Tips

Tips

• Configuring the server monitoring tool Zabbix

  Installing the server monitoring tool Zabbix used to be difficult, but Ubuntu 11.04 makes it easier to configure the appliance and monitor a network.  Continue Reading

• Using the Net-SNMP agent for systems management

  The Net-SNMP agent has evolved over the years to become a useful systems management tool used to track important statistics.  Continue Reading

• Turn aggregated syslog messages into OpenNMS events

  Turn syslog messages into OpenNMS events, notifications and alarms to help facilitate network management processes.  Continue Reading

• Syslog-ng configuration: Building a log aggregation server

  In this tip, learn how to create a log aggregation server with a syslog-ng configuration, which can organize and simplify interactions with your systems' log messages.  Continue Reading

• Using OpenNMS and SNMP for open source systems management

  Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) can allow a deeper look into system information gathered from OpenNMS. This tip walks through network monitoring with OpenNMS and SNMP.  Continue Reading

• Configuring OpenNMS for open source server monitoring

  With many IT organizations strapped for cash, OpenNMS is a free, open source server monitoring alternative. In this tip, learn how to install and configure OpenNMS 1.8.  Continue Reading

• Using Nagios plugins for configuration and system testing

  Using Nagios plugins can be vital in performing specific system tests and configuration. In this tip, you'll learn about using default and custom plugins in Nagios.  Continue Reading

• Remote server monitoring with Nagios

  After the network monitoring tool Nagios is fully configured, learn the next step in setting it up for remote server monitoring.  Continue Reading

• Using benchmarks for virtualization capacity planning

  Benchmarking tools for virtualization capacity planning allow administrators to find more efficiency and forecast growth in computing resources.  Continue Reading

• Improve benchmark performance with simple optimizations

  While benchmarking is great for measuring system performance, benchmarking tools themselves are applications capable of overtaxing the CPU. However, simple optimizations can ensure benchmark performance by preventing these tools from overwhelming ...  Continue Reading

• Selecting benchmarking tools for specific needs

  Narrowing down the best benchmarking tool requires testing and a careful evaluation of needs, including system compatibility, level of technical depth and scalability.  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

• Architecting application failover in your data center

  Attempting application failover by re-coding your apps may not be the right choice for every data center, as several factors, including virtualization and coding languages, affect which method you should use. This tip offers advice for finding the ...  Continue Reading

• Choosing a server management tool: Hardware vendor or third party?

  The decision of whether to opt for a server management tool from your hardware vendor or a third-party software vendor depends on criteria such as data center budget, the tool's reliability and ease of maintenance.  Continue Reading

• Check server specs before upgrading your operating system

  Operating system upgrades can be tricky with the number of variables involved. Users need to research server hardware specifications and OS requirements before upgrading.  Continue Reading

• Remote server administration tools: Manage your data center from a distance

  New systems management options are making it easier for administrators to manage servers via smartphones and laptops.  Continue Reading

• Top five keys to success for a new CMDB project

  Configuration management database (CMDB) projects require a steady hand and a lot of help from IT staff. Here are some tips to help you ensure CMDB success.  Continue Reading

• ITSM basics: Implementing change management processes

  What are the benefits of implementing change management? And what are the common problems that arise when an IT organization implements change management processes?  Continue Reading

• Using HP Systems Insight Manager (SIM) 5.2 for systems management and monitoring

  Hewlett-Packard (HP) Co.'s Systems Insight Manager (SIM) 5.2 offers systems management and monitoring for HP servers or WMI-, SNMP- or WBEM-enabled systems. SIM works with HP's Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) management modules to detect hardware ...  Continue Reading

• Installing Nagios on Solaris for network and server monitoring

  Nagios, a free, open source network and server monitoring system, can benefit your IT infrastructure. Learn how to install Nagios on a Solaris 10 system in this tip.  Continue Reading

• CMDB pitfalls in the current IT environment

  In order for IT administrators to meet the demands of today's businesses, the effort required to access the information needed needs to be minimized. While CMDB is a good source of accurate information it is not magic. Like any other important ...  Continue Reading

• Use Nagios to trend and troubleshoot performance issues

  Learn how to use Nagios monitoring tools to track system performance in your data center and use graphs to troubleshoot bottlenecks on I/O-bound or CPU-bound systems.  Continue Reading

• Is effective performance management in the data center possible?

  Data centers are increasingly important to the delivery of business services, and performance management is more crucial than ever. IT's challenge is conducting performance management activities effectively and at low-cost. Key to maintaining ...  Continue Reading

• Windows Server 2008: PowerShell basics and top commands

  The Microsoft PowerShell team offers up the top commands and usage scenarios for the new command line shell and scripting language for Windows Server 2008  Continue Reading

• IPMI Tutorial: Are you using it? Do you know how?

  This short tutorial on the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) will help you take advantage of this monitoring tool.  Continue Reading

• Lights out management: How to administer servers from the Bahamas

  While there are many solutions out there to aid an administrator in remote management, I've found the lights out management (LOM) built into many modern servers is superior to many of the alternatives.  Continue Reading

• Automating server management and IT processes

  Server automation can free up data center resources to focus on higher-value activities. This tip provides some suggestions for getting started by automating low level IT processes.  Continue Reading

• Systems management checklist: Software upgrades

  Software upgrades are an inevitable part of using technology, and it is likely that even the smallest upgrade will alter your system in some way. Although these changes are simply the price, for example, of security patches or better compatibility, ...  Continue Reading

• Top 10 considerations for application hosting

  Application hosting, whether it's done in-house, at a collocation facility or outsourced to a managed service provider, is a big undertaking. Accurately gathering and analyzing both business and technical requirements can smooth out a lot of bumps ...  Continue Reading

• Best practices for managing application infrastructures

  How do the most effective IT organizations manage and optimize their application infrastructures -- the set of technology components that sits just above the operating system including databases, messaging, applications and Web servers? Over time, a...  Continue Reading

• Self discovering Infrastructure tools key to accurate CMDB

  Organizations are increasingly dependent on their IT networks to provide a competitive advantage. These networks are becoming progressively more complex in a bid to provide more sophisticated business services. The migration toward the goal of on ...  Continue Reading

• Asset management -- It's different in the data center

  Data center managers have more to worry about when it comes to managing their assets. What they can't see could hurt them. Experts offer tips on how to craft a strategy.  Continue Reading