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IT compliance and governance strategies

• 7 top open source network monitoring tools

  Network is an essential part of infrastructure health and requires constant monitoring. To meet specific OS and hardware requirements, open source tools can be the best fit. Continue Reading

• Guidelines to tackle multi-cloud and hybrid IT management

  Managing infrastructure isn't just the on-premises data center anymore. Software selection, architecture configuration and governance are key components of any hybrid IT setup. Continue Reading

• Addendum sets ASHRAE 90.4 as energy-efficiency standard

  The publication of ASHRAE 90.4 in 2016 brought a new set of energy guidelines, but the industry still used Standard 90.1. A new addendum has changed protocol and best practices. Continue Reading

• 5 steps to include on your software update checklist

  Training, testing and automation are all essential components to software updates. Implementing these concepts makes version maintenance a less herculean task. Continue Reading

• A 6-step guide for hardware disposal

  Asset tracking, information logging and security measures should all be a part of hardware decommissioning. Don't miss a step with these considerations. Continue Reading

• 14 SIEM reports and alerts to boost security

  Setting up an SIEM reporting infrastructure requires an overall knowledge of what data capture is available. With standard reports and event categories, you can ease implementation.Continue Reading

• Data center compliance teams face new privacy, sustainability rules

  With new frameworks for data privacy and sustainability, such as Privacy Shield and the Paris Agreement, data center teams may need to rethink their compliance strategies in 2017.Continue Reading

• Automate systems and server documentation tasks to boost IT efficiency

  Develop comprehensive IT system documentation to save IT time, create an environment that automatically checks for updates and alert management to critical changes.Continue Reading

• Ten server deployment checklist considerations

  Use this server deployment checklist to make sure you've covered all your bases. From power distribution outlets to available network connectivity, server deployment can be an arduous process.Continue Reading

• International data centers face Safe Harbor loss

  Think your company doesn't use international data centers? The servers used in colocation and cloud outsourcing could be just a warrant away from the U.S. government peeking at your corporate data.Continue Reading

• Data center metrics and standards guide

  From energy use to server performance, data center metrics form a foundation for improving IT operations.Continue Reading

• Data awareness gives storage pros new insights

  Early adopters of data-aware storage arrays see better management and analytics, as well as compliance assurance from the technology.Continue Reading

• ITSM tools no silver bullet for data center service delivery

  ITSM tools can simplify and streamline the service delivery process, but don't forget the critical steps that also must be taken to help IT meet businesses' goals.Continue Reading

• Improve data center energy management with this guide

  The revised 2015 version of the E.U.'s best practices guide for data centers provides up-to-date tips on data center energy management for everyone.Continue Reading

• Intro to machine learning algorithms for IT professionals

  Machine learning -- supervised and unsupervised -- tracks data patterns that help businesses build improved predictive models and make smarter IT decisions.Continue Reading

• Checklist of IT KPIs for responsive data center ops

  The right metrics, aligned with business needs, strengthen data center monitoring and capacity planning. KPIs orient IT performance to specific goals.Continue Reading

• How SDN in the data center shapes Ethernet's future

  Ethernet's future lies in smarter software working alongside new materials and silicon advances. SDN and NFV promise exceptional flexibility and management.Continue Reading

• How do I avert database security issues in match/merge?

  Our IT organization needs to secure customer names, but also needs to conduct searches on the entire customer database to match and merge records.Continue Reading

• Words to go: Data center design standards bodies

  Need a handy reference sheet of the various data center standards organizations? Keep this list by your desk as a reference.Continue Reading

• Five tips to prep for a Sarbanes-Oxley audit

  For IT organizations in public U.S.-operating companies, SOX audits are a fact of life. Look forward to a compliance audit with these immediate and long-term preparations.Continue Reading

• Data center maps lead IT to server treasure

  Can't find the server that needs repairs or the right reboot button when the host blue-screens? A data center map is vital when disaster hits.Continue Reading

• How well do you know the ITIL v3 framework?

  Test how well your team knows its roles and responsibilities with this ITIL quiz. It might help you handle future IT service problems.Continue Reading

• Set accurate service-level agreement metrics

  SLAs do no good collecting dust in an office drawer, nor are penalties effective. Make sure your SLA fits with the business' present and future needs.Continue Reading

• Uptime's guide to data center assessment and optimization

  Even the best data center design drifts from its opening day to the present. Uptime shares its recommendations to map cooling power to today's IT load.Continue Reading

• Controversial hot aisle containment practices

  Is your hot aisle too hot for OSHA? New data center trends are causing concern. You might need to adapt to adhere to the law.Continue Reading

• Controversial data center building and operation practices

  Is key-swipe entry monitored by anyone? Do your retrofit plans include an economizer? See why many facility trends -- and laws -- are causing concern.Continue Reading

• What to look for in a Tier III data center provider

  Don't believe just any sweet-talking colo provider claiming to be Tier III. Make sure you're getting what you pay for with a true Tier III data center.Continue Reading

• Companies that outsource find they need to keep some IT work in-house

  Geography and jurisdiction, rather than technology, complicate IT outsourcing considerations for businesses.Continue Reading

• What colocation customers should know about data center tiers

  Colo providers use data center tiers as a quick, recognizable way to market their facilities' reliability and uptime, but that isn't the whole story.Continue Reading

• Getting started with ITIL service management

  Promised cost savings, alignment with business, and operational efficiency are encouraging more organizations to take up ITIL service management.Continue Reading

• Management and Operations (M&O) Stamp of Approval

  The Management and Operations (M&O) Stamp of Approval from the Uptime Institute is a certification of the critical facilities and management operations procedures of a data center.Continue Reading

• Rethinking a stale IT governance model for the cloud era

  IT governance frameworks are known for holding innovation back, but a new model embraces innovation. Here's how it changes enterprise computing.Continue Reading

• Modernizing the IT governance framework for fun and profit

  IT governance frameworks should protect the business, but they're often barriers to innovation. It's time to rethink governance mandates.Continue Reading

• Major changes in data center fire suppression standards NFPA 75 and 76

  Fire standard changes can add a lot of work and expense to a data center operator's job, but the updates to NFPA 75 and 76 address real safety risks.Continue Reading

• Creating more useful server benchmarks with five guidelines

  To improve benchmarking, make sure your server benchmarks are accurate, applicable and repeatable. The benchmark is only useful if performed properly.Continue Reading

• Server benchmarking tools and stress testing

  Admins should turn to several tools to perform benchmark testing and compare results to verify accuracy. This tip outlines the role of stress testing and lists several tools available to engineers.Continue Reading

• Best practices for server benchmark testing

  Following the scientific method when benchmark testing a server will help reduce variables and produce accurate performance results.Continue Reading

• What to look for when conducting benchmark tests with PerfMon

  Microsoft's PerfMon benchmark tests measure a wide range of processes and server aspects, but it can be difficult for IT professionals to understand the numbers and interpret the results.Continue Reading

• Best practices for VM workload management, resource allocation

  Effective VM workload management practices such as setting metrics can help you achieve the most efficient workloads and avoid the mistake of over-allocating resources to a VM.Continue Reading

• ITSM best practices and change management

  Organize your IT processes and implement a service management focus in the data center with this section on ITSM best practices and change management, the second installment of our guide on ITIL processes in the data center.Continue Reading

• TPC-E: New IT benchmarks for OLTP database servers

  The Transaction Processing Performance Council (TPC) has released TPC Benchmark E (TPC-E) for online transaction processing (OLTP) database servers. TPC hopes that the new benchmark for database server performance, which is an update to TPC-C, will ...Continue Reading

• lights-out management (LOM)

  Lights-out management (LOM) is the ability for a system administrator to monitor and manage servers by remote control.Continue Reading

• Calculating costs of data center cabling infrastructure

  In part two of our series on data center cabling decisions, data center infrastructure expert Carrie Higbie offers a cost calculator for determining TCO on a cabling project.Continue Reading

• Fast Guide: Data center metrics and standards

  Implementing standards and metrics can help ensure that a data center is run smoothly. By clearly defining metrics a business can increase its productivity; however, if metrics are unorganized or poorly defined a company can begin to slide down the ...Continue Reading

• Using ASHRAE specs for data center metrics

  Measure proper temperature and humidity using Ashrae's Thermal Guidelines for Data Processing Environments.Continue Reading

• Making sense of metrics

  Metrics focus employees' attention on the tasks and processes that executives deem most critical to the success of the business. Metrics are like levers that executives can pull to move the organization in new and different directions. In fact, ...Continue Reading

• Linpack benchmark

  The Linpack benchmark is a method of measuring the floating point rate of execution of a computer by running a program that solves a system of linear equations.Continue Reading