Data Center: Page

Creating a reliable and fast SAN network design with iSCSI

There are three tenets of designing an iSCSI network correctly. Proper iSCSI deployment yields affordable and reliable network access for the SAN.

By Sander van Vugt • Dec. 23, 2013

TCP offload’s promises and limitations for enterprise networks

TCP offload products free up limited CPU resources in network-intensive data centers. But TCP offload is no panacea and can introduce more problems.

By Stephen Bigelow • Dec. 3, 2013

Major changes in data center fire suppression standards NFPA 75 and 76

Fire standard changes can add a lot of work and expense to a data center operator's job, but the updates to NFPA 75 and 76 address real safety risks.

By Robert McFarlane • Nov. 13, 2013

What to do when a mainframe IPL stalls out without error messages

When initial program load stalls out on a mainframe logical partition, the culprit is often consoles. Connectivity is one of many potential causes.

By Mark Zelden • Nov. 8, 2013

No faults here: Advanced techniques to attain more reliable servers

A new generation of reliability features can keep busy servers running in the face of serious fault conditions.

By Stephen Bigelow • Nov. 5, 2013

Data center network design moves from tree to leaf

Leaf-spine designs are pushing out the hierarchical tree data center networking model, thanks to the popularity of Ethernet fabric networks.

By Ethan Banks • Nov. 4, 2013

One way to rev up critical VM performance? Make a priority list

All virtual machines are equal, but some are more equal than others. Here's how to make sure critical virtual machines get the attention they crave.

By Alastair Cooke • Oct. 24, 2013

VMware vSphere App HA

VMware vSphere App HA is virtual appliance introduced with vSphere 5.5. It works with vSphere HA (high availability) host monitoring and virtual machine monitoring to improve application uptime.

By Julia Anderson • Oct. 9, 2013

What’s the best number of virtual machines for a data store?

The best number of virtual machines on each data store depends on, among other things, the performance needs of each virtual machine.

By Alastair Cooke • Sept. 27, 2013

How to prepare a server cluster for Linux high availability

With a Linux distribution supporting mission-critical business applications, it's time to set up Linux high-availability software.

By Sander van Vugt • Sept. 24, 2013

Physical building properties to evaluate during server room design

Does your server room have space to grow? What's the best mechanical system for it? Start with these questions to develop a good server room design.

By Tom Langran • Sept. 4, 2013

A new troubleshooting and management process with GRUB2 bootloader

Nearly everything changed from the GRUB bootloader to GRUB2. With major enterprise Linux distributions moving to GRUB2, it's time to get acquainted.

By Sander van Vugt • Aug. 29, 2013

Programming thread-safe mainframe applications with the CICS ENQ command

Thread safety in mainframe applications means better vertical integration. Take full advantage with the CICS ENQ command.

By Robert Crawford • Aug. 26, 2013

Correcting misconfigured ESXi shared storage settings

IT shops that started small may find they need to update their ESXi shared storage settings to prevent significant issues when a host fails.

By Alastair Cooke • Aug. 19, 2013

When to use Linux memory swap to solve server performance problems

Adding physical memory may seem like the best way to solve a Linux server's memory shortage. But that's not the only way, so troubleshoot first.

By Sander van Vugt • Aug. 8, 2013

VMware vCenter Mobile Access (VMware vCMA)

VMware vCenter Mobile Access (VMware vCMA) is a virtual appliance used by admins to manage a data center from mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

By Julia Anderson • Aug. 7, 2013

Analyzing and optimizing Linux power consumption with PowerTop 2

The PowerTOP tool tracks power consumption in Linux servers. You can tweak servers and applications to consume less power if you understand PowerTOP.

By Sander van Vugt • July 11, 2013

VMware DRS quiz: Rules, settings, requirements and best practices

Knowing how to use VMware DRS is key to getting the most out of vSphere, so quiz yourself on its features. A high score could mean high utilization.

By Meredith Courtemanche • July 2, 2013

VMware vCenter Server Heartbeat (vCSHB)

VMware vCenter Server Heartbeat (vCSHB) is VMware's OEM version of NeverFail, which is designed to ensure the high availability and disaster recovery of vCenter Server whether on a LAN or a Wireless Wide Area Network.

By Julia Anderson • June 10, 2013

VMware administrator job description calls for vSphere, cloud know-how

VSphere experience is a must-have in job listings for VMware administrators, but vCloud and Hyper-V know-how are on hiring managers' wish lists too.

By Meredith Courtemanche • May 9, 2013

VMware snapshot size and other causes for slow snapshots

Snapshots offer multiple restore points for VMs, but add complication. Poor performance can stem from the VMware snapshot size and other root causes.

By Sander van Vugt • May 8, 2013

Do you have the IT skillset for these five hot data center jobs?

With technologies such as cloud computing in the limelight, data center pros need to upgrade their skillsets to catch the latest wave of innovation.

By Paul Korzeniowski • May 7, 2013

Five data center upgrade strategies to modernize your facility

These five data center upgrade strategies can revitalize older data centers and stave off expensive construction projects.

By Stephen Bigelow • May 3, 2013

Five steps to take when the server is down

Companies rely heavily on websites to transact business and stay in contact. Here's how to fix Web server issues and prevent future problems.

By Brad Casey • April 24, 2013

Issues with SELinux preventing virtual machine from accessing files

Here's how to solve the problems when trying to access files via a virtual machine in SELinux.

By Sander van Vugt • April 16, 2013