Data Center
Network, server, and storage administrators get valuable advice and best practices to help meet the challenges they face in keeping systems connected, available, and running at high efficiency.
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The next revolution in network monitoring: Simplicity
Network monitoring tools will start to look and act more like consumer software. This increased simplicity will help monitoring keep up with network growth and complexity.
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How to restore a system image in Windows Server 2012
John Joyner explains how to use the Windows Server 2012 built-in backup application to restore a system image.
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How Linux is taking over the network
Is world domination by Linux a fanciful dream, or could it be a reality in ways we don't expect? Scott Reeves sees the signs.
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Keeping the data center in check with Application Performance Monitoring (APM)
As data centers and networks become more complex, IT must make buying decisions about enterprise software that helps keep track of it all. What is APM?
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Has virtualization killed tape?
Rick Vanover explains that he prefers disk-based systems for backups, but does that mean tape is completely out? Share your thoughts.
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Microsoft's MDM solution solves SMB and enterprise needs
Windows Intune provides a solution for both the SMB and enterprise MDM needs. John Joyner explains how it works with System Center 2012.
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Evaluating peripheral device management software
Network security means managing more than the usual BYOD suspects. You also need to control the peripheral devices like USBs. Derek Schauland looks at GFI's solution.
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What you need to know about EPON: Enabling technology for NGNs
Learn what EPON is and how it can benefit access networks.
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Getting the most from 4G and wireline networks
How does 4G wireless fit into your total network plan? Here are the scenarios in which it excels, and a few places where IT needs to improve performance.
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Cheat sheet: What you need to know about 802.11ac
The newest wireless networking protocol is 802.11ac, due to be ratified sometime in 2013. Michael Kassner does the research and tells you what you need to know.
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Mobile app revolution means new management tools for IT
An array of new management tools for securing, distributing, and performance-testing mobile apps and devices will have to be evaluated by enterprise IT. Here are three key areas on which to focus.
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How to use IP Address Management in Windows Server 2012
IP address management is difficult for large organizations with hundreds of networks. Windows Server 2012 has an IPAM feature that allows for management and configuration from a database perspective.
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What SDN means to the network administrator
Software-defined networking is new enough that pinning down its practical use is still difficult to get our heads around. Here is some perspective on SDN from the net admin's point of view.
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Enterprise application orchestration with ASCI's ActiveBatch
John Joyner reports on a demo of an enterprise application orchestration tool for industrial strength enterprise job scheduling and workflow automation.
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Key features of Next Generation Networks
Next Generation Networks have been a talking point for the last few years. Scott Reeves describes some of the features and talks about some of the advantages of NGNs.
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How to determine what device is on what port on your Cisco switch
When your network is in crisis, it's important to know which device is connected to which switch port without having to run to the network room. David Davis discusses network analysis applications and switch port mapping tools that you want to have in place before you're in crisis mode.
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DIY SAN: Windows Server 2012 Storage Spaces and iSCSI target
John Joyner shows you how to use Windows Server 2012 to create an iSCSI target and virtual disk that can be used for storage.
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Configure Remote Desktop through Group Policy
Ensuring that Remote Desktop is enabled (or disabled) centrally through Group Policy is the way to go for Windows Servers. IT pro Rick Vanover shows how in this tip.
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How to shrink a VMDK using VMware Converter
It is easy to make a VMDK bigger, but not so much to shrink it. Rickatron shows how to do this task using VMware Converter in this post.
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Breaking down an IPv6 address: What it all means
Nick Hardiman explains the seemingly arcane engineering of the IPv6 address. Find out what makes it tick.
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Exchange 2013: First-time installation and basic administration
The Cumulative Update 1 for Exchange 2013 adds on-premise co-existence with legacy Exchange Server versions. Check out the new features
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Deploy a private CA with Windows Server 2012
John Joyner describes new features in Windows Server 2012 that make deploying private PKI easier and more affordable in a number of useful scenarios, especially those calling for high security.
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Two PowerShell scripts for retrieving user info from Active Directory
Obtaining user object information via Active Directory Users And Computers is fine for the one-time use, but it falls short for batch tasks. These two scripts make it easy to pull user information via PowerShell.
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How to solve WSUS errors on your SCCM 2012 servers
Scott Lowe shares the solution to some WSUS errors you may be seeing. The culprit: changes introduced after the System Center 2012 SP1 update. Here's what you need to check.
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How to restore a system image in Windows Server 2012
John Joyner explains how to use the Windows Server 2012 built-in backup application to restore a system image.
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Top five features in System Center Configuration Manager 2012
Colin Smith describes five of his favorite new features in Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2012. You can try these out by downloading the prebuilt Hyper-V VM of the Beta 2 release.
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Adding SQL Full-Text Search to an existing SQL Server
Adding components to an existing SQL Server is a tricky process. In this blog post, Rickatron shows how this is performed so you can proceed confidently.