Tips

Tips

• Optimize Docker images for improved efficiency and security

  There are several ways -- ranging from Dockerfile adjustments to vulnerability scans -- that IT teams can ensure their Docker images are both efficient and secure.  Continue Reading

• 5 IT security measures to safeguard distributed environments

  In today's complex IT landscape, it's easy to make mistakes that leave applications and data vulnerable. Follow these five tips to create a comprehensive security plan.  Continue Reading

• Why to use staging environments for IT infrastructure testing

  A well-built and efficient staging environment pays off in a more stable production deployment. For this reason, IT ops teams should perform isolated infrastructure tests in staging.  Continue Reading

• IT tool selection criteria to guide emerging tech navigation

  The IT industry is almost always in flux. For organizations to keep up, they must invest in the right tools, which takes asking the right questions.  Continue Reading

• Weave DevOps continuous learning into a CI/CD toolchain

  DevOps shops can bake training materials into CI/CD workflows to ensure IT and development staff constantly advance their skills -- but be sure to keep those materials up to date.  Continue Reading

• Optimize platform costs, use with an IT asset management strategy

  Without a thorough asset management plan that accounts for the complexities of today's IT environments, organizations risk cost inefficiencies and suboptimal support for the business.  Continue Reading

• Practical advice to integrate IT systems after a merger

  A merger or acquisition can devour an IT administrator's time in many ways -- from running and supporting parallel sets of infrastructure to managing automation and security.  Continue Reading

• Evolve IT help desk skills to meet modern user demands

  "Have you tried turning it off and then back on again?" is no longer the first question a help desk technician should ask. Widespread use of tech by just about everyone has changed the role.  Continue Reading

• Learn how New Relic works, and when to use it for IT monitoring

  New Relic is one of many tools that can help an IT team track application performance and health. Before adoption, understand primary use cases and SaaS installation requirements.  Continue Reading

• Apply the K-means clustering algorithm for IT performance monitoring

  Modern machine learning frameworks reduce the heavy lifting in IT performance monitoring. Follow this example, using Apache Mesos and the K-means clustering algorithm, to learn the basics.  Continue Reading

• Use secrets management tools for centralized security control

  Improper secrets management leaves IT orgs vulnerable to attacks. A secrets repository can help -- but it requires commitment, along with a willingness to change existing workflows and processes.  Continue Reading

• 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

• Build a DevOps feedback loop with these CI/CD tools

  From Azure DevOps to Jenkins, DevOps teams can choose from a number of CI/CD tools to enable and maintain a continuous loop of feedback.  Continue Reading

• 3 ways to react to an IT system failure avalanche

  In complex IT infrastructures, a system or resource failure can spur follow-up issues. Compare three approaches to prevent these dreaded domino effects and reach the root of the problem.  Continue Reading

• Ensure Kubernetes high availability with master node planning

  Kubernetes ensures high availability in its worker nodes, but for a mission-critical workload, IT teams should take these extra steps for redundancy in the master node components.  Continue Reading

• Overcome these challenges to detect anomalies in IT monitoring

  Faster and more accurate anomaly detection is a major benefit of machine learning in IT systems monitoring -- but it's not something that enterprises can achieve overnight.  Continue Reading

• Kubernetes taints and tolerations optimize pod-to-node mapping

  In complex Kubernetes environments, admins must navigate pod-to-node mapping carefully. Try using taints and tolerations -- but be sure to closely oversee the process.  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

• Gain deeper IT insight with machine learning for log analysis

  As the log analysis tool market evolves, machine learning plays an increasing role in helping IT teams discover significant anomalies and outliers in their data.  Continue Reading

• Evaluate if serverless cost benefits are worth the upfront price

  Before an IT shop adopts serverless, it must fully grasp how the technology operates, and prepare for the upfront -- and potentially costly -- app refactoring efforts it requires.  Continue Reading

• How and why to set up an automation CoE for DevOps

  As DevOps automation efforts spread across IT and the business, use a center of excellence to establish standards, secure executive sponsorship and organize staff trainings.  Continue Reading

• Four must-haves in Kubernetes security best practices

  When it comes to Kubernetes security, IT teams must look beyond their containerized workloads, and consider code and cloud infrastructure as well.  Continue Reading

• Kubernetes networking explained: Start with these building blocks

  To understand Kubernetes networking, admins must first master the core components of the container orchestration platform. Then, they need to map deployments to the right virtual networking model.  Continue Reading

• Enable automated failover with a highly available CMDB

  A resilient CMDB helps drive automated failover processes. Explore several approaches to prepare your configuration management database for DR scenarios.  Continue Reading

• Rising use of Kubernetes in production brings new IT demands

  Kubernetes as an enterprise IT service is still in its infancy, but the market has reached a turning point from developer-maintained to IT-provided Kubernetes deployments.  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

• How to achieve continuous feedback in DevOps pipelines

  Continuous feedback is critical to optimize DevOps processes. While tools can enable feedback loops, DevOps teams still must reduce unnecessary noise and continually measure success.  Continue Reading

• Say 'yes' to NoOps with the right technology and team structure

  Before embracing a NoOps model, be sure IT team members have a clear understanding of how the methodology changes the technologies they'll work with, along with their day-to-day roles.  Continue Reading

• Prevent help desk escalation with runbook documentation

  IT operations teams are often stuck in a process loop to solve issues. Learn how tools, such as runbooks and libraries, break the cycle and help avoid problem escalation.  Continue Reading

• 12 DevOps KPIs you should track to gauge improvement

  What's missing from your DevOps workflow? Cold, hard, impartial numbers. Track these key metrics to ensure DevOps processes achieve stated goals.  Continue Reading

• Infrastructure-as-code testing strategies to validate a deployment

  IaC, when implemented correctly, can benefit enterprises' CD pipelines. But, when IT teams fail to test the code before deployment, things can go awry. Learn several testing strategies here.  Continue Reading

• A GitOps workflow won't benefit every IT organization

  A move to GitOps is a major transition for an IT team and offers a wealth of perks, but it also carries significant challenges and a steep learning curve.  Continue Reading

• 5 steps to evaluate and perform a service mesh implementation

  Service mesh adoption is a long process that starts with careful evaluation of the technology and its deployment models. And that requires the involvement of both IT ops and dev teams.  Continue Reading

• Capitalize on the advantages of open source software in IT

  Open source tools, including those for IT management, might be free, but there are broader pros and cons that might tip the scales for some enterprise buyers.  Continue Reading

• Demystify the DevOps process, step by step

  While varying definitions and vendor marketing spins can make the meaning of DevOps tough to nail down, there are concrete principles and processes that underpin the methodology.  Continue Reading

• When to use Jenkins vs. Jenkins X for pipeline automation

  Three primary factors -- flexibility, Kubernetes adoption and the need for a GUI -- should shape an organization's decision between Jenkins and Jenkins X as a pipeline automation tool.  Continue Reading

• Conduct an incident post-mortem for ongoing DevOps improvement

  A thorough and effective post-mortem process can strengthen a DevOps organization -- but first, teams must be ready to dig deep and leave blame behind.  Continue Reading

• Try out the Graphite monitoring tool for time-series data

  Combined with third-party tools, Graphite provides a number of benefits for IT performance monitoring. Explore its core components -- including Carbon and Whisper -- and basic guidelines for installation.  Continue Reading

• Prevent man-in-the-middle attacks on apps, CI/CD toolchains

  Man-in-the-middle attacks pose a serious threat to both CI/CD tools and the apps those tools support. Learn how these attacks typically occur -- and how to stop them -- to do DevOps securely.  Continue Reading

• Perform these steps to monitor Windows Server with Nagios Core

  Nagios is no newbie to the server monitoring world, but setting it up for Windows takes a few extra steps. Learn how Nagios Core, originally meant for Linux, can monitor Windows servers.  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

• Grasp Docker networking basics with these commands and tips

  For a containerization novice, networking poses one of the biggest challenges. Use this breakdown of essential Docker networking commands and concepts, including host and bridge setups, to reduce complexity.  Continue Reading

• Match cloud application monitoring to integration needs

  An enterprise's cloud migration includes several elements: a new security process, budget redistribution and a monitoring system that integrates cloud and on-premises apps.  Continue Reading

• Explore the benefits, limitations of time-series monitoring in IT

  IT monitoring metrics are crucial for enterprises to gauge performance and plan for future events. But admins should understand the tradeoffs between a time-series and point-in-time analysis.  Continue Reading

• Heed these cloud security considerations for SaaS, PaaS

  A move to the cloud lessens IT's workload responsibility, but SaaS and PaaS models each require a targeted cloud security strategy to protect applications.  Continue Reading

• Use centralized encryption methods in large-scale IT environments

  Whether data is stored in a VM or in the cloud, centralized encryption key management is critical to prevent theft and protect data from unwanted eyes.  Continue Reading

• 10 DevOps engineer skills to add to a resume

  A DevOps engineer plays a critical role in modern IT. As app development and deployment practices change, orgs will seek pros with hands-on experience -- and the skills to show for it.  Continue Reading

• Apply staging environment best practices to an app lifecycle

  From the public cloud to blue/green deployment, there are a myriad of ways that IT teams can make the most of their staging environments -- and use resources they already have.  Continue Reading

• Add shadow IT applications to the official DevOps toolchain

  Sometimes developers and other IT team members install unapproved apps to fill a gap in the DevOps toolchain. These shadow apps are risky -- but give them a chance.  Continue Reading

• What IT admins need to know about cloud application patching

  When they host apps in a SaaS or PaaS environment, IT teams offload some patching duties to cloud providers. But other responsibilities become even more important.  Continue Reading

• Tips and tools to achieve a serverless DevOps workflow

  Serverless functions bring the benefits of event-driven computing to a CI/CD pipeline -- but to get there, DevOps teams might need to lean heavily on services and tools from the major cloud computing providers.  Continue Reading

• Secure configuration management tasks with a certificate authority

  A CA server is a limited shield for the data that configuration management tools collect, but IT admins can use one for many tasks -- like to create custom certificates -- and boost security.  Continue Reading

• Consider the when, why and how of a Mesos-to-Kubernetes migration

  Before choosing to migrate to Kubernetes, Mesos users should carefully prepare for the complexity of the move -- and first consider using the two technologies side by side.  Continue Reading

• Embrace an app-centric approach to monitoring in the cloud

  Cloud computing minimizes the need for IT teams to worry about infrastructure hardware -- which means their monitoring strategies can, and should, hone in on apps and the user experience.  Continue Reading

• Maintain CMDB data integrity for automated disaster recovery

  For successful disaster recovery, IT admins must keep CMDB data precise. Learn best practices to promote data accuracy for an automated failover and DR plan.  Continue Reading

• Explore Docker vs. LXC through the lens of a three-tier app

  Containers are not small virtual machines, and they're not all the same under the hood. To make smart deployment choices, understand the nuanced differences between container types.  Continue Reading

• Simplify SaaS integration with an IT service aggregator

  SaaS management can cause as many headaches as SaaS apps prevent. Poor integrations between disparate tools can create bottlenecks and failures, but aggregators can help.  Continue Reading

• On Windows, PowerShell vs. Bash comparison gets interesting

  Windows admins have the option to use Bash, a Linux shell, but the command-line tool doesn't stack up one-to-one with PowerShell for Windows deployments.  Continue Reading

• Follow these 6 steps to deploy microservices in production

  To succeed with microservices, IT organizations need to rethink the way they design and deploy applications -- and not all the necessary changes are technical ones.  Continue Reading

• Cloud adoption questions every IT admin should ask

  For all of a cloud service's benefits, there are limitations, such as restricted access to infrastructure, that cause IT teams to be leery of adoption.  Continue Reading

• Weigh infrastructure as code risks against the benefits

  Infrastructure as code can transform the modern data center, but maintain a healthy dose of caution -- and thorough documentation and testing environments -- to prevent chaos.  Continue Reading

• Apply automation for streamlined IT asset management

  Without accurate data, IT asset management processes fail. But, with automation and self-service capabilities, admins can efficiently track assets -- from onboarding to end of life.  Continue Reading

• Combine Puppet and Chocolatey to drive Windows DevOps

  Through the use of Puppet and Chocolatey side by side, Windows IT professionals can use Linux-like DevOps tools to automate the deployment and configuration of their systems.  Continue Reading

• PKI authentication explained: The basics for IT administrators

  Public key infrastructure is part and parcel of modern digital business, from secure communications to data transmission and beyond. Admins must understand PKI to optimize its benefits.  Continue Reading

• Avoid chaos with an IT crisis management playbook

  A minor IT issue can quickly snowball into a major catastrophe without a carefully constructed crisis management plan, but just what details should an organization include?  Continue Reading

• Look inside the Mesosphere DC/OS distributed operating system

  IT organizations that run large, distributed workloads on clusters should examine the Mesosphere DC/OS approach, but be forewarned: It takes a lot of components to simplify ops.  Continue Reading

• Don't neglect your IT architect skills in public cloud projects

  Public cloud infrastructure is beyond the veil for IT admins: unknown and untouchable. But depending on the deployment -- and the cloud -- admins still have architecture to manage.  Continue Reading

• Use Puppet Bolt to simplify configuration management

  Bolt, Puppet's cross-platform automation tool, is designed to minimize the learning curve for ops teams, but users still need to grasp its primary commands and elements.  Continue Reading

• 5 DevSecOps interview questions employers are likely to ask

  To land that DevSecOps dream job, prepare to answer questions not only about specific IT and security tools, but about DevOps team culture as a whole.  Continue Reading

• Assess AIOps benefits and challenges for enterprise IT teams

  To successfully reap the benefits of an AIOps implementation, IT teams first have to navigate some crucial cultural and technical shifts.  Continue Reading

• Apply AI to container monitoring and management -- piece by piece

  While the application of AI to container monitoring and management is possible, it first requires certain operations practices and carefully integrated tool sets.  Continue Reading

• How to cautiously reap the benefits of DevOps as a service

  Outsourcing the operation of DevOps tools has its perks, but be sure to carefully position that move to in-house development and ops teams first.  Continue Reading

• AIOps monitoring arms IT staff with broader, deeper insights

  Conventional monitoring gives ops teams critical visibility into the health of their IT systems, but with limited scope. Through an AIOps tool, they can significantly broaden their view.  Continue Reading

• 5 critical features that put the 'AI' in AIOps tools

  Don't fall victim to AI-washing in the IT systems management market. Instead, know what to look for in a truly 'intelligent' operations platform -- starting with these 5 capabilities.  Continue Reading

• Automate declarative configuration management for IT ops success

  AWS CloudFormation is one of the top options for configuration management -- but it isn't without flaws. Compare AWS to other tools to pick the best option for your organization.  Continue Reading

• DevOps security best practices span code creation to compliance

  Developers and operations staff who split security responsibilities as part of a DevOps workflow should apply these best practices to ensure no vulnerability goes unnoticed.  Continue Reading

• 8 common Docker commands beginners should know

  IT professionals who are new to Docker can use this cheat sheet of common commands to quickly ramp up with container deployment and management basics.  Continue Reading

• Combine reactive, proactive monitoring for optimal IT visibility

  IT monitoring tools can be either proactive or reactive in nature. But, despite their differences in function, cost and required resources, these two types of tools both have a place in modern IT environments.  Continue Reading

• DevOps for networking hits chokepoints, tangled communications

  NetOps complements DevOps in enterprises that need to scale application delivery efforts up and out. Networking tools -- and teams -- need to advance to find their place in CI/CD pipelines.  Continue Reading

• Build a patch management process to stay cool in an IT crisis

  Time is of the essence during a major IT crisis, but rushing to fix a problem can do more harm than good. Ensure version control, documentation and testing for effective patch deployment.  Continue Reading

• Change your application support process to juggle cloud and legacy IT

  Legacy IT and cloud app architectures demand different application maintenance and support activities, but with some abstraction and automation, they coexist.  Continue Reading

• Compare Mesos vs. Kubernetes for container federation

  While Mesos dominates for large-scale deployments, Kubernetes is at the center of a flourishing ecosystem of tools. So, which one meets your container federation needs?  Continue Reading

• Study tips to ace the CNCF's CKA exam

  IT certifications are an IT admin's superpower, lending official credibility to technology expertise. Know what to expect -- and practice -- to become Kubernetes certified.  Continue Reading

• Adapt IT operations skills for QA roles

  IT admins who want to transition into a QA role can lean on their existing skill sets around data analysis, documentation and more, but the move still presents a learning curve.  Continue Reading

• Combine containers and serverless to optimize app environments

  Rather than pick a side in the debate around containers vs. serverless computing, DevOps shops would benefit from putting both of these complementary technologies to use.  Continue Reading

• Adjust IT operations roles and responsibilities for cloud

  More organizations migrate to the cloud with each passing day. Learn how embracing soft skills can smooth the transition of dedicated ops staff to cloud industry roles.  Continue Reading

• Evaluate key service mesh benefits and architecture limitations

  Service mesh technologies can provide request routing, authentication and even health checks. IT organizations that handle container and microservices deployments should plan to maximize the benefits of service mesh, and address implementation ...  Continue Reading

• Build up a DevSecOps pipeline for fast and safe code delivery

  It's all well and good to automate the software build process, but without proper security practices in place, the DevOps pipeline can lead developers to deploy compromised code.  Continue Reading

• Bolster enterprise application support from dev to deployment

  Enterprise applications are anything but simple. To wrangle the software, resources and code of these critical apps, be smart with IT tooling, management and other aspects of support.  Continue Reading

• How DevOps teams use a CMS for documentation, collaboration

  DevOps teams should choose a CMS that enables continuous, integrated content management, and select tools for internal document sharing that build an easily searched and categorized knowledge base.  Continue Reading

• Prepare for Industry 4.0 challenges on storage, networks

  With Industry 4.0 poised to grow across industries, enterprise IT organizations must ask what it will take to support this revolution. Learn how to manage the data-led transformation.  Continue Reading

• Build Terraform modules to make IT components into code

  Modules enable reusability of infrastructure-as-code deployments with Terraform. Follow this example, which also features AWS for the hosting environment, to learn module structure.  Continue Reading

• Start using Terraform variables for IT resource deployment flexibility

  Infrastructure-as-code adopters should try Terraform input and output variables as a more flexible way to define and save values for deployment configurations.  Continue Reading

• Evaluate on-premises vs. SaaS tools for IT systems management

  While there are a lot of factors for enterprises to consider when choosing an IT management tool, the on-premises vs. SaaS decision can be a particularly tricky one.  Continue Reading

• Learn how to use Salt orchestration with an example

  Admins can use orchestration features in Salt to centrally control a group of minions and machines. Follow this example, which features Orchestrate Runner, to get started.  Continue Reading

• Assess the micro VM market with AWS Firecracker

  Consider the benefits of AWS Firecracker as it compares to other micro VMs and system containers, but be wary of its limitations before installing this virtualization technology.  Continue Reading

• Get familiar with these SLA maintenance tips

  The basics of SLA management come at the intersection of business goals and the reality of possibility. IT teams must learn how to strike a balance between specific and conditional promises.  Continue Reading

• GitOps provides an answer for complicated IT deployments

  Version control isn't a new concept in IT, but ops pros are applying it to distributed environments for declarative configuration management.  Continue Reading

• Steps to safely build and manage a preproduction environment

  A well-run testing lab is a true asset to developers. An uncontrolled one, on the other hand, is a massive liability that can cost dearly. Plan lab builds along these guidelines.  Continue Reading

• How to measure IT performance, step by step

  While IT performance measurement can be a tedious challenge, done correctly, this process provides essential analysis and assessments. Learn how to optimize these reviews.  Continue Reading