IT Operations: Page

Set up an ADFS server to manage Office 365 identities

As long as you know how to set it up and install it, ADFS can be a good identity management option for Office 365.

By Michael Van Horenbeeck • Jan. 22, 2014

Social media loosens up sober BPM

Companies are switching from closed-door BPM to a more democratic approach, and their cue comes from the madding crowd of social media.

By Anne Stuart • Dec. 10, 2013

How a shared virtual disk can benefit a Windows Server data center

With the introduction of Windows Server 2012 R2, shared virtual disks have capabilities to improve failover clusters in a few ways.

By Stephen Bigelow • Nov. 20, 2013

Running PowerShell scripts can ease Windows virtualization tasks

Put PowerShell cmdlets to work with Windows virtualization by automating setup, maintenance and configuration tasks in your organization.

By Ed Tittel • Nov. 1, 2013

Windows Server 2012 R2 makes VM migration faster, smoother

The Windows Server 2012 R2 release continues to push the trend of faster and less disruptive VM migrations in the data center.

By Stephen Bigelow • Oct. 30, 2013

Compression eases Live Migration process in Windows Server 2012 R2

By using Live Migration compression, smaller VM files are transferred more quickly between systems and have fewer resent or dropped packets.

By Stephen Bigelow • Oct. 30, 2013

How Remote DMA improves Live Migration in Windows Server 2012 R2

The RDMA feature can use high-throughput, low-latency data exchanges to improve Live Migration's performance in Windows Server 2012 R2.

By Stephen Bigelow • Oct. 30, 2013

Five tips for selecting system management tools

Too much granularity? Not enough? Need alerts? Maybe not. There are five considerations for systems management tools -- and cost isn't one of them.

By Stephen Bigelow • Oct. 30, 2013

How and when to enable hardware-based TPM security on servers

Most servers include a Trusted Platform Module, but you only want to turn it on and manage TPM when the server handles high-value encrypted workloads.

By Stephen Bigelow • Oct. 11, 2013

Facing threat from competitors, Microsoft spells out cloud plans

With stiff competition from cloud competitors like Amazon, Microsoft is offering Azure discounts to customers who enter into enterprise agreements.

By Ed Scannell, Senior Executive Editor, and Jeremy Stanley, Associate Site Editor • Oct. 8, 2013

How to write your IT automation wish list

IT automation is great, unless complicated, underperforming products that hog resources, time and money overwhelm IT staff.

By Stephen Bigelow • Oct. 1, 2013

Essential Windows Server 2012 R2 system requirements

Before upgrading to Windows Server 2012 R2, read up on hardware requirements to ensure there are enough resources to preserve performance.

By Stephen Bigelow • Sept. 30, 2013

Windows Server 2012 R2 Storage Spaces boosts performance

Three new features in Windows Storage Spaces -- storage tiering, write-back caching and dual parity -- boost storage performance.

By Stephen Bigelow • Sept. 30, 2013

Windows Server 2012 R2 Storage Spaces addresses storage growth demands

Windows Server 2012 R2 Storage Spaces offers an alternative to traditional SAN storage and includes updates for virtualizing shared storage.

By Stephen Bigelow • Sept. 30, 2013

Windows Server 2012 R2 Storage Spaces suits SSD deployments

With the new storage tiering feature, Storage Spaces in Windows Server 2012 R2 works best with solid-state-drive devices.

By Stephen Bigelow • Sept. 30, 2013

Troubleshoot Exchange Admin Center access issues in Exchange 2013

It's common for users to have trouble accessing the Exchange Admin Center in Exchange 2013. Keep these fixes handy in case this happens to you.

By Brien Posey • Sept. 25, 2013

Frequently asked questions about server automation tools

Server automation tools save time and reduce errors. But what should tools offer, and are point systems or suites the way to go? Find out in this FAQ.

By Stephen Bigelow • Sept. 5, 2013

Desired State Configuration helps admins avoid configuration drift

The new feature Desired State Configuration feature in Windows Server 2012 R2 gives admins yet another reason to learn PowerShell.

By Jonathan Hassell • Aug. 28, 2013

The requisite and advanced features of performance monitoring software

All performance monitoring tools must include certain core features, and advanced features can boost application performance and return on investment.

By Bernard Golden • Aug. 23, 2013

PowerShell 4.0 further facilitates task automation for Windows admins

Has PowerShell finally grown up? A mature PowerShell 4.0 in Windows Server 2012 R2 brings with it new parameters, simpler implementation and more.

By Brien Posey • Aug. 23, 2013

Microsoft hikes Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter edition pricing

Microsoft made changes to its license pricing, upping the cost of Windows Server 2012 R2 by as much as 28%. It also discussed a new licensing option.

By Jeremy Stanley • Aug. 9, 2013

Virtual security tactics for Type 1 and Type 2 hypervisors

It's no surprise that Type 1 and Type 2 hypervisors require different security considerations, but we asked an expert to clarify.

By Stephen Bigelow • July 22, 2013

Tailoring server BIOS settings for cool servers without wasting energy

A few tweaks to server BIOS settings will keep fans quiet and workloads processing smoothly, allowing data centers to consume less energy.

By Stephen Bigelow • July 17, 2013

Recognizing and correcting common VM migration problems

A careful and systematic approach can speed the recognition and correction of common VM migration problems.

By Stephen Bigelow • June 28, 2013

Declarative vs. imperative: The DevOps automation debate

Users say Puppet Enterprise 3.0 is a boon, but some industry experts say Puppet's declarative configuration management approach is subject to debate.

By Beth Pariseau • June 27, 2013