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Podcast
040 – Ransomware and the Cloud: A Deadly Combination
Time was, the chief disasters that worried IT were natural disasters – things like fires, floods, earthquakes and tornados. In other words, you had to worry about your on-premises data center going down. But that’s changing, as more pieces of your data center move offsite. With Infrastructure-as… Read More
By Keith Ward -
Podcast
039 - ‘Hyperconverged Kubernetes’? Yes, It’s a Thing
You’re probably used to the idea of hyperconvergence as it’s applied to storage, servers and networking. But you’re probably not aware that the principles of hyperconvergence can be applied to Kubernetes! This episode of “10 on Tech” teases out that concept. ActualTech Media’s James G… Read More
By Keith Ward -
Podcast
038 - Doing More – Much More – With Hyperconverged Infrastructure
Hyperconverged infrastructure, also known as HCI, used to be thought of as appliances that basically brought together storage, compute and networking into a single box. But that definition, and the way of doing HCI in general, is changing. That’s the focus of this “10 on Tech” podcast, whic… Read More
By Keith Ward -
CIO
A Microsoft Teams vs. Slack Update: Three Weeks In
A lot of people commented on my original article detailing why my company, ActualTech Media, made the jump away from Slack to Microsoft Teams. Now that we’re at the three-week point, it’s becoming clear where we’re seeing benefits and where there are challenges that we hope Microsoft addresses… Read More
By Scott D. Lowe -
Podcast
037 - Cray-Z Performance: Storage for HPC
When you think of Cray and computing, images of gigantic supercomputers are likely to spring to mind. With good reason: Cray is all about extreme performance at extreme scale. On this week’s “10 on Tech” podcast, Cray discusses how storage is the key to what they do. Mark Wiertalla, Marketi… Read More
By Keith Ward -
Data Center
Meeting the Challenges of Managing Microservices-based Applications
It used to be so much easier to do application performance management (APM). Remember? Monolithic, old-school apps didn’t have that many dependencies. Fewer moving parts meant less to monitor. It also meant greater visibility of those parts. Less data collected. Fewer issues (but by no means few)… Read More
By Keith Ward -
Data Center
Tutorial: Deploying a Cumulus Linux Demo Environment With Vagrant
Thanks to ActualTech Media’s relationship with the Cumulus Networks team, I had the opportunity to attend an onsite bootcamp at Cumulus HQ in Mountain View, Calif., where a Cumulus professional services consultant (David Marshall) trained myself and a few others on the ins and outs of Cumulus Linu… Read More
By James D. Green -
Cloud
How to Take the Pain Out of the Private Cloud Lifecycle
Designing a cloud is, in essence, designing an entire data center. Designing and operating a cloud requires attention to the entire lifecycle of the cloud: since each component can affect adjacent solutions, the impact of every change on the whole must be carefully considered. Layering on some cl… Read More
By ActualTech Media -
CIO
Putting Things in Context: Why We’re Ditching Slack for Microsoft Teams
I don’t often write about the inner workings of ActualTech Media. It’s not because I don’t want to, but is due primarily to having a whole lot to stay on top of. But we’re doing something that many may think crazy, so I thought I’d tell the world! We’ve ditched Slack and adopted Micro… Read More
By Scott D. Lowe -
Cloud
Getting Our Hands Dirty Installing VMware Cloud on AWS
The new VMware Cloud on AWS allows you to run your vSphere virtual machines in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) public cloud, without modification, and access the hundreds of services available from AWS. In this video, Keith Ward, James Green, and David Davis of ActualTech Media are joined by Trevor Po… Read More
By David M. Davis -
RoadCast
Apstra Says It Offers the 'Next Evolution' in Software-Defined Networking
“Intent-based networking.” It’s a new way of thinking about networking, according to Apstra, which provides data center networking automation. Michael Wood, CMO & VP of Apstra, discussed the concept with ActualTech Media CEO Scott Lowe in this RoadCast video shot at VMworld 2018. Wood says… Read More
By Keith Ward -
RoadCast
Barefoot Networks and Fully Programmable Switches
Imagine changing your data center networking on the fly: altering the way the data plane processes packets, or introducing new protocols, for example. Or scaling up your network and introducing new efficiencies. This is the promise that Silicon Valley startup Barefoot Networks wants to fulfill. I… Read More
By Keith Ward -
RoadCast
Kingston Technology Is More Than Just Desktop RAM
If you’re like most admins, when you think of Kingston Technology, you think RAM for your desktop or server. But if that’s your thought, then you haven’t taken a close look lately. In this RoadCast video from VMworld 2018, ActualTech Media Partner David Davis talks with Cameron Crandall, se… Read More
By Keith Ward -
Cloud
Clouds Are a Key Enabler for Digital Transformation
Clouds fundamentally change who has control over IT. Traditional infrastructures rely on IT teams to provision resources, workloads, applications and services. Clouds don’t – they let the individuals responsible for doing something useful with IT be the ones to provision that IT. At the risk… Read More
By ActualTech Media -
Sponsored
Getting Started with Cloud Daddy for AWS Data Protection and Disaster Recovery
Anyone who is using Amazon Web Services needs a secure backup and disaster recovery solution to protect your mission critical applications and data. Up until this point that's been tough to do with the tools that are included with AWS. Thankfully a new solution was recently released launched! Cloud… Read More
By David M. Davis -
CIO
Ease of Use is the Goal for Private Cloud
The decision has been made to move to private cloud. All reasons for or against have been heard, and now it’s time to implement. With this in mind, what options are available for doing so, and how do they affect the design of an organization’s IT? Private clouds come in flavors, and while eac… Read More
By ActualTech Media -
VMworld 2018
VMware's Software-Defined Vision
LAS VEGAS, Aug. 29, 2018 -- In terms of new product announcements, VMworld 2018 was surprisingly, almost shockingly, quiet. The Day One General Session by CEO Pat Gelsinger had some cool moments, for sure. But there was nothing new announced during the Day Two General Session (which was dominated by… Read More
By Scott D. Lowe -
VMworld 2018
Notes from VMworld 2018
LAS VEGAS, Aug. 29, 2018 -- It’s been a busy week in Las Vegas – and it’s only Tuesday. Here are one attendee’s scattered thoughts on VMworld 2018. It’s my first show as a member of ActualTech Media. I’ve always covered it as a member of the press, and although I’m not officially… Read More
By Keith Ward -
VMworld 2018
VMware’s ‘Project Dimension’ Extends Cloud Infrastructure to the Edge
LAS VEGAS, Aug. 28, 2018 -- VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger made lots of announcements at the Day One General Session, and they got a lot of applause from the audience. I was also intrigued by one that flew much more under the radar, but which could become a big deal in the future. It’s called “Proj… Read More
By David M. Davis -
VMworld 2018
VMware + Amazon is Now a Two-Way Street
LAS VEGAS, Aug. 27, 2018 -- I’ve left the Day 1 General Session at VMworld for the past few years feeling genuinely underwhelmed. But we may have turned a corner. I think I’m more excited about the announcements made at VMworld this year than I have been for the past 3-4 years. My favorite pi… Read More
By James D. Green -
VMworld 2018
VMware Announces Acquisition of CloudHealth Technologies
LAS VEGAS, Aug. 27, 2018 -- As companies move their operations to the cloud, they often find that using a single cloud provider is insufficient for their needs. Different public clouds have different capabilities and features, and do certain things better or worse than their competitors. In addition… Read More
By Scott D. Lowe