Get started

Get started

Bring yourself up to speed with our introductory content.

• How to implement GPUs for high-performance computing

  IT managers must take advantage of advances in virtualization technology, such as virtual GPUs, to efficiently manage increasingly complex data center operations. Continue Reading

• How do I manage ACL folder permissions with a PowerShell script?

  PowerShell scripts make short work of repetitive Windows tasks, saving admins time, effort and frustration. One simple area admins can manage with scripts is the access control list. Continue Reading

• Explore the basics of Kubernetes cluster networking

  IT admins who need a crash course in basic Kubernetes networking concepts can follow along with this four-minute video. Continue Reading

• What is an embedded hypervisor and what value does it provide?

  Embedded systems and hypervisors go hand in hand. By understanding both, admins can maximize system benefits such as multiple OS support and legacy code compatibility. 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

• Definitions to Get Started

  • What is hardware security?
  • What is a container image?
  • What is YAML (YAML Ain't Markup Language)?
  • What is IT service management (ITSM)?

  • What is blue/green deployment?
  • What is management information systems (MIS)?
  • What is the Agile test automation pyramid?
  • What is a configuration file?

  View All Definitions

• Use this Mesos and Marathon tutorial to try resource abstraction

  Marathon, the Mesos-based tool, eases large-scale container orchestration. Before you begin deployments, set up Zookeeper and Mesos with Marathon, and try a simple task.Continue Reading

• How do I obtain, deploy and update AWS Firecracker?

  Firecracker can assist admins with creating and operating micro VMs, but improper installation and updates can cause potential issues.Continue Reading

• Effectively manage containers and improve workload performance

  Containers are increasingly popular, so it's vital that admins understand the tools available and learn how to manage containers before deploying them in production environments.Continue Reading

• Essential virtualization certifications for IT professionals

  As companies move beyond virtualization, the need for IT pros with fine-tuned expertise in cloud administration, ethical hacking, legacy infrastructure migration and automation rises.Continue Reading

• What are Ansible roles and when and how should I use them?

  Roles are one of several functions in Ansible that simplify and streamline IT automation processes. Dig into this quick overview to learn the basics of roles and potential use cases.Continue Reading

• How to copy files to Windows containers

  Once you've deployed Windows containers in your production environment, you can start copying data and files to them using one of three methods, depending on file type and location.Continue Reading

• How do I get started with an Ansible playbook?

  An Ansible playbook boosts admin productivity when they manage configurations across machines. Learn how playbooks work and how to avoid live errors.Continue Reading

• Perform this infrastructure as code tutorial with Pulumi and AWS

  Learn the basics of an infrastructure as code deployment with this tutorial, which features the open source tool Pulumi, along with Python and AWS.Continue Reading

• The history of Docker's climb in the container management market

  When the concept of containers became stale, Docker brought containers back to the forefront by creating container management software, and the company continues to evolve.Continue Reading

• Deploy Microsoft IIS server, .NET apps in Windows containers

  Instead of investing money in migrating your existing .NET applications to .NET Core to modernize them, deploy them in Windows containers with a simple script.Continue Reading

• What are the differences between KVM, Virtuozzo and OpenVZ?

  These virtualization platforms are related, but they vary in terms of whether they're open source or commercial products and the types of instances they provide to run applications.Continue Reading

• What is the Citrix vSwitch Controller and what does it do?

  The vSwitch Controller provides admins with extensive visibility into the network environment, making it easier to optimize that environment and improve application performance.Continue Reading

• Mitigate IT risks with this vulnerability assessment tutorial

  IT professionals can set up a home lab to learn the ins and outs of software vulnerability assessments. Follow this step-by-step video tutorial to install and configure VMs, and perform a security scan.Continue Reading

• Learn the ins and outs of Hyper-V containers

  Hyper-V containers, which are secure and lightweight in nature, can be managed using the Docker command line or PowerShell and are best suited for stateless applications.Continue Reading

• How to save and reuse a Windows container image

  With five simple steps, you can create a Windows container, save it as an image and reuse it to create new containers with the same configuration and settings.Continue Reading

• How to deploy a Docker container to the cloud

  Docker is highly portable and widely available across all major cloud platforms, including AWS and Microsoft Azure, but it's important to properly plan your container deployment.Continue Reading

• Review this ops checklist for containerized applications

  So you're ready to adopt containers? Successful implementation will require infrastructure and operational practices that account for the specific requirements of containerization.Continue Reading

• How to properly prep a container infrastructure

  To deploy containers in production, an organization must put in place the appropriate infrastructure. Here are the specific steps to take to begin that process.Continue Reading

• Kubernetes underpins Docker container technology dominance

  Given the ever-evolving nature of enterprise technology, some IT predictions just never come to be. Let's see how one particular forecast for Docker containers held up.Continue Reading

• Start using Terraform variables for IT resource deployment flexibility

  Infrastructure-as-code adopters should try Terraform input and output variables as a more flexible way to define and save values for deployment configurations.Continue Reading

• Server hardware to run ROBO virtual workloads

  Examine remote office/branch office technology trends, review server hardware options and ensure you can effectively manage virtual resources before implementation.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

• Grasp these basic Salt configuration management concepts

  Not sure how Salt conveys configuration instructions to systems? Wonder if your programming skills will carry over to the tool? Use these best practices and tips to assess Salt.Continue Reading

• Words to go: Aspects of an IT monitoring strategy

  To establish an IT monitoring strategy can feel overwhelming, but guarantee efficiency in systems and application performances. Review the core methods and fundamental tools.Continue Reading

• How NFV architecture works

  NFV enables organizations to virtualize operations and replace network equipment such as routers and switches. It's built on three components: VNFs, NFVI and the MANO framework.Continue Reading

• How to configure a gMSA for Windows containers

  You must start Windows containers with a CredentialSpec file and gMSA name to enable applications to use gMSA credentials in place of local system and network service accounts.Continue Reading

• HashiCorp

  HashiCorp is a software company that provides a suite of modular DevOps infrastructure provisioning and management products.Continue Reading

• Use branch office servers to support infrastructure expansion

  A remote office setup requires infrastructure that meets performance, cost and space demands. Depending on the vendor, a microserver will likely provide the best compromise.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

• Review the top 9 virtualization techniques of the year

  IT administrators always have room to improve their virtualization skills. Read our top articles of the year to perfect PowerShell management, Hyper-V customization and more.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

• Prepare for VM-to-cloud workload migration

  Migrating VMs to the cloud can be relatively straightforward if you lay the groundwork to meet workload and vendor requirements. Follow these steps to prepare for the migration.Continue Reading

• What does an IT person do? Answers from around the globe

  The holiday season is fast approaching, when IT and DevOps professionals around the world answer a perennial question at the family dinner table: What does an IT person do? While you might only ...Continue Reading

• Setting up Hyper-V replication requires preplanning

  Hyper-V replication is easy to use, but there are a number of steps you should take during Hyper-V replication setup to ensure you stay abreast of potential failures and data loss.Continue Reading

• Get started with your first Docker container build

  Many admins have a purely theoretical understanding of containers -- despite the technology's seeming ubiquity. This tutorial offers container newbies the opportunity to get hands-on.Continue Reading

• Hyper-V VM template creation made easy

  Creating Hyper-V VM templates is a straightforward process, but there are a few things you should consider, such as template creation source and administrative password assignment.Continue Reading

• How do you find Hyper-V nodes with PowerShell?

  Manage Hyper-V clusters more easily with PowerShell cmdlets and scripts that automate the retrieval and display of node information, including node statuses.Continue Reading

• What VM automation tools are available?

  There are many different VM automation tools available -- some of them part of much wider product and feature suites. Determine which features you need and find the tool that works.Continue Reading

• What are the most common virtualization automation mistakes?

  Avoid automation issues by coordinating with the wider organization to ensure employees know how to provision resources and remain aware of evolving business needs and policies.Continue Reading

• What are the primary use cases for VM deployment automation?

  Automate the deployment of VMs to meet the demand for resources while ensuring each VM remains properly configured and follows lifecycle and governance policies.Continue Reading

• How do you optimize a virtual database server?

  Avoid virtual database performance hiccups by incorporating monitoring and alerting tools. Stay abreast of any issues and head them off before users encounter them.Continue Reading

• How do you virtualize database servers?

  Virtualizing database servers has consolidation and efficiency benefits, but you must carefully choose which databases to virtualize and which tools to virtualize with.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

• Use VMware vSphere templates to manage VMs at scale

  VM templates in vSphere enable IT administrators to manage large environments by rapidly deploying fully configured VMs using the content library interface.Continue Reading

• The future of composable infrastructure and virtualization

  Composable infrastructures -- frameworks of compute, storage and network resource services -- will still make use of virtualization to run applications.Continue Reading

• Get into DevOps with cross-functional skills and culture

  There's no well-traveled path to a DevOps career. But it's not rocket science. Learn how to explain DevOps and master skills, such as CI/CD, and you'll be on your way.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

• Identify mutable and immutable infrastructures in action

  Change is constant in app code, server configuration and VM security policies alike. IT orgs enforce consistency while embracing change with immutable infrastructure. So what does it look like?Continue Reading

• Should you virtualize an edge computing server?

  The need to pack a lot of compute power into a small package leaves many wondering whether containers and serverless frameworks could replace virtualization at the edge.Continue Reading

• Support a guest security policy with endpoint hardening

  Guest security relies not only on a series of tools and best practices, but also on a security mindset that starts with endpoint hardening and follows the deployment of every VM.Continue Reading

• Top continuous delivery benefits and how to get them

  Continuous delivery doesn't come without challenges -- like getting every disparate IT team on board -- but its list of perks makes the entire process worthwhile.Continue Reading

• How do you decide to scale up or scale out a workload?

  Scaling up or scaling out is not a decision to be made lightly. Use monitoring data to determine the strategy that fits your use case and to inform future decisions.Continue Reading

• How do you analyze the costs of virtualization scalability?

  It's easy to allocate more resources to a VM, but scaling decisions require careful deliberation. Without retrospective analysis, scaling can quickly become costly.Continue Reading

• Fail at scale: Build failure into virtual infrastructure design

  It's better to be over-prepared than surprised. Design virtual infrastructure around the possibility that it might fail and have a plan in mind for when it does.Continue Reading

• Modern service management, DevOps streamline app administration

  DevOps and service management are synonymous in modern IT, insofar as their guidelines match. Regardless of the term, ensure organizational practices are built for today's reqs.Continue Reading

• Set up Hyper-V nested virtualization for production

  There are several considerations for using nested virtualization in Hyper-V production environments, including system requirements, networking, storage and memory considerations.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

• Use HashiCorp's Terraform tool and companions for production IaC

  Developers want isolated systems for prototyping. Testers want mimicry of production. And IT operations wants to configure this infrastructure for them without reinventing the wheel.Continue Reading

• What is the Hyper-V VHD Set format and how is it optimized?

  VHD File Set -- a file format new to Windows Server 2016 -- is helpful for IT administrators using guest clusters. Get up to speed on the basics and learn how to optimize it.Continue Reading

• What are containers and how do they work?

  Containerization is a new approach to application provisioning for many enterprises and requires a fundamental understanding of how containers operate, where they differ and the pros and cons.Continue Reading

• What is the best DevOps tool for my career?

  I have no prior knowledge on DevOps. I'm doing an online course and understand Unix. I get the concepts, so what tool should I concentrate on learning to advance my DevOps career?Continue Reading

• Set up BSD jails as a form of virtualization

  Using the ezjail tool, you can easily create and install a BSD jail. Execute these simple commands to get started and take advantage of key ezjail features.Continue Reading

• What cloud compatibility issues can arise with VM migration?

  Many compatibility issues can arise when moving VMs to the public cloud. Watch out for compatibility problems with partitions, OSes and image formats to ensure a smooth migration.Continue Reading

• Which VM migration techniques prepare VMs for the cloud?

  Prepare your VMs with cloud migration best practices that examine how suitable a VM is for migration, what groundwork needs to be prepared for it and the costs of migration.Continue Reading

• How do you prepare for a VM migration in cloud computing?

  Prepare for a VM migration by examining the requirements of your VMs and your cloud provider. Configure the VM for migration and match the settings to the cloud provider.Continue Reading

• Why personal alignment is the secret sauce in top DevOps teams

  It's not magic, exactly, but there is a little-known secret at the heart of successful DevOps teams. Try personal alignment to improve team performance.Continue Reading

• Why DevOps? The simple answer is it creates safer processes

  Is it possible to take an old-fashioned organization actually hostile to technology and move it into the 21st-century DevOps world? Expert David Savage says it is.Continue Reading

• What types of VHD files does Hyper-V support?

  Fixed VHD files, dynamic VHD files, and differential or differencing VHD files are all supported by Hyper-V. Learn more about these file types and the best use cases for each.Continue Reading

• Seven steps to move a DevOps team into the ML and AI world

  Artificial intelligence and machine learning can bring a lot to the software development and deployment table. But patience and experimentation will be key to make it work in an enterprise.Continue Reading

• What logging best practices can help with log management?

  Logs can produce immense amounts of data, but logging standards, such as standardized formats and security procedures, can help IT professionals minimize information overload.Continue Reading

• Use the right DevSecOps tools for more secure development

  Making applications safer requires more than just new tools; it also requires a cultural shift. DevSecOps is an effort to shift security left. Here's how to get started.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

• The role of container management software in IT ops

  Containers are a useful technology, but give some thought to how you'll manage them. Here's what to know about what's available and how to find the right fit.Continue Reading

• How DevOps operations teams can prepare for the next stage

  A move to DevOps has implications for everyone on the team, but especially for operations professionals. Get ready to learn new skills and be flexible.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

• No roadmap? Become your team's DevOps specialist

  DevOps should boost delivery and stability. Without a clear roadmap and strategic deployment of DevOps tools though, your organization won't enable continuous delivery.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

• 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

• Meet these SCVMM 2016 requirements before upgrading

  Before upgrading to SCVMM 2016, ensure that you meet its hardware requirements, including SCVMM 2012 R2 and Update Rollup 9 or later, and have a supported version of SQL Server.Continue Reading

• VM networking: Physical and virtual switches explained

  In order for VMs to communicate, they must utilize VM networking technologies that enable them to emulate and access the existing physical network and provide additional features.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

• Learn YAML through a personal example

  Some code languages take countless hours of formal training and practice. YAML strikes out in the opposite direction. To comprehend its hierarchical format, follow this coding example.Continue Reading

• SaltStack

  SaltStack, often referred to as simply "Salt," is an open source configuration management and orchestration tool for automating repeated system administrative and code deployment tasks.Continue Reading

• Master the seven key DevOps engineer skills for 2018

  We all know DevOps is hard, but complex new technologies are going to make the development methodology even more challenging. Expert Bob Reselman outlines the skills you'll need.Continue Reading

• Embark upon ITSM asset management with systematic tagging

  The journey to an organized data center begins with a single tag. Start using IT tags today to apply updates, control access and help automate management.Continue Reading

• Evaluate ChatOps tools and bots for the right fit

  ChatOps is still a niche in IT operations and DevOps shops, but organizations that have set it up love it. That means you should join the fun and give it a try. Here's what you need to know about ChatOps tools.Continue Reading

• Know when to implement serverless vs. containers

  Containers save resources and reduce deploy times. So does serverless. Containers are a great host for microservices. So is serverless. But the deployment options are more different than they are alike.Continue Reading

• With continuous security, SecDevOps deconstructs CI/CD

  Nothing is set in stone when an organization follows a DevOps methodology -- a DevOps security model pushes developers and ops to constantly retune, slow down and speed up.Continue Reading

• Follow a PXE boot tutorial to increase OS configuration automation

  PXE boot servers are simple to set up and can aid in IT operations' goals toward high-level efficiency and automation. This tutorial runs through setup and optimal settings.Continue Reading

• The application runtime environment is as important as the app

  To avoid cascading failures and never-ending troubleshooting, take the time to understand the software and hardware -- the runtime environment -- that keeps an app ticking.Continue Reading

• Windows Server containers and Hyper-V containers explained

  It's important to not only understand the differences between these two container types but also the specific requirements, deployment considerations and management practices.Continue Reading

• Paravirtualization advantages, disadvantages and use cases

  Despite a promising start, paravirtualization comes with significant disadvantages that limit the number of use cases that make sense for enterprise IT, but it still has its place.Continue Reading

• ITSM processes must take this chance to help the business

  ITSM implementations still have value in today's DevOps world, but only if admins can get their processes aligned with the grander business goals.Continue Reading

• Rethinking your place on the early adopter curve

  The best-run organizations will have a technology infrastructure in place to thoroughly support the business and all its goals. While most companies fall short of that perfection, even an operation that's close to the ideal should feel good about ...Continue Reading

• Know how container host machine resources get used?

  What's a container's resource limit? How do they scale? What OS does a host machine need? Answer 10 questions to prove your container deployment knowledge.Continue Reading