Scripting, Scheduling and IT Orchestration
The IT orchestration and workflow scripting topic center offers resources for SysOps and IT professionals to automate IT processes and create intelligent workflows for tasks in cloud or data center resources. It covers how to replace ad hoc tasks with standardized scripted steps and tools to facilitate the process.
Top Stories
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News
15 Dec 2021
Log4j vulnerability nightmare: A DevSecOps wake-up call
DevSecOps can help mitigate the Log4j vulnerability, but it's unclear whether this latest cybersecurity crisis will bring about lasting adoption in the industry. Continue Reading
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News
19 Nov 2021
LogicMonitor introduces centralized log management platform
The data observability platform vendor's new platform enables enterprises to use AIOps and automation to find anomalies with their IT system, report them and head off widespread problems. Continue Reading
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News
12 Dec 2019
Dynatrace monitoring faces market ambivalence in NoOps push
Dynatrace is gung-ho about NoOps with training services and an open source tool for CI/CD automation, but may face skepticism from a wary enterprise IT audience. Continue Reading
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Tip
10 Dec 2019
For VMware, DSC provides ESXi host and resource management
You can now use DSC to manage VMware vSphere and ESXi hosts. Install or upgrade the module with a cmdlet, and then manage resources such as High Availability clusters, DRS and vSS. Continue Reading
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News
06 Dec 2019
10 DevOps tools vendors to watch in 2020
A vast market for DevOps tools includes every major IT vendor and many up-and-comers. A panel of industry experts say these 10 are most likely to shift the market in 2020. Continue Reading
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Tip
03 Dec 2019
How a rules engine can drive -- or derail -- an IT automation strategy
To benefit fully from a rules engine -- and minimize the risk of chaos -- IT organizations need to carefully define system metrics and be diligent about documentation. Continue Reading
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Tip
03 Dec 2019
Top 4 open source automation tools for admins
Open source offerings are an easy way to bring automation into your organization. When selecting software, evaluate the user experience, main features offered and Linux support. Continue Reading
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News
15 Nov 2019
D2iQ latest to seek Kubernetes management niche
D2iQ's CTO says it will use its enterprise experience with Apache Mesos container orchestration and big data apps such as Kafka to compete in a crowded market for Kubernetes management. Continue Reading
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News
08 Nov 2019
Microservices security calls for zero-trust, data classification
Sanity in a zero-trust world for microservices security calls for IT teams to prioritize the assets they must protect, and that starts with data classification. Continue Reading
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News
04 Nov 2019
JASK buy may boost security analytics in Sumo Logic SIEM
Sumo Logic has acquired JASK, an automated SOC that will be most useful for security analytics and alert reduction features within Sumo Logic's SIEM. Continue Reading
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News
28 Oct 2019
DevOps security shifts left, but miles to go to pass hackers
DevSecOps has gone mainstream as companies bake security automation into app development, but experts say the toughest cybersecurity challenges remain unsolved. Continue Reading
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Tip
23 Oct 2019
Perform these steps to monitor Windows Server with Nagios Core
Nagios is no newbie to the server monitoring world, but setting it up for Windows takes a few extra steps. Learn how Nagios Core, originally meant for Linux, can monitor Windows servers. Continue Reading
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Feature
21 Oct 2019
Security automation charges IT ops to build the 'paved road'
As IT ops pros evolve into SREs, they play a key role in security automation and create secure paths to production deployment for application developers. Continue Reading
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News
18 Oct 2019
Red Hat OpenShift Tekton pipelines reflect strategic platform focus
OpenShift and its competitors now offer enterprises soup-to-nuts DevOps platforms, rather than simple Kubernetes management tools, that are based on different points of strategic lock-in. Continue Reading
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News
11 Oct 2019
Ticketmaster unifies DevOps monitoring with Confluent Kafka
Ticketmaster troubleshoots and secures distributed applications using Kafka stream processing as a central hub for data collection. Continue Reading
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News
10 Oct 2019
Kubernetes on Windows nodes hits GA in Rancher, Amazon EKS
Windows host support in Kubernetes reached a milestone with general availability from container management vendors, which makes containers more accessible for legacy apps. Continue Reading
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News
08 Oct 2019
Google sparks open source unrest over Knative, Istio
Google is keeping its Knative and Istio projects close to the vest, which could limit their reach long term, early adopters say. Continue Reading
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News
07 Oct 2019
Docker Desktop asset, fiscal stress prompt acquisition buzz
Docker has tried to differentiate itself as a Kubernetes competitor, but amid reports of financial headwinds, it should return to its roots in the developer desktop, analysts say. Continue Reading
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Answer
30 Sep 2019
Perform a Windows event log search with PowerShell
Event log monitoring is vital to an IT environment's health and success, but finding a specific event in the flood is challenging. PowerShell enables admins to simplify this task. Continue Reading
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News
25 Sep 2019
Ansible Tower revamp adds analytics, security automation
Ansible Tower and Ansible Engine are now one product, Ansible Automation Platform, which also includes automation analytics, security automation integrations and certified content. Continue Reading
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News
24 Sep 2019
BizDevOps, DevOps feedback loops guide IT transformation
BizDevOps has been the priority for Dynatrace customer American Fidelity the last four years, guiding the company's IT priorities amid ever-increasing technical complexity. Continue Reading
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Answer
19 Sep 2019
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
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News
19 Sep 2019
AIOps tools mature as cloud infrastructure grows
DevOps monitoring tools gain refined features as IT complexity soars, but their advanced AIOps automation hasn't yet gone mainstream. Continue Reading
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News
11 Sep 2019
HashiCorp Consul plays to multi-platform strength with Azure
HashiCorp's Consul service mesh will be offered as a hosted service on Microsoft Azure, where it can link container clusters along with VMs in multiple regions. Continue Reading
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News
09 Sep 2019
ServiceNow adds mobile app to 'New York' Now Platform
ServiceNow released the latest version of its Now Platform that features a mobile application giving remote users access to the core capabilities of the platform. Continue Reading
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News
06 Sep 2019
Feature flags emerge as enterprise DevOps must-have
CloudBees and Atlassian have feature flags on their near-term product roadmaps, as enterprise DevOps shops seek to lower the risk of continuous code deployment to production. Continue Reading
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News
28 Aug 2019
Knative serverless Kubernetes bypasses FaaS to revive PaaS
Knative's emerging claim to fame is that it can turn Kubernetes into a next-gen platform as a service with both a Heroku-like developer experience and deep infrastructure control. Continue Reading
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News
22 Aug 2019
Istio service mesh hits OpenShift GA, but upgrades are slow
Istio service mesh, Kiali and Jaeger are generally available for Red Hat OpenShift 4, but it will be some time before users are ready for the latest version of the platform. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
22 Aug 2019
Follow this Terraform and AWS tutorial to create a VPC
As an infrastructure-as-code tool, Terraform simplifies and streamlines resource deployments. Follow along with this example, which features Amazon VPCs, to get started. Continue Reading
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News
16 Aug 2019
IT pros contend with the future of continuous delivery
Continuous delivery tools are poised to add comprehensive breadth and analytical depth, but whether most enterprises can assimilate them is another matter. Continue Reading
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News
15 Aug 2019
Jenkins X gears up for SaaS version, GitOps standards
With key maturity milestones behind them, the maintainers of Jenkins X prepare a SaaS version, and plan to collaborate with Google's Tekton and Netflix's Spinnaker. Continue Reading
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News
14 Aug 2019
CloudBees CEO reveals plans for CI/CD tools, Google project
CloudBees CEO Sacha Labourey puts his roadmap cards on the table for the next generation of the company's CI/CD tools and an upcoming project to co-develop CI/CD for Anthos with Google. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
06 Aug 2019
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
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News
31 Jul 2019
SaaS management tool eases merger transition for IT
When European car-sharing startup Drivy becomes Getaround this fall, a SaaS management tool will integrate the two companies' IT systems, an increasingly common need for businesses. Continue Reading
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Tip
31 Jul 2019
Weigh infrastructure as code risks against the benefits
Infrastructure as code can transform the modern data center, but maintain a healthy dose of caution -- and thorough documentation and testing environments -- to prevent chaos. Continue Reading
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News
30 Jul 2019
GitOps path puts CI/CD ahead of infrastructure automation
Which comes first -- automated app deployment pipelines, or automated infrastructures on which to deploy? At GitOps shop Procore, the answer is emphatically the former. Continue Reading
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News
24 Jul 2019
Compliance-as-code tool hits DevSecOps sweet spot for MSP
There are almost as many tools to assist with DevSecOps as there are definitions for the term – how one managed service provider that serves federal agencies chose a compliance-as-code vendor. Continue Reading
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News
19 Jul 2019
Kubernetes policy project takes enterprise IT by storm
A Kubernetes-friendly compliance as code project hosted by the CNCF has caught on among large enterprises in the first half of 2019, largely through word of mouth. Continue Reading
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News
17 Jul 2019
Container security improves overall enterprise IT posture
Enterprise IT pros worried about security when containers were first introduced, but as containers are put into production, they can actually present ways to tighten security practices. Continue Reading
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Tip
02 Jul 2019
How to use PowerCLI for alarm automation in vCenter
Alarms are central to good security. Bypass the unwieldy GUI and use PowerCLI instead to quickly and easily retrieve, monitor and modify alarms in your vCenter ecosystem. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
27 Jun 2019
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
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News
26 Jun 2019
LogicMonitor wades into AIOps with anomaly detection
Another country heard from in AIOps: LogicMonitor rolls out anomaly detection and alert dependency correlation, but can it rise above the noise? Continue Reading
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News
20 Jun 2019
IT pros brace for wave of M&A in microservices security
Microservices and DevOps have made IT security a shared responsibility among enterprise stakeholders, and experts expect this shift to prompt mass consolidation among vendors. Continue Reading
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News
20 Jun 2019
Alaska Airlines charts course for DevOps security
As Alaska Airlines plots a flight path to a hybrid cloud infrastructure, it will navigate with an automated DevOps security tool that spans multiple IT environments. Continue Reading
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News
13 Jun 2019
AIOps tools beef up insights, but long-term scope unclear
AIOps tools present a way to cope with IT infrastructure sprawl and complexity, but how far they can go with hands-off automation features is still a topic for debate. Continue Reading
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News
12 Jun 2019
AIOps early adopters tackle data quality issues
AIOps is new in many ways, but early adopters must also heed a time-honored IT maxim: garbage in, garbage out. Continue Reading
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News
21 May 2019
Enterprises anticipate IT ops benefits from GitOps
Infrastructure as code, configuration as code, security as code -- enterprise SREs set their sights on everything as code in pursuit of GitOps efficiency. Continue Reading
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News
17 May 2019
Former Chef Software CTO talks IT automation, open source
Chef Software's founder, Adam Jacob, built widely used IT automation software for the enterprise. Now that he's no longer CTO, he's taking a break and pondering what comes next. Continue Reading
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News
17 May 2019
Mainframe DevOps gets fresh integration option in LzLabs
Most mainframe DevOps tools make open source app delivery pipelines speak mainframe's language, but LzLabs brings mainframe apps to a Linux-based platform without recompilation. Continue Reading
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News
10 May 2019
OpenShift shops chart a course for advanced IT automation
IT teams tackled containerization, developer self-service platforms and infrastructure provisioning automation in 2018. So, what's next? Continue Reading
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News
09 May 2019
Ansible roadmap offers open source automation with assurances
Ansible users can expect some key updates around the tool's certified content program, along with more options to assess the performance of their automated infrastructure. Continue Reading
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News
08 May 2019
OpenShift architecture bakes in CoreOS Operator automation
OpenShift 4.1 promises easier container management for IT ops pros, but getting there from OpenShift 3 could be tricky for enterprises with large deployments. Continue Reading
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Tip
03 May 2019
ICYMI: 6 tips to master Kubernetes performance and management
The more skilled the team, the better a Kubernetes implementation can be. Learn how to get the most out of service discovery, infrastructure management, CI and more. Continue Reading
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Feature
29 Apr 2019
ICYMI: Advice for aspiring site reliability engineers
IT ops pros looking to land an SRE job can use these four articles to absorb the key responsibilities and challenges that site reliability engineering entails. Continue Reading
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News
25 Apr 2019
Experian credits incident management tool for IT efficiency
When Experian deployed xMatters, the IT landscape was very different. But the incident management tool's adaptability kept it useful through shifts in tech trends. Continue Reading
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News
23 Apr 2019
Rancher's Kubernetes updates boost security, UI performance
Enterprise IT pros expect changes to Rancher's Kubernetes management tools to bolster security configuration and UI performance. Continue Reading
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Feature
23 Apr 2019
Potential PowerShell telemetry raises security concerns
When admins discovered the PowerShell team proposal for additional telemetry, some bristled; however, the data collection could mean a better management language for IT pros. Continue Reading
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News
18 Apr 2019
CloudBees' acquisition of Electric Cloud broadens focus
CloudBees folds in Electric Cloud and pledges to broaden its focus beyond Jenkins, while customers wait and see how that might impact long-term roadmap plans. Continue Reading
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News
12 Apr 2019
Opsgenie integrations expand under Atlassian
Opsgenie's induction into the Atlassian fold reflects a trend of incident management tools' absorption into broader DevOps platforms, but not every user prefers a one-stop shop. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
11 Apr 2019
Automate Windows configurations with Boxstarter and Chocolatey
Follow this Boxstarter tutorial to install the open source tool, and use it alongside PowerShell, Chocolatey and GitHub gists for streamlined and repeatable Windows configurations. Continue Reading
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News
10 Apr 2019
Cloud Foundry PaaS undergoes seismic shifts as IT evolves
Cloud Foundry undergoes drastic changes as infrastructure automation technology develops, to the point where some industry experts see more erosion than evolution. Continue Reading
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Tip
09 Apr 2019
Build up a DevSecOps pipeline for fast and safe code delivery
It's all well and good to automate the software build process, but without proper security practices in place, the DevOps pipeline can lead developers to deploy compromised code. Continue Reading
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News
08 Apr 2019
Users forge ahead with Cloud Foundry-Kubernetes integration
Complementary roles for Cloud Foundry and Kubernetes are clear to IT pros, and the community plans to knit the two more closely together with the Eirini project. Continue Reading
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Feature
08 Apr 2019
How to automate with PowerShell in Windows Server 2019
Microsoft developed many tools to simplify tasks in Windows Server 2019, but PowerShell skills still remain a staple of an administrator's tool set. Continue Reading
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News
02 Apr 2019
Chef licensing changes prompt debate among IT pros
IT pros who use Chef automation software have mixed reactions to the company's plan to revamp its software licensing strategy. Continue Reading
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News
01 Apr 2019
Google SREs test the limits of infrastructure automation
Google SRE veterans spoke publicly about infrastructure automation work, its future and its limitations. Continue Reading
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Feature
29 Mar 2019
Got infrastructure needs? These PowerShell tutorials can help
From streamlining remote sessions to setting up an SSL certificate, these PowerShell tutorials show IT admins how to get more done with the management tool. Continue Reading
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News
26 Mar 2019
Site reliability engineer shift creates IT ops dilemma
Aspiring SREs find it hard to move away from tactical tasks to focus on strategic projects. Veteran SREs say the path to less toil begins with prioritization and automation. Continue Reading
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News
25 Mar 2019
Kubernetes for Windows hits GA, with limitations
Kubernetes support for Windows nodes was declared stable in Kubernetes 1.14, but extensive fine print remains. Continue Reading
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News
22 Mar 2019
Kubernetes management for 'Minecraft' has enterprise IT traits
What do 'Minecraft' servers and enterprise databases have in common? In the realm of Kubernetes management, more than you might think. Continue Reading
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Feature
13 Mar 2019
Understanding the three main goals of PowerShell Core 6
The book 'Learn PowerShell Core 6.0' offers a closer look into the history of PowerShell and its evolution into the PowerShell Core open source project. Continue Reading
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News
08 Mar 2019
Release automation tools link legacy, modern app management
Release automation tools will evolve in 2019 to embrace advanced application development and infrastructure automation techniques. Continue Reading
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Feature
01 Mar 2019
Forward Networks' software enables intent-based networking
TechTarget has named Forward Networks a winner of its Network Innovation Award. Learn how the company's visibility and verification software supports intent-based networking. Continue Reading
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News
28 Feb 2019
Sensu architecture smoothes monitoring data workflow for NCR
Sensu Go's architecture and monitoring as code prompted NCR to switch away from Zabbix and pass on SolarWinds, as it sought to collect data from 80,000 restaurant customers. Continue Reading
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News
26 Feb 2019
VMware PKS adds Heptio IP, boosts container street cred
VMware adds bare-metal Kubernetes and an elite support squad from Heptio, but it's unlikely to get widespread interest with bespoke container orchestration on premises. Continue Reading
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News
13 Feb 2019
SnapRoute cloud NOS leans on Kubernetes for orchestration
SnapRoute has introduced a network operating system for cloud environments. The cloud NOS, called Cloud Native Network OS, uses Kubernetes for network orchestration. Continue Reading
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Quiz
25 Jan 2019
How well do you know open source PowerShell Core?
Do you know how PowerShell Core differs from Windows PowerShell? Find out with this quiz on the open source PowerShell management utility. Continue Reading
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News
23 Jan 2019
AppDynamics AIOps injection sets the stage for IT automation
AIOps IP from Perspica broadens AppDynamics' automated root cause analysis features, but enterprises must evaluate IT and business analytics options carefully before they commit. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
22 Jan 2019
Create Vagrant boxes with Packer for rapid IT environment builds
Vagrant boxes enable IT admins to test infrastructure updates in production-identical QA environments. Follow this Vagrant tutorial to build a machine and export it to a Vagrant box. Continue Reading
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Definition
15 Jan 2019
HashiCorp
HashiCorp is a software company that provides a suite of modular DevOps infrastructure provisioning and management products. Continue Reading
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News
10 Jan 2019
Database DevOps tools ease app deployment at insurance firm
Colonial Life brought its SQL-based enrollment app into the DevOps fold with a tool from Datical to replace its faulty manual update process. Continue Reading
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Feature
28 Dec 2018
Major acquisitions, Kubernetes evolution top IT news in 2018
In the second half of 2018, IT industry vendors and their users worked to tame Kubernetes and containers, and inject open source innovation into tried-and-true enterprise IT. Continue Reading
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Feature
26 Dec 2018
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
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Infographic
18 Dec 2018
IT automation tops list of best uses of AI, survey shows
Early adopters of AI say they see promise in the technology, and most plan to boost their AI investment. Still, they have concerns about security risks and data availability. Continue Reading
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News
18 Dec 2018
IT industry trends home in on containers, AIOps and CI/CD
IT ops pros should be on the lookout for enterprise-wide production container deployments, real-world AIOps usage and new approaches to CI/CD in 2019. Continue Reading
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Opinion
17 Dec 2018
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
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Feature
17 Dec 2018
Discover the top Windows Server and PowerShell tutorials of 2018
Administrators can level up their management game with these Windows Server tips and PowerShell tutorials that got the most attention on the SearchWindowsServer site in 2018. Continue Reading
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Tip
11 Dec 2018
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
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News
30 Nov 2018
Istio service mesh vies for lead in microservices market
Istio's integration into Google Cloud will give it momentum, but service mesh competition remains fierce, as HashiCorp Consul makes strong inroads with early adopters. Continue Reading
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Tip
30 Nov 2018
Simple-to-automate IT tasks: Stop doing these 3 things
There are certain tasks that no IT ops administrator should still do manually. No more excuses -- take these easy operations processes off your plate, and let scripts or tools take over. Continue Reading
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Feature
28 Nov 2018
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
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Feature
15 Nov 2018
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
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Tutorial
14 Nov 2018
Boost DevOps cred with script management in Git version control
DevOps teams use configuration management to automate patches and provisioning. They use version control to increase collaboration and change control. Learn how to combine the two. Continue Reading
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News
09 Nov 2018
Terraform orchestration matures as multi-cloud lingua franca
Terraform offers cloud-agnostic infrastructure as code to highly skilled DevOps pros, and its latest release looks to extend its appeal beyond early adopters. Continue Reading
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News
07 Nov 2018
Kubernetes on VMware gains a lifeline with Heptio acquisition
VMware's Heptio buy brings it Kubernetes chops that will help it make a multi-cloud bid, but it will struggle to raise its profile in open source container management, industry watchers predict. Continue Reading
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News
02 Nov 2018
HashiCorp Vault maturity prompts strategy speculation
HashiCorp is valued at $1.9 billion for its IT management software, such as Vault 1.0, and the IBM-Red Hat merger has set off speculation about the firm's future. Continue Reading
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Opinion
31 Oct 2018
It's time to automate the help desk ticketing system
The help desk is no admin's favorite job -- and no user's favorite place. But with a little automation and AI, the help desk can become a more palatable experience for both parties. Continue Reading
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News
25 Oct 2018
Nomad vs. Kubernetes talk prompts HashiCorp managed service plan
HashiCorp's founders say Nomad and Kubernetes are not mutually exclusive, but the company will launch a Nomad managed service to match cloud providers' turnkey Kubernetes services. Continue Reading
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Tip
24 Oct 2018
PowerShell Core 6.1 offers many small improvements
New PowerShell Core functionality includes the addition of Windows PowerShell 5.1 modules, making this version worth a closer look for administrators. Continue Reading
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Answer
23 Oct 2018
Why do admins need both powershell.exe and pwsh.exe?
While the PowerShell development team wants IT to move on to the newer PowerShell version, the powershell.exe executable will remain to avoid breaking changes. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
19 Oct 2018
How to use PowerShell JEA for task delegation
System administrators don't have to do every mundane task themselves anymore with help from Just Enough Administration. Get started with these instructions using PowerShell. Continue Reading
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News
16 Oct 2018
Chef InSpec 3.0 horns in on Terraform territory
Chef InSpec 3.0 can scan Terraform infrastructure-as-code files for security and compliance gaps, which knocked HashiCorp Sentinel off the evaluation list at Chef customer Pacific Life. Continue Reading