Today, we're bringing you a rewind of the most popular IT Infrastructure posts of 2011. Enjoy these favorites from our blog as this year winds down. Number 5 - Solve 100 Problems with a Bootable USB Flash Drive What everyday device can be used for troubleshooting 100...
Infrastructure
How to Restore Data Using Bacula
Imagine (if you dare) the worst case scenario with your company's data. Double disk drive failure, all data lost. You need to recover that data as fast as possible due to deadlines. You've been diligent about your backups using Bacula, but now they are going to be put...
Server Room Cooling Plan
With today's computers, cooling is critical. When moving to a new site, it's necessary to ensure the new server room will meet your needs prior to move-in. Using some quick estimation techniques, there's ways to ensure the needed power for your servers. Here's a...
Redhat vs. Ubuntu in a Corporate Environment
Picking a linux distribution can be an extremely daunting task. Wikipedia lists at least several hundred of them, although many of them are targeted for very specific hardware architectures or embedded devices. In the PC world, there are still a ton to...
3 Advantages of Purchasing a VMware Solution
Has your organization started integrating virtual infrastructure into your overall IT services plan? If not, a quote from Star Trek may be in order, "Resistance is futile." In today’s IT world, the likelihood that your organization is running some sort of...
How to Conduct System Hardening Using the Defense Information Systems Agency’s (DISA) “Gold Disk”
Holes in your IT infrastructure can make for some awkward situations. Whether you're dealing with sensitive customer information, upcoming product designs, or simply just don't want people messing with your stuff, maintaining system integrity can be difficult....
Test Management 101 – Why Developers Are Not Sufficient to Fully Test Your Project
Your developers have been working on your latest software project. The hours have been long, the going a little rough, and they're just about finished in more ways than one. Now it's time to verify that the application works. Are you thinking of asking your developers...
How Engineering Pros Can Work From Home For the Holidays
Because the benefits are endless, I couldn't even hope to list them all, but here are a few great reasons for engineering pros (or anyone else) to work from home during the holidays: 1. It's the universal excuse to escape from household chores and awkwardly boring...
Top Data Center Power Planning Considerations
Our Infrastructure Management Services include data center migration planning and deployment. Recently, I moved two different companies to new facilities. Both had drastically different IT needs. One was heavier on infrastructure and server room. The other was not...
Top 5 Reasons to Conduct an IT Outsourcing Re-Evaluation
IT outsourcing contracts, as noted in a recent blog post, should be treated as living documents -- continuously evaluated, refined, and optimized over time. Not only do business conditions continually change, but it’s also important for outsourcing customers to...
How to Monitor Your APC UPS Units – Part 2
In part 1 of this series, I introduced the APCUPSD software package which allows you to monitor APC UPS units. As we head into the winter months, having a functioning UPS is critical for your infrastructure. Just as critical as the UPS itself is the ability to monitor...
From Out-of-Office to VPN in 15 Minutes
Traditionally, using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) to connect to a remote site has been a technical – and oftentimes troublesome – requirement. With the growing popularity of using “remote programmers”, I see requests for purchasing Cisco routers and Windows...