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IT compliance and governance strategies

• 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 does an Open-IX data center cert stack up to Uptime Tiers?

  The Open-IX data center certification aims at resiliency through self-declared certification and an annual renewal process, rather than proprietary oversight.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

• Security metrics examples to protect your data center

  Security isn't easy to quantify, like PUE or server utilization. But it is possible to apply metrics to improve data center gateway safety.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

• International data center expansion fuses foreign with familiar

  The U.S. data center building industry is well-established, but it's literally a whole new world when companies expand IT operations internationally.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

• Warning: Failure to comply with data center maintenance is reckless

  Ensuring that your data center runs safely can be hard work, but upholding maintenance best practices is imperative. Adopt and build upon these rules.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

• Implementing a data security policy beyond the corporate data center

  BYOD and cloud applications are taking your data out of the data center. Time to treat the data center -- and affiliate services -- as IP guardians.Continue Reading

• Analyzing changes in IPv6 vs. IPv4 for data center networks

  Dual-stack network environments make things a lot more interesting, which is why you need to be ready for IPv6 today.Continue Reading

• Better metrics for planning and tracking data center investments

  Tired of an endless array of disparate data center metrics? Here are a few ideas for keeping track of those data center investments.Continue Reading

• Better metrics for planning and tracking data center investments

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• DCIM's advantages for flexible data center planning

  DCIM software has evolved from building information modeling (BIM) systems into a broader category of data center management.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

• Deciphering The Green Grid's electronics disposal metric

  The Green Grid's electronics disposal efficiency metric can help companies better track what happens to technology flushed by a refresh.Continue Reading

• Embracing chaos theory as part of enterprise IT strategy

  Enterprise IT strategy has long been based on straight-line extrapolation, but the industry must learn to embrace chaos if it hopes to thrive.Continue Reading

• Embracing chaos theory as part of enterprise IT strategy

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• 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

• Companies turn to IT cost analysis via SaaS model

  IT departments are turning to new SaaS-based tools to map costs to providing IT services to the business, helping companies identify how to cut expenses.Continue Reading

• Book Excerpt: 'IT Systems Management' notes best IT infrastructure practices

  Featured here with a chapter excerpt, Rich Schiesser's 'IT Systems Management' is a useful guide for for IT leaders in implementing best IT infrastructure management practices.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

• Data center consolidation strategy can benefit from ITIL lifecycle

  Data center consolidation projects can be complex and risky, but if IT organizations use the ITIL lifecycle to document the process, it can help smooth the transition.Continue Reading

• Tips for implementing IT Service Management in a down economy

  Data center budgets are tight during a recession, but this economic downturn is a great opportunity for IT process improvements. Implementing a CMDB and ITIL can help reduce costs and improve IT services.Continue Reading

• ITIL certification builds IT workers' skills in economic downturn

  While the economic recession has hit the IT job market, IT Infrastructure Library certifications can shore up IT workers' business-oriented skill sets and improve operating efficiency at companies with fewer resources. ITIL training helps workers ...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

• TPC eyes energy consumption and virtualization benchmarks

  The Transaction Processing Performance Council has disclosed plans for new data center metrics, including energy consumption metrics and those for the performance of virtual machines.Continue Reading

• Netuitive manages performance of mission-critical app at LandAmerica

  After an application consolidation, LandAmerica enlisted Netuitive's performance monitoring tool and quickly identified problems no other software had detected.Continue Reading

• Data center energy a concern, but metrics lacking

  Data centers are concerned about energy efficiency and taking steps to fix it, according to the 2008 Purchasing Intentions Survey. But many have no way to measure whether their tactics work.Continue Reading

• EPA promises data center efficiency metrics for 2008

  The head of the EPA's Energy Star team said at the AFCOM Data Center World conference that select server and data center energy efficiency metrics will be available shortly.Continue Reading

• Change management tools become more comprehensive with ITIL v3

  Change management tool releases from Tripwire and Solidcore Systems signal a shift toward more comprehensive approaches to change management.Continue Reading

• Systems management: Spending tepid, ITIL and CMDB gain credence

  In 2007, only 40% of IT managers plan to spend more on systems management tools. Those making investments are interested in software support for ITIL initiatives and CMDB tools.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

• University of Pennsylvania builds ITIL from the ground up

  Donna Manley, IT Sr. Director, Computer Operations within Information Systems and Computing (ISC) at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia filled the room at the recent AFCOM conference in Las Vegas. Manley's presentation dealt with her ...Continue Reading

• SPEC benchmarks: Simplify your server search

  SPEC, a non-profit organization whose goal is computer system standardization, offers tools to help make purchasing IT equipment more palatable.Continue Reading

• ITIL: Managing change, breaking down silos

  For data center managers, ITIL can bring more comprehensive knowledge of the assets and resources IT managers have at their disposal. Learn more with this installment of our feature on ITIL in the data center.Continue Reading

• ITIL enables a service management mindset

  The quest to transform data centers into service management organizations is one reason many IT professionals are turning to ITIL. Learn more in this installment from our five-part series on ITIL in the data center.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

• TIA-942: Cookie cutter or cost cutter?

  The Telecommunications Industry Association recently published a standard that attempts to address almost every design consideration in the data center. Is it a one-size-fits-all approach to data management or a way for IT managers to reel in costs ...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

• Top 5 HIPAA tips in 5 minutes

  With hefty fines possible and legislation concerning compliance, data center managers need to make sure they are on board with the United States Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.Continue Reading

• Syska Hennessy proposes new data center performance metric

  Syska Hennessy, a New York engineering and consulting firm, has proposed a new data center performance metric that it hopes to promote alongside the existing tier system from The Uptime Institute.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

• Part two: Managing corporate records for Sarbanes-Oxley

  The gold standard of Sarbanes-Oxley records management is the Department of Defense. Read the standards they have for their data -- you may be able to use them in your planning.Continue Reading

• ITIL worship: The new set of best practices

  The IT Infrastructure Library might seem like an unyielding set of best practices, but data center managers say its benefits go way past helping to meet compliance regulations.Continue Reading