IT Operations: Page

Use Packer for Windows to enhance machine image automation

Packer can curtail time sinks for administrators, especially those dealing with rapid OS releases. But the DevOps tool can require additional effort to work for Windows.

By Dan Franciscus • Feb. 26, 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.

By Beth Pariseau • Feb. 26, 2019

What advantages do Windows Server cluster sets offer?

Administrators don't need to stress about workload uptime with a new Windows Server 2019 clustering feature, which makes sharing resources and moving VMs easier.

By Stephen Bigelow • Feb. 26, 2019

Where container infrastructure and management investments yield ROI

Containers are efficient and flexible, but these benefits can come with a hefty price tag. Ensure these elements are in the container budget to escape unexpected charges.

By Kurt Marko • Feb. 25, 2019

Mainframe DevOps forces platform reckoning for enterprises

DevOps has reached the mainframe world, where a few enterprise 'unicorns' have blazed a trail with new tools for the rest of the IT industry.

By Beth Pariseau • Feb. 25, 2019

The clock is ticking on the Exchange Web Services change

Another change that might affect your Exchange environment is coming in 2020. Here's what you need to know to prepare.

By Reda Chouffani • Feb. 22, 2019

Add Elasticsearch nodes to a cluster in simple steps

Elasticsearch, part of the Elastic Stack with Logstash and Kibana, uses YAML for configuration scripting. Follow these steps to configure an Elasticsearch cluster with two nodes.

By Walker Rowe • Feb. 22, 2019

Accenture partnership with Splice Machine sealed by investment

Read how Accenture and Splice Machine have deepened their alliance, taking aim at large-scale data transformation projects, and other channel news from the week.

By John Moore and Spencer Smith • Feb. 22, 2019

Determine the cost of app customization in the cloud

Cloud applications are like icebergs: There's a lot users don't see below the surface. One apparently small change could have a massive ripple effect on operations.

By Brian Kirsch • Feb. 20, 2019

Server Core vs. GUI: Is Server Core ready for prime time?

IT Director Christopher Rivers says the Windows Admin Center is a step in the right direction to boost adoption of Server Core, but administrators will still encounter challenges.

By Kristen Gloss • Feb. 20, 2019

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.

By Sarah Neenan • Feb. 19, 2019

What are some common Windows Server 2019 SDN errors?

The complexity of setting up and managing Microsoft SDN can increase the risk of administrators facing common networking errors that are difficult to troubleshoot.

By Stephen Bigelow • Feb. 19, 2019

Non-IT software vendors stir up IT tool selection process

Many non-IT vendors now offer homegrown software -- a model that carries benefits and risks. Weigh the pros and cons around support, availability and other factors before making a decision.

By Clive Longbottom • Feb. 18, 2019

Major I/O virtualization vendors and technologies explained

Technologies that virtualize I/O components offer a number of additional capabilities, such as direct memory access remapping and network queuing for each VM.

By Stephen Bigelow • Feb. 15, 2019

Maximize Ansible scalability, performance as IT deployments grow

There are several options to increase Ansible performance at scale -- a task that should move to the top of the to-do list as an IT deployment grows.

By Stuart Burns • Feb. 15, 2019

Container security tools pitch service mesh integrations

Container defense in depth is a hot topic, and some IT pros approach it with a combination of third-party container security tools and service mesh security features.

By Beth Pariseau • Feb. 14, 2019

Linkerd vs. Istio fray dominates service mesh battle

Linkerd's maintainers admit it has a narrower range of features than buzz machine Istio. But after failed attempts to set up Istio, some early adopters believe less is more.

By Beth Pariseau • Feb. 14, 2019

GPU virtualization evolves with new chip types on the horizon

GPU-makers Intel, AMD and Nvidia all provide virtualization support; the next step is to merge CPU and GPU functionality to handle both application and math/graphics-related tasks.

By Stephen Bigelow • Feb. 13, 2019

Microsoft zero-day vulnerability closed on Patch Tuesday

Administrators should prioritize patching systems affected by a zero-day vulnerability resolved by the February Patch Tuesday updates.

By Kristen Gloss • Feb. 13, 2019

What key SDN features are in Windows Server 2019?

Microsoft SDN capabilities got a boost in Windows Server 2019 to wrap more security around VMs and make networking tasks less painful to execute.

By Stephen Bigelow • Feb. 12, 2019

Adjust IT team dynamics for a cloud-native approach

As enterprises set their cloud-native strategy, they'll need to navigate major changes -- both from a technical standpoint and in terms of IT team structure and management style.

By Aymen El Amri • Feb. 12, 2019

Container security vulnerability prompts call to patch runC

The discovery of a container utility flaw means IT pros must patch most container runtimes, as well as practice defense in depth and beware of strangers with sketchy container images.

By Beth Pariseau • Feb. 11, 2019

Rancher’s Kubernetes multi-cluster app support fuels IT debate

To federate or not to federate cloud-native apps? As Kubernetes becomes ubiquitous, that is the question that more IT shops must answer.

By Beth Pariseau • Feb. 8, 2019

AIOps wars heat up with New Relic-SignifAI deal

An already heated struggle between DevOps monitoring vendors becomes an all-out rumble, as New Relic acquires SignifAI and ups the AIOps ante for rivals.

By Beth Pariseau • Feb. 7, 2019

Evaluate the Mesos architecture for massive container deployments

In addition to supporting large-scale IT deployments, Mesos takes a unique approach to data center and cloud resource pools that can benefit both containerized and noncontainerized apps.

By Tom Nolle • Feb. 7, 2019