Data Center: Page

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 licensing for virtualization

Choosing the right Windows Server 2008 edition can save big money in a virtual data center.

By Jonathan Hassell • Aug. 4, 2010

Installing the ModSecurity Web application firewall on Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Learn how to set up the ModSecurity Web application firewall on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.4 and Apache Web server 2.2.x. This firewall monitors access to Web servers to ensure that requests are valid and not malicious.

By Ronald McCarty, Contributor • Aug. 2, 2010

Calculating carbon emissions in the data center

While data center carbon measurement is in its infancy and lacks hard standards, it still may benefit IT admins to know basic methods for calculating carbon emissions as carbon legislation begins impacting data centers.

By John Parkinson, Contributor • July 26, 2010

Using login banners with VMware View 4

Windows XP login banners can force VMware View end-users to log in twice when they're trying to access their virtual desktops. But there's a better way that uses a single sign-on.

By Jason Langone, Contributor • July 12, 2010

How to install Webmin and ease data center server management

In this introduction to Webmin, learn how the tool can make it easier to manage Unix and Linux servers in your data center. An expert describes how to install Webmin and get started with this free systems management tool.

By Sander van Vugt • July 7, 2010

Bus track and busway power distribution: Power anywhere?

Bus track and busway power distribution in the data center is a growing trend that allows for greater flexibility and accommodation of rising power densities. This in-depth exploration of bus-type power systems will help you decide whether this is a good option for your data center power infrastructure.

By Julius Neudorfer • June 28, 2010

VMware vSphere’s built-in performance monitoring tools

VMware vSphere features several free performance monitoring tools that can help assess the health of your virtual machines and fix resource bottlenecks.

By Eric Siebert • June 28, 2010

Troubleshooting VMware snapshots

Virtual machine (VM) snapshots are a great tool to identify problems with VMs. An expert explains troubleshooting common problems that arise with snapshots in VMware ESX Server.

By Eric Siebert • May 24, 2010

How to approach IT staffing in today’s data center

Virtualization and tight budgets have changed IT staffing in modern data centers. Find out how to blend skills and technology for the best mix.

By Stephen Bigelow • May 11, 2010

Troubleshooting PGMIDERR/AEI0 ABEND in CICS Transaction Gateway

This tip delves into resolving PGMIDERR/AEI0 ABEND errors within the CICS Transaction Gateway. The solution to these errors isn't always an intuitive one, and may require several additional and lengthy steps along the way.

By Robert Crawford • April 14, 2010

Common security flaws to check for on your Linux-based Web systems

Your Linux server may have Web application-related security vulnerabilities that should be checked out and repaired. These can include passwords, PHP code injection, weak file and directory permissions and outdated Apache and PHP versions. Learn what to look for and how to fix it.

By Kevin Beaver • March 31, 2010

Fixing Linux I/O write performance problems

Learn how to optimize your Linux server for I/O writes by adjusting I/O scheduler settings and journaling settings along with some advice about partition set-up.

By Sander van Vugt • March 23, 2010

Using common Linux mail clients with an Exchange Server

Begin your migration away from Microsoft Exchange by learning how to set up Linux mail clients, Evolution and Thunderbird, to talk to Exchange.

By Serdar Yegulalp • March 22, 2010

Linux cloning over the network using netcat

Use netcat to clone Linux images over the network onto multiple servers with a series of simple Linux commands including tar, tee, and dd. This alternative to tools like Clonezilla does not require setting up a separate server.

By Sander van Vugt • Feb. 15, 2010

Dealing with CICS/MQ trigger interface quirks

Despite its simplicity, the CICS/MQ trigger interface has its share of quirks, such as messages left in queues and uneven workload distribution. An expert shares fixes for common CICS/MQ message triggering problems in this tip.

By Robert Crawford • Jan. 26, 2010

Upgrading to VMware vSphere: Five pros and five cons

Increased performance, scalability and new features top the list as to why you should upgrade to vSphere, but proven product stability, third-party product and hardware compatibility are reasons you may want to stay with VMware Infrastructure 3 for now.

Jan. 13, 2010

What is the free VMware OVFTOOL and how can it help you?

VMware's OVFTOOL is a conversion program that eases distribution of virtual machines, converting them from the OVF format to .VMX, .OVA, .VMX files and others.

By David Davis • Dec. 16, 2009

Developing a successful mainframe migration strategy

A successful mainframe migration strategy requires careful planning to avoid disruption to end users. This tip discusses best practices for migrating, regenerating or replacing mainframe applications.

By Wayne Kernochan • Oct. 20, 2009

Sizing computer room air conditioners for data center energy efficiency

Choosing a right-sized computer room air conditioner (CRAC) is crucial to data center energy efficiency, but there are many variables to consider. Learn more about data center air conditioning design, maintaining humidity levels and temperature, and managing air flow to determine the best CRAC for your facility.

By Bob McFarlane, Contributor • Oct. 12, 2009

Access and repair an ext3 file system with the superblock

A damaged ext3 file system is accessible and repairable, thanks to the data within either the superblock or the superblock's backup.

By Sander van Vugt • Oct. 7, 2009

PowersHell: Factory Reset of ESXi

During the course of my travels in powersHell with VMware – I’ve begun to put together my own JACS (Just-Another-Configuration-Script). The idea is to take a clean-factory set ESXi build, and use purely powersHell to configure it.

By Michelle Laverick • Aug. 28, 2009

Troubleshooting Logical Volume Manager boot problems

If Logical Volume Manager (LVM) boots incorrectly, logical volumes are inaccessible and you can't manage server disk space. In this LVM how-to, we offer some simple steps to troubleshoot boot issues with LVM.

By Sander van Vugt • Aug. 27, 2009

How to choose the right uninterruptible power supply for your data center

This tip discusses how to choose the right-sized uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for your data center. It also explains common mistakes in UPS sizing and why UPS power ratings can be so confusing.

By Bob McFarlane, Contributor • Aug. 10, 2009

Avoid common pitfalls when calculating data center power load

For data center pros trying to size an air conditioning system or UPS, accurately estimating data center power load is critical. But there are many common pitfalls to avoid.

By Robert McFarlane • Aug. 3, 2009

Installing VMware ESXi on a physical server

In this two-part series, we show you how to convert an existing physical server into a virtual machine, then how to install VMware ESXi on the server hardware and load the virtual machine back onto it.

By Eric Siebert • July 23, 2009