Tips

Tips

• Estimate the cost of open source software in 5 practical areas

  Open source tools and technologies are free for the taking, as long as enterprise IT organizations correctly calculate the cost of implementation, support, contribution and more.  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

• Align KPIs for IT with corresponding business goals

  It's easy for IT KPIs to take a back seat to those of the business or vice versa. Instead, explore these ways to maintain a working balance.  Continue Reading

• Create an IT support process to take on any outage

  Every IT incident must be met with a streamlined resolution procedure, all the way from critical to trivial. Ensure those plans are in place before it's do or die.  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

• 5 tips to master server troubleshooting

  Understand, communicate, monitor, check logs, ask for support. Follow these guidelines, and make troubleshooting server problems quick and easy.  Continue Reading

• Why teams create DevOps platforms to match projects

  Prebuilt platforms offer a wealth of capabilities without the hassle to integrate everything. But cherry-picking for exact needs yields tighter resource management.  Continue Reading

• Explore the benefits of containers on bare metal vs. on VMs

  Advances in container technology and cloud deployments have morphed the debate over container deployment on bare-metal servers or atop VMs, with strong pros and cons for each.  Continue Reading

• Use Active Directory for testing environments in DevOps shops

  AD enables admins to create testing environments almost identical to production environments through duplicated trees, interconnected forests and authentication best practices.  Continue Reading

• Compliance automation prevents regulation audit snafus

  Many IT organizations address compliance issues manually, even though Puppet, Fugue and other tools can enforce configurations that comply with regulations and even provide an audit trail.  Continue Reading

• Keep IT project planning on track with 5 principles

  Whether you're a seasoned IT vet about to take on the biggest project yet or a new team member spearheading an important build, follow a project planning approach that limits scope and hits goals.  Continue Reading

• Container hosting requires in-depth service network plans

  Microservices and containers complement each other with scalability and flexibility. But they can also compound network addressing problems in production without proper precautions.  Continue Reading

• Strive for real-world technical debt management in DevOps orgs

  Technical debt is a bit like the kitchen junk drawer: It's cobbled-together, useful stuff that just needed to go somewhere. But the longer you wait to sort it out, the worse it gets.  Continue Reading

• Implement security for DevOps across the board

  Security for DevOps isn't about the devices or the data center facility anymore. Learn how to protect valuable data as it moves beyond the corporate network into hybrid cloud and among various applications composed of microservices.  Continue Reading

• Bevy of Microsoft containers range from cloud to captive workloads

  Windows wasn't always an ideal environment for containers, but recent changes offer a wealth of options, including those for Windows Server and the Azure public cloud.  Continue Reading