The Enterprise Cloud
This blog covers the latest developments and major players in cloud technology. Get practical advice on evaluating providers of cloud applications and services, as well as tips and best practices.
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The cloud is a revolution-enabler for SMBs
Small businesses and startups may have the most to gain from cloud technology. Thoran Rodrigues explains how this leveling of the playing field works to the advantage of the SMB.
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Google's Zopfli Compression Algorithm: Extract higher performance from your compressed files
Google's Zopfli compression algorithm offers significant benefits for cloud applications, mobile performance, and app development.
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Network emulation for the cloud
For those considering a move from the LAN to the public cloud, network emulation offers a new way to test performance.
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How to create load-balanced VMs on the GoGrid IaaS platform
This step-by-step procedure shows you how to create an enterprise-level web service with high availability on the GoGrid platform.
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How the cloud allows SMBs to retake their place as drivers of innovation in IT
Thoran Rodrigues explains how cloud technology allows small companies to compete with big providers, thus making enterprise-grade software available to all.
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Getting to know GoGrid IaaS
In an increasingly crowded IaaS market, GoGrid competes with cloud behemoths like Amazon, Rackspace, and HP. Here's an overview of sign-up, VM creation, and features.
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When it doesn't make sense to go to the cloud
Even cloud advocates understand that not every situation is a good candidate for a cloud solution. Here are some use cases in which the cloud would not provide any particular benefits.
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First steps with a brand new Ubuntu virtual machine
Here is a quick how-to on setting up a brand new Ubuntu VM and adding a web server. Ubuntu is the most popular open source OS for cloud deployments.
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Try SafeGDocs to encrypt your stored Google documents
For those storing lots of documents in the Google cloud, a little extra protection is available with add-ons that encrypt and decrypt docs.
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Microsoft TechEd NA 2013: New products and staking claim to the enterprise cloud
The keynote from TechEd 2013 in New Orleans was full of new products, features, and pricing -- as well as a claim to be the enterprise's "best cloud partner" on the strength of Windows Azure.
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Inside an IaaS data center: Providing the brawn for your company's brain
What goes into an enterprise-class IaaS provider? Take a look inside a brand new data center.
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Infographic: It's a SaaS world
Get a quick look at the history of SaaS, how it's growing, and what makes it different from other software delivery methods.
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The curse of cloudwashing lives on
Dressing up products with the latest buzzwords isn't unusual in the tech industry, but consumers shouldn't be misled about what makes for a true cloud service.
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Integrating asset management as a hosted application: Is it feasible?
Asset management presents some challenges as a solution that can be implemented on the SaaS model. Here are the issues to consider.
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Windows Server 2012 Essentials: Easy small business Internet and cloud
Windows Server 2012 Essentials gives small businesses many options, including built-in hooks to cloud-hosted Office 365-based email and more economical backup and disaster preparedness.
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Is your company encrypting corporate data?
In today's workplace, stealing information doesn't require a covert Special Forces team: It is often done by an employee armed with a 5 GB USB flash drive. And your unsecured, unencrypted network invites a hacker to compromise a server or workstation holding sensitive data.
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How do I use the Microsoft SQL Server Best Practices Analyzer?
Do you not have a full-time DBA to keep Microsoft SQL Server databases running according to industry standards and best practices? Sometimes even DBAs want to test their SQL Servers against various best practices.
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More New SQL Server 2008 Features
Microsoft updates SQL Server on a pretty regular basis. It's newest version, SQL Server 2008, includes some new features not found in older versions. Here's a list of some of them.
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Using Object Dependencies in SQL Server 2008
Tracking object dependencies has always been difficult with SQL Server. SQL Server 2008 makes it easier because it tracks dependencies by the object's name rather than ID. Here's how it works.
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Will you evaluate Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008?
Microsoft has released a standalone hypervisor, Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008. Will you evaluate it for your organization? Scott Lowe explains the ins and outs of this new product.
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iSCSI is the future of storage
iSCSI is here to stay and will eventually supplant a significant portion of the installed base of Fibre Channel SANs out there. Further, as organizations make their initial forays into block-level shared storage, iSCSI will beat Fibre Channel more often than not.
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Talking about Hyper-V with Microsoft's Rene Alamo
Read what Rene Alamo, a Microsoft Partner Technology Specialist, has to say about Hyper-V in terms of its popularity, how people are using it, application support, cost, and more.
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Avoiding Cursors with SQL Server 2005
Sometimes cursors are necessary when executing queries in SQL Server, but most of the time they can be avoided entirely. Tim Chapman shows where cursors can traditionally be used, and how you can use features packaged in SQL Server 2005 to avoid them.
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An outage: Lessons learned
Westminster College does not currently have a backup generator protecting its data center and telephone system. That is about to change. Backup generators are no longer optional. That--and other lessons learned--from recent outages at the college.
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Migrating DHCP from Windows 2000 Server/Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008
With a little bit of work, it's not hard to migrate DHCP services from Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008. Here's how.
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Does a free VMware bare-metal hypervisor hurt Hyper-V?
VMware has made their ESXi hypervisor product a free download from their web site. Will this hurt Microsoft's foray into the virtualization market? Scott Lowe thinks it will, at least for the short-term.
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How do I change the name of my SQL Server?
Did you know that when you change the name of a server that you also have to change the name in SQL Server? It's not that difficult, but if you don't you'll cause problems. Steven S. Warren shows you how.
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What is in your toolbelt?
As a DBA, you probably have several tools to help you in a bad spot. Have you heard of SQL Professional Toolbelt? It can be a handy addition to keep your SQL Server humming.
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Are you going to upgrade to Windows Server 2008?
In Windows Server 2008, you could use terminal services gateway (TSG) to allow your remote users securely through your firewall to applications running on terminal servers on your network. Combine this with the ability to publish applications, which is new in Windows Server 2008, and you have a much more secure deployment for end users. If none of this matters to you and you feel you have a secure VPN than migrating may not make much sense.