Data Center: Page

Obtaining server health status in VMware ESX and VMware ESXi

VMware ESXi can easily provide you with information about a server's CPU, memory, storage and more, but getting this info from ESX Server requires some additional steps.

By David Davis • June 26, 2008

Storage options for virtual machines: Raw device mappings, VMFS

Virtual Machine File System is VMware's preferred storage option for virtual machines, but raw device mapping provides similar performance and can be a better choice depending on the specific storage configuration.

By Scott Lowe • June 25, 2008

embedded hypervisor

An embedded hypervisor is a hypervisor that is programmed (embedded) directly into a processor, personal computer (PC) or server. This architecture offers convenience at the cost of some flexibility compared with conventional hypervisors ... (Continued)

By TechTarget Contributor • June 16, 2008

Uninterruptible power supply load bus synchronization: Yes or no?

Should you consider paying the additional cost of a Load Bus Synchronization system for your uninterruptible power supply? Data center experts Syska Hennessy weigh in.

By Christopher Johnston, PE, National Critical Facilities Chief Engineer, Syska Hennessy Group, Inc. • June 16, 2008

data center chiller

A data center chiller is a cooling system used in a data center to remove heat from one element and deposit it into another element. Chillers are used by industrial facilities to cool the water used in their heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) units. (Continued...)

By TechTarget Contributor • June 11, 2008

VMware Site Recovery Manager: How it can help you

VMware's Site Recovery Manager (SRM) application enhances the disaster recovery capabilities of your virtual environment. An expert discusses SRM implementation and use in this tip.

By David Davis • June 11, 2008

Selecting a general contractor: Data center construction runbook, Chapter 3

When you're building a new data center, it pays to bring the general contractor onboard early, rather than bidding out the process and ending up with unqualified subcontractors on your project.

By Karim Khan, Contributor • June 5, 2008

Troubleshooting common VMware ESX host server problems

Get a grip on potential VMware ESX host server problems including the purple screen of death, a frozen service console, and rebuilding your network configurations after they've been lost.

By Eric Siebert • June 3, 2008

Are you prepared for the Unix 2038 problem?

All 32-bit Unix/Linux-based systems store the system clock time internally as the number of seconds since the "Epoch." The latest time and date that can be represented as seconds-since-the-Epoch in that 32-bit signed integer is 3:14:07 UTC on Tuesday, January 19, 2038. Current applications will interpret the negative number that is subsequently produced as an older year (1901), or will freeze the system clock at 03:14:07 on 1/19/2038, causing applications and operating systems to fail. Bill Bradford explains some options for preventing this eventuality.

By Bill Bradford • May 21, 2008

Data center cooling optimization in the virtualized-server world

How many hamburgers can you cook on a blade server? If your servers are literally cooking there are a variety of systems to consider to keep your equipment cool.

By Julius Neudorfer • April 21, 2008

Troubleshooting failed VMware Converter P2V migrations

A failed VMware Converter physical-to-virtual migration has numerous sources of potential failure, and even your best-laid plans may not prevent a problem. But this tip offers detailed troubleshooting to identify the problem.

By Eric Siebert • March 12, 2008

VMware DRS and VMotion: Improve workload balance, prevent problems

Learn how both VMware DRS and VMotion work individually, how they work together, and get configuration tips for optimal virtual machine performance in an environment that takes advantage of both technologies.

By Rick Vanover • Feb. 6, 2008

Do dual-power supply servers increase redundancy?

Implementing servers with dual power supplies is a common practice in mission-critical environments. But improper implementation can result in a false sense of power redundancy. This tip explains what can go wrong in your data center.

By Julius Neudorfer • Jan. 17, 2008

Oracle on RHEL 5: Installation and configuration

Install and configure Oracle 10 on RHEL 5. This tip shows how to set up a database with Oracle's Database Configuration Assistant (DBCA) and Oracle Enterprise Manager.

By Kenneth Milberg • Jan. 8, 2008

SUSE Linux Enterprise troubleshooting: Fixing boot problems by repairing a broken initrd

Having a problem booting SUSE Linux Enterprise on your server? It may be that you have a problem with your initial RAM disk. Expert Sander van Vugt troubleshoots the problem with this step-by-step guide to fixing a broken initrd.

By Sander van Vugt • Nov. 19, 2007

Using SETools to manage SELinux policies

SETools can help SELinux administrators with the daunting task of writing, managing and reporting on policies with the help of tools such as apol, sediff, seaudit and sechecker. Our expert shows you how to setup SETools on your system and introduces you to its graphical and command-line utilities.

By James Turnbull • Oct. 22, 2007

Data center cooling and humidity control: CRAC or AHU?

Data center physical environment expert Robert McFarlane discusses the best temperature and humidity control choices for a reader's data center.

By Robert McFarlane • Oct. 8, 2007

Data center facility control systems

Data centers are mission-critical environments with serious consequences for failure, but many employ the same commercial-style control systems as office buildings. Contributor Steve Blaine discusses why data centers can benefit from industrial PLC/SCADA control systems.

By Steve Blaine, Contributor • Sept. 10, 2007

CICSPlex System Manager basics

In this brief overview of CPSM, CICS expert Robert Crawford describes the risks and rewards of using it for system management, automation and workload management.

By Robert Crawford • July 30, 2007

Setting up SSH2 on Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Find out how to set up SSH2 (Secure Shell) on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), using encryption keys instead of passwords in this tutorial. You can use this with either RHEL 4 or RHEL 5.

By Austin Jorden • July 17, 2007

Dual booting vs. virtualization: Using Windows and Linux on the same server

Interoperability between Linux and Windows can be achieved in two ways: one, by installing each operating system separately via dual booting -- which allows both operating systems to run on the same hardware -- and two, by running one system inside another with virtualization. In this tip, Serdar Yegulalp explains when to use each option.

By Serdar Yegulalp • July 2, 2007

Alert vs. log in the Snort /var/log/snort directory

A Linux security expert explains that the difference between the Snort alert and log logs in the Snort /var/log/snort directory is based on how rules are written.

By James Turnbull • June 22, 2007

HP UNIX performance monitoring fundamentals

UNIX system performance monitoring involves more than just keeping an eye on the amount of free space or the number of users who are logged in. With the right system performance monitoring know-how, you can look into various files to find out anything about the system.

By Swayam Prakash, Contributor • June 19, 2007

OpenOffice 2.0 tutorial: Using SQL View, Query Design and more with Report Writer

Learn how to use the Query Design and SQL View tools, handle report-specific fields, print fast reports and more in this tutorial on OpenOffice's Report Writer.

By Solveig Haugland • June 18, 2007

Linux clusters vs. grids

Can Linux clusters outperform grid computing? Expert Ken Milberg compares them -- covering Beowulf, HPC, Linux Virtual Server and the Globus Toolkit for grids -- and chooses a winner.

By Ken Milberg • April 9, 2007