexibility comes at the price of admin experience.Continue Reading

• Istio service mesh tech boosts Kubernetes' work, with trade-offs

  Why wouldn't IT teams use a tool that enables developers to focus on writing app code and operations to focus on IT resources? For all its benefits, Istio does require a study on pros and cons.Continue Reading

• Salary snapshot: Embrace an entry-level DevOps role

  New DevOps engineers make much more than their software engineer counterparts. If you have DevOps skills, maybe it's time to rebrand.Continue Reading

• IT pursues zero-touch automation for application support

  The best and most efficient approach to IT automation features as little human intervention and interaction as possible.Continue Reading

• Will the Kubernetes sidecar deliver container happiness?

  IT teams tasked with managing containerization -- or that might be imagining a future full of containers -- may want to take a look at Kubernetes sidecar software. This proxy technology built into the service mesh architecture could prove useful in ...Continue Reading

• Service mesh architecture radicalizes container networking

  Containerization is the IT industry's favorite superhero, so it's only fitting that containers have a powerful sidekick in service mesh. Together, they fight network management chaos.Continue Reading

• Three tools enable DevOps for Windows shops

  DevOps isn't just the domain of open source Linux experts. These three tool options tailor DevOps to how Windows applications and systems operate.Continue Reading

• Cisco roadmap plots course through clouds to DevOps future

  From a Google Cloud partnership to API-based network data integration, Cisco showcased application hosting flexibility and DevOps process flows in its product plans at its annual conference.Continue Reading

• Zenoss ZenPacks plug-ins support hundreds of external resources

  IT monitoring tools only monitor what they're built for. Zenoss fills in the inevitable gaps with ZenPacks to give admins exactly what they need -- without unnecessary extras.Continue Reading

• Self-service automation gives WLA maximum power

  Users don't want to wait for an admin to run a report. Admins don't want to drop their work to do it. Set parameters on self-service options and let workers help themselves.Continue Reading

• Kubernetes distributions vs. the open source option

  There are always benefits to going it alone on open source software, such as Kubernetes, but with containers, there's equal benefit to hitching the cart to a vendor distribution.Continue Reading

• DevOps and security can coexist with a little planning

  If you want to bring the complicated-sounding DevSecOps into your organization, start with these three easy steps from Akamai's Ari Weil. Start where you are and ask a lot of questions.Continue Reading

• Who put the AI in software?

  With artificial intelligence, anything seems possible. And that leaves a whole lot of room for the imagination to wonder about how the use of AI in software tools can change how the work gets done -- and who does it.

  The anxiety is ...Continue Reading

• Serverless technology obfuscates workflows, performance data

  Serverless and microservices reshape the application stack into something that looks like a swath of stars in the sky. How do you find a slow, misconfigured component in this interconnected galaxy?Continue Reading

• AWS' managed Kubernetes service faces tough competition in GKE

  Amazon's native integration of Kubernetes puts all the major cloud providers on the same playing field, but it's not an even match.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

• 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

• Salary snapshot: Which city has the highest DevOps pay scale?

  Salary data from Glassdoor shows DevOps experience continues to give paychecks a substantial advantage over other developer roles. If you want to make the most money, move to San Francisco.Continue Reading

• Build the Kubernetes home lab that's right for your job

  Kubernetes and the growing number of commercial container management tools based on it require specialized skills and experience from the application to the infrastructure.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

• 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

• Want to be the best at DevOps? You need a DevOps bot

  A DevOps bot with access to all business, technical and customer profile information would make software development and deployment a breeze. Expert Torsten Volk introduces DOBO.Continue Reading

• Ten lessons for enterprises deploying containers

  The majority of medium to large enterprises surveyed by EMA foresee containers replacing VMs in two to five years. Unsurprisingly, container management and shadow containers are pressing concerns.Continue Reading

• Why operations metrics and telemetry matter in DevOps too

  The earlier developers think about what operations pros need, the tighter the feedback loop will become. Expert Theresa Neate explains how metrics are key to shifting ops left.Continue Reading

• What to know about container management tools

  Containerization isn't simple. Implementing a management tool that fits your strategy can make the difference between success and failure.Continue Reading

• Keep DevOps operations relevant in the age of code

  The operations role isn't going away in DevOps, but it is going to change -- in some cases, dramatically. Expert Matthew Heusser explains what you need to do to be prepared.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

• 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

• IBM roadmap of cloud, AI-enabled IT drives Think conference

  IT operations must absorb automation, AI, machine learning and cloud trends, which result in a more data-driven, predictive and responsive department -- if everything goes right.Continue Reading

• Can container tools box out configuration management?

  What will happen to your infrastructure programming skills when containers take over?Continue Reading

• Impact Awards honor the best cloud and data center tools

  Each year, the Modern Infrastructure Impact Awards program salutes the data center tools and cloud management technologies that stand out from the crowd. The winners are the products that prove particularly useful and draw raves from users. These ...Continue Reading

• What's our future if we don't secure IoT devices?

  When everything from the coffee maker to the manufacturing plant's robots to the electric grid is connected, shouldn't security be IT's primary concern?Continue Reading

• Rely on the DevOps methodology to avoid disaster

  DevOps concepts rely on both developers and operations to uphold the stability of applications in production. One side can't do it alone.Continue Reading

• Data center and cloud computing products that make an impact

  The Modern Infrastructure Impact Awards recognize the best IT infrastructure and cloud computing products in seven categories, from cloud to DevOps to converged infrastructure.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

• Why not every DevOps strategy is worthy of your attention

  DevOps advice is plentiful today. Some, like Cameron McKenzie, would say it is too plentiful. Here's his advice for weeding out the unworkable from the sensible.Continue Reading

• Hype for future of container development gets dose of reality

  Realistic timelines have replaced the big promises of container disruption. Virtualization administrators should expect security and microservices features as the market matures.Continue Reading

• Cloud ops doesn't solve your problems, it creates new ones

  There are many reasons to consider a cloud migration, but if you expect to cut costs or dramatically ease management, you'll be disappointed.Continue Reading

• Customize a Hyper-V network adapter for security, performance

  Look beyond basic network adapter settings in Hyper-V to enable features like IPsec task offloading, DHCP guard, protected networks, port mirroring and NIC teaming, among others.Continue Reading

• Salary snapshot: It's a very good time to be a DevOps pro

  In 2017, the number of job postings for DevOps jumped 15% over the previous year, and salaries increased, too. Do you have today's most in-demand skills?Continue Reading

• Explore Ansible for DevOps configuration management

  The configuration management tool is adept at managing workloads across different infrastructure environments. This Ansible overview preps admins to automate apps and infrastructure.Continue Reading

• Unikernels vs. containers: See the lightweight championship fight

  The drive to minimize app hosting resources yielded unikernels and containers, the IT equivalent of a tiny house and apartment. Containing only the barest essentials, unikernels pose unique benefits and challenges.Continue Reading

• Make smart container hosting decisions for enterprise IT

  Containers promise enticing benefits, so when they hit real-world production IT, they must land on a hosting infrastructure built for new challenges and capabilities.Continue Reading

• Want a DevOps success story? Try employee net promoter score

  The more likely an employee is to recommend an employer to a friend, the more likely the company is healthy and successful. Here's how to apply that practice to DevOps.Continue Reading

• An IT automation strategy wilts under cloud's shadow

  Organizations have been striving to keep abreast of IT automation trends, but with the ongoing cloud takeover, operations must consider new skill requirements instead.Continue Reading