IT Operations: Page

Windows Server containers and Hyper-V containers explained

It's important to not only understand the differences between these two container types but also the specific requirements, deployment considerations and management practices.

By Ryann Burnett • Oct. 17, 2017

Use Azure availability sets for patching to achieve the best uptime

Ops' responsibility doesn't end once in a public cloud; in fact, it can get more confounding. Learn the best route to update Azure cloud instances and what mistakes to avoid.

By Stuart Burns • Oct. 12, 2017

Paravirtualization advantages, disadvantages and use cases

Despite a promising start, paravirtualization comes with significant disadvantages that limit the number of use cases that make sense for enterprise IT, but it still has its place.

By Stephen Bigelow • Oct. 5, 2017

ITSM processes must take this chance to help the business

ITSM implementations still have value in today's DevOps world, but only if admins can get their processes aligned with the grander business goals.

By Pam Erskine, Jay Stuart and Doug Tedder, ITSM experts • Oct. 3, 2017

Standardize configuration management software for smoother DevOps

If your organization uses different configuration management software for development and operations, you're not alone. Even better, it's no engineering feat to migrate to one main tool.

By Kurt Marko • Oct. 2, 2017

Microsoft Nano Server

Microsoft Nano Server is a lightweight version of the Windows Server operating system that was introduced with Windows Server 2016 for use as an OS layer for virtualized container instances.

By Katie Terrell Hanna, Stephen Bigelow • Sept. 27, 2017

PowerShell scripts enable automated cloud deployments

This step-by-step tutorial walks through the process to automate an Azure deployment; start with launching the virtual server, and finish with the deletion process.

By Stuart Burns • Sept. 25, 2017

HashiCorp DevOps tools add Sentinel for IT policy management

As DevSecOps grows, policy as code will take over where infrastructure as code left off through new tools such as HashiCorp Sentinel.

By Beth Pariseau • Sept. 22, 2017

An IT operations job description written for the future

Forward-looking IT ops jobs require more Python and less cable management. To reach valued positions in the IT organization, align your skills with these popular job requirements.

By Meredith Courtemanche • Sept. 21, 2017

Early adopters of technology belong in every organization

In today's rapidly changing tech environment, avoiding new opportunities means falling behind. Thorough research into newly available tools leads organizations to success.

By Meredith Courtemanche • Sept. 21, 2017

Microsoft Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection

Microsoft Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) is Microsoft's optional cloud-based service that scans and filters email to protect subscribers from malware in attachments and hyperlinks to malicious websites.

By Stephen Bigelow • Sept. 21, 2017

Configuration management processes take down GRC challenges

Configuration management processes speed deployments, but tools that know effective licenses and data storage details aid in another area that businesses are keen to get right.

By Clive Longbottom • Sept. 19, 2017

Server Core installation offers perks, challenges for IT

Server Core is a lighter Windows Server deployment that frees up server resources for additional workloads, but the management aspect will put some admins to the test.

By Stephen Bigelow • Sept. 12, 2017

Build a DevOps version control process for IT infrastructure

Infrastructure admins can turn to the DevOps version control process for all IaC updates. Learn the basics, then follow along with an example in Git.

By Mike Pfeiffer • Sept. 11, 2017

Ansible variables give structure to playbook execution

Ansible playbooks tell the IT automation system how to complete a task. Use variables in a playbook to tell Ansible how to interact with the available resources.

By Sander van Vugt • Sept. 11, 2017

Dell and EMC merger poses a challenging transformation

The Dell and EMC merger presents a multitude of opportunities for market domination -- if the integrated companies can modernize a highly complex portfolio.

By Spencer Smith • Sept. 5, 2017

Know how container host machine resources get used?

What's a container's resource limit? How do they scale? What OS does a host machine need? Answer 10 questions to prove your container deployment knowledge.

By Meredith Courtemanche • Aug. 29, 2017

A deployment pipeline keeps infrastructure ducks in their rows

IT infrastructure is difficult to get right. Whether to stand up a test/dev server or deploy a new app to production, infrastructure developers turn to a deployment pipeline to build IT.

By Adam Bertram • Aug. 25, 2017

Come to grips with immutable infrastructure in production

Immutable infrastructure is a developer approach to application hosting that's made its way into the IT ops lexicon. It's time to understand the changes it brings to application support.

By Stephen Bigelow • Aug. 22, 2017

Docker-supported OS list expands with Enterprise Edition update

Docker Enterprise Edition fired back at Kubernetes with new support for mixed clusters and applications, as well as advanced security features that target large enterprises.

By Beth Pariseau • Aug. 16, 2017

Do ops skills fall into an IT engineering job description?

What are some ways to level up from an IT operations or administration role into an IT engineering one? Will my experience in IT operations translate into engineering tasks?

By Adam Fowler • Aug. 8, 2017

Chef Habitat offers a different take on configuration management

Chef Habitat's strategy focuses on the dynamic application environment instead of static servers, approaching configuration management with a new focus.

By Sander van Vugt • Aug. 4, 2017

IT automation software: Top five common mistakes

IT automation software projects can involve a great deal of risk, but avoid these common mistakes and it will increase the chances for automation success.

By Mark Brunelli • Aug. 4, 2017

Construct a chain of commands with the PowerShell pipeline

The pipeline in PowerShell connects multiple cmdlets to assemble complex commands to give administrators advanced management control over their systems.

By Adam Bertram • July 28, 2017

Automate Active Directory jobs with PowerShell scripts

Much of what admins do in Active Directory is not exactly cutting-edge, and they don't want to waste time on mundane tasks. A dash of PowerShell can speed things along.

By Adam Bertram • July 21, 2017