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Scripting Scheduling and IT Orchestration

• Modernize ops practices to manage hybrid IT infrastructure

  Hybrid IT management requires ops teams to rethink everything from networking to the way they oversee system configurations. Third-party tools, including those for IaC, can help. Continue Reading

• PowerShell 7 features set to address some, not all, functionality gaps

  While PowerShell 7 is set to unify the cross-platform and traditional Windows versions of the tool, it might not check all the boxes in terms of features IT admins want to see. Continue Reading

• How a rules engine can drive -- or derail -- an IT automation strategy

  To benefit fully from a rules engine -- and minimize the risk of chaos -- IT organizations need to carefully define system metrics and be diligent about documentation. Continue Reading

• What is the Puppet configuration management tool, and how does it work?

  With Puppet, enterprises can manage configurations and simplify the DevOps process as a whole. Grasp how it works, and see if it's the right choice for your organization. Continue Reading

• Manage the Windows PATH environment variable with PowerShell

  Among many other tasks, IT teams can use PowerShell to manage and edit the PATH environment variable. Walk through these basic steps to access, add and remove system paths. Continue Reading

• MIS (management information systems)

  MIS, or management information systems, is the software and hardware to support critical business applications. MIS also refers to the staff who select and manage these systems.Continue Reading

• Create Vagrant boxes with Packer for rapid IT environment builds

  Vagrant boxes enable IT admins to test infrastructure updates in production-identical QA environments. Follow this Vagrant tutorial to build a machine and export it to a Vagrant box.Continue Reading

• Use Puppet for Windows ops automation with dsc_lite

  With DSC and dsc_lite, as well as a native option, users operate in Puppet within the familiarity of PowerShell settings. Here's how each approach works.Continue Reading

• Simple-to-automate IT tasks: Stop doing these 3 things

  There are certain tasks that no IT ops administrator should still do manually. No more excuses -- take these easy operations processes off your plate, and let scripts or tools take over.Continue Reading

• Boost DevOps cred with script management in Git version control

  DevOps teams use configuration management to automate patches and provisioning. They use version control to increase collaboration and change control. Learn how to combine the two.Continue Reading

• It's time to automate the help desk ticketing system

  The help desk is no admin's favorite job -- and no user's favorite place. But with a little automation and AI, the help desk can become a more palatable experience for both parties.Continue Reading

• Continuous delivery pipeline tools build IT efficiency

  The range of CD tools available is as varied as the organizations that need them. Choose between three primary tool set constructions to suit your organization's structure.Continue Reading

• Find the ideal incident management automation tool or tools

  Unless the data center floods or a digger cuts a network cable, incident management takes place via software tools. The quality of these tools determines how quickly work can resume.Continue Reading

• Perform this Octopus Deploy tutorial in under 60 minutes

  Octopus Deploy extends a variety of agents called Tentacles that manage a wide swath of tasks. In just one hour, create an Octopus Deploy instance in a simple home lab.Continue Reading

• These Go code examples showcase its main features

  Google's golang uses many of the same functions as older code languages, such as key-value pairs and compiling, but is better fitted to modern systems development requirements.Continue Reading

• Self-service automation gives WLA maximum power

  Users don't want to wait for an admin to run a report. Admins don't want to drop their work to do it. Set parameters on self-service options and let workers help themselves.Continue Reading

• Is IT workload management easier on software-defined infrastructure?

  Our IT organization uses deployment automation, monitoring tools and virtualized resources. What do we need to do to manage IT workloads?Continue Reading

• Resolve issues between Python and Linux with virtualenv

  While Linux OSes favor Python 2, Python 3 is the widely preferred version. Install virtualenv to isolate Python 2 and 3 and prevent IT issues.Continue Reading

• Automated continuous deployment tools produce successful code

  Continuous deployment skips the operations oversight step in software production. So, automated tools must ensure code success in administrators' stead -- before mistakes go live.Continue Reading

• Impact Awards honor the best cloud and data center tools

  Each year, the Modern Infrastructure Impact Awards program salutes the data center tools and cloud management technologies that stand out from the crowd. The winners are the products that prove particularly useful and draw raves from users. These ...Continue Reading

• Catch the IT automation technology wave

  IT automation is taking over in operations as tasks get bigger and more complex, handling distributed systems. Stay current with these five big trends.Continue Reading

• Kubernetes news, DevOps developments dominate 2017 for IT shops

  Containerization tools grow ever closer to an industry standard. The signs are saying 'Learn to code' and 'AI threatens IT jobs.' Make sure you didn't miss anything important in 2017.Continue Reading

• Institute Embotics vCommander for IT orchestration

  IT orchestration systems have a plethora of benefits for an organization, and there are a wealth of options. Follow this tutorial to set up a platform that works with cloud and on-premises hosts.Continue Reading

• Reap IT automation benefits in every layer of the stack

  Automation technologies create an artificial brain for IT operations, but that won't turn skilled admins and engineers into zombies -- far from it.Continue Reading

• 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.Continue Reading

• 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.Continue Reading

• Scale up DevOps processes against the odds

  DevOps is the change everyone wants, until it means new processes. The difficult but rewarding shift to a DevOps process flow reimagines everything from releases to incident response.Continue Reading

• IT automation trends point to smarter machines -- not just faster

  Tools that automate IT tasks are good. Tools that screen, analyze, remediate and alert admins about those preprogrammed actions are better.Continue Reading

• Advanced shell scripting for IT ops professionals: Free chapter

  Shell scripts can improve speed and automation for sys admins beyond what's possible with graphical user interfaces. Dana French's books cover advanced shell scripting for experienced users.Continue Reading

• IT operations best practices to boost team performance and morale

  You can make sys admins happier and more productive with easily implemented practices, which includes forcing them to do their least favorite chore.Continue Reading

• Take a self-guided IT maturity assessment

  Compare the progressive stages of IT maturity against your organization's use of documentation, goal orientation and automation; then discover areas for improvement.Continue Reading

• Top cloud and data center technologies win Impact Awards

  Plenty of data center technologies enter the market, aiming to solve this problem or that problem. (Or every problem, if the hype is to be believed.) But which products really hit the mark? Which ones stand out, coming along at just the right moment...Continue Reading

• Set up a virtual home lab to learn OpenStack and more on your own time

  There are many reasons to set up a virtual home lab, not least of all for career advancement and learning. Occasionally, it can be fun too.Continue Reading

• How IT management tools change a data center for the better

  Organizations that choose to adopt IT management tools can gain the upper hand on reporting, troubleshooting, provisioning and other important data center functions.Continue Reading

• Simplify your platform with IT systems management tools

  So much effort goes into simply keeping an IT infrastructure up and running. Imagine what more could be accomplished once you automate some of those tasks with IT systems management tools.Continue Reading

• These IT automation scripts take little effort and save a lot of work

  Doing IT by hand is doing it wrong. Whether to provision components, research an issue or report on performance, IT automation scripts are powerful and easy to write.Continue Reading

• A SaltStack tutorial to start mastering data center minions

  With a basic understanding of SaltStack minions, modules, grains and other concepts, IT administrators have the power to scale up configurations.Continue Reading

• Virtualization lightens IT application management load

  With very few exceptions, applications can -- and should -- go on virtual machines. IT admins benefit from better application management and increased automation.Continue Reading

• IT systems management

  Systems management is the administration of the information technology systems in an enterprise data center. An effective systems management plan facilitates the delivery of IT as a service (ITaaS) and allows the organization's employees to respond ...Continue Reading

• POVs on IT infrastructure automation you can use

  It's a natural urge to remove human intervention from machines' functioning, but an operational stack doesn't stay the same.Continue Reading

• Script management technology adds safety to scripting's power

  Script management is a necessity to maintain an IT deployment. The canny organization will choose the right tools that give power to the sys admin, while protecting against accidents.Continue Reading

• Pick up infrastructure as code tools and techniques

  Walk through an infrastructure as code template, using AWS CloudFormation as an example, to better understand defining and connecting resources.Continue Reading

• Tailor these open source IT tools for sys, cloud management

  Like how open source system management software is flexible and saves money, but worried about security or customization? GitHub forking allows you to bring that software in-house.Continue Reading

• Use GitHub for open source data center automation ideas

  GitHub, a bastion of software developers, also offers automation scripts and open source collaboration for data center administrators.Continue Reading

• OpenStack Heat template sets private IaaS in motion

  Understanding how the OpenStack Heat template works is key in the deployment of your private IaaS.Continue Reading

• Ten data center trends driving change in 2015

  There's technology hype and then there are true trends that affect data centers long-term. These 10 trends are sure to have an impact beyond 2015.Continue Reading

• Build a cloud, IT automation foundation with system programmers

  If you want data center clouds and systemic automation, system programmers need an important, dynamic spot on your IT team.Continue Reading

• How to integrate IT infrastructure monitoring tools

  When done successfully, performance monitoring tool integrations enhance administrative insight and productivity across a busy data center.Continue Reading

• The evolution of DevOps in the cloud

  Tools like Puppet and Chef have helped enable DevOps in the cloud, but hurdles remain when it comes to managing and analyzing cloud-based apps.Continue Reading

• Reflections on the leading data center trends of 2014

  You don't have to be a psychic to forecast the year ahead in data center technologies. See how 2014 panned out for data center pros.Continue Reading

• Explore DCIM vendors thoroughly before deploying a tool

  DCIM is susceptible to change: The technology, the vendors and business needs all influence purchasing decisions. Investigate thoroughly before spending your money.Continue Reading

• How to pick data center infrastructure management tools

  The rash of ever-changing DCIM vendors, the IT/facilities rift and other roadblocks make implementing DCIM a challenge. These tips get DCIM working in a real data center.Continue Reading

• How workflow automation tools trump human intervention

  Workflow automation tools speed routine tasks and ensure that these tasks execute in a standardized, error-free way. But adopting an automation tool can add complexity and learning curves to the existing environment.Continue Reading

• Automation + IT sprawl = Failure waiting to happen

  Let automation be your guide -- as long as it doesn't lead you into a major outage and uncontrolled IT sprawl.Continue Reading

• How to build an enterprise private cloud that looks better than AWS

  Clouds that enterprises build rarely stack up to AWS and its ilk in a public cloud. Follow these steps if you want a viable private cloud for users.Continue Reading

• Are IT automation tools your ladder to the cloud?

  Automating your data center infrastructure gives you a leg up to cloud. Choosing the wrong automation tool, however, can create unwanted hurdles.Continue Reading

• Rackspace managed services tackle DevOps challenges through automation

  A new marketing software company got a leg up on DevOps using a new managed service from Rackspace.Continue Reading

• A look inside the DevOps movement

  DevOps is a culture, not a job or procedure for an IT team. That said, there are DevOps tools and organizational strategies to help you get there.Continue Reading

• Reshaping IT organizations to fulfill a DevOps strategy

  DevOps IT delivery requires a lot of up-front investment and time. It's a difficult project for even the most committed IT organizations.Continue Reading

• What do you know about workload management tools?

  Using workload management tools is a step toward an efficient data center. How well do you know your workload automation options?Continue Reading

• Improve application performance with multithreaded applications

  Multi-core CPUs fuel a server's operating system performance and virtualization technologies. Can multithreaded applications and multi-core CPUs fuel application performance as well?Continue Reading