- Network Virtualization: A Basic Virtualized Enterprise
- Oct 6, 2006
- The authors of Network Virtualization define the technical requirements posed by the need to virtualize the network. Based on these requirements, they propose an architectural framework comprised of the functional areas necessary to successfully support concurrent virtual networks (VNs) over a shared enterprise physical network.
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- Operating and Security Standards for Mainframes, Open Systems, and Telecommunications (Part 2 of 3)
- Oct 6, 2006
- In part 1 of this series, Leo Wrobel examined how to start developing standards to help your business prevent disasters - and recover from them, if necessary. This article explores the physical standards that should be addressed in every business standards document: physical security, theft deterrence, fire prevention, and more.
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- Operating and Security Standards for Mainframes, Open Systems, and Telecommunications (Part 1 of 3)
- Sep 29, 2006
- Business is messy enough without adding a disaster to the mix. In this three-part series, Leo Wrobel presents suggestions for developing standards to help your business prevent such messes in the first place, and for rapid cleanup and business restoration if something untoward happens despite your preparations.
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- The Worried Executive's Guide: Preventing the Telephone Company's Disasters from Becoming Yours (Part 3 of 3)
- Sep 15, 2006
- Leo Wrobel concludes his series on preventing telephone system disasters from affecting you, designating 26 major (or seemingly minor, but nonetheless important) areas you need to check before considering your organization "ready for anything."
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- Mitigating the Security Risks of SSH
- Aug 25, 2006
- John Tränkenschuh describes ways to create a solid security plan to lessen the unknown factors of SSH security.
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- Understanding and Backing Up NetInfo: Ensuring the Recovery of Local Mac OS X User and Machine Data
- Aug 18, 2006
- NetInfo, Apple's legacy directory service, might not be used for storing network user accounts and other resources these days, but it's alive and well as the database that each Mac OS X computer uses to store all the information for local user accounts and system information. Ryan Faas gives you all the details of the way Mac OS X uses these databases and how important it is to manage their backups.
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- Logs and Monitoring in Apache
- Aug 4, 2006
- Apache provides extensive facilities for recording information about every aspect of a request. This chapter covers the most common issues found when logging requests, such as conditional logging, log rotation, resolution of IP addresses, and piped logging. It also covers a number of bundled and third-party modules and utilities for monitoring the status of your Apache server and to analyze its logs.
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- Imaging for Intel Macs Part 1: Why Intel Macs Increase an Administrator's Workload and How Best to Manage Their Deployment
- Jul 28, 2006
- Deploying Intel Macs can add extra work for administrators because they require completely different Mac OS X releases and system images than Power PC Macs. Although it is possible to cobble a universal Mac OS X image together, is doing so really the best choice? In this first article in a two-part series, Ryan Faas looks at some of the specific challenges that relate to developing deployment strategies for Intel Macs and some of the ongoing issues if you opt to deploy a dual-platform environment using Mac workstations.
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- Enterprise-Class Wireless LANs: Guidelines for A Successful Architecture and Design
- Jul 21, 2006
- This chapter adopts a "60,000-foot view" of the challenges ahead and asks you to answer some key questions on technical, financial, and program management issues. The chapter also introduces such topics as strategic preparation and planning, architectural considerations, and program management. Upon completion, you will be prepared to describe in strategic terms where you will deploy, how you will deploy, how you will fund and manage your deployment.
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- NASCAR Tech Habits Stress Data Sharing And Security Best Practices
- Jul 21, 2006
- Have you dreamed of getting behind the wheel of a 750-horsepower stock car and taking charge of the race? If you're responsible for protecting and maintaining the data-sharing capabilities of your organization, you're already in the driver's seat. Erik Eckel explains how we can learn some lessons from the speedy racers of the NASCAR set.
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- The Worried Executive's Guide: Preventing the Telephone Company's Disasters from Becoming Yours (Part 2 of 3)
- Jul 21, 2006
- Leo Wrobel continues his series on preventing telephone system disasters from affecting you. Some sobering stories of real disasters at real phone companies ought to put you in the mood to take action.
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- Backup Basics Part 3: General Tips for a Backup Strategy
- Jul 14, 2006
- Knowing how to configure backup applications and select backup media is half the battle of designing a successful backup strategy. The other half is choosing how and when to back up the specific pieces of data that are stored on your servers, share points, and workstations. In this final article of his series on backup basics for new technicians and administrators, Ryan Faas offers some suggestions to help you make these important decisions.
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- On Architecture: From Small to Gargantuan
- Jul 5, 2006
- In their innovative book A Pattern Language, Christopher Alexander and his colleagues describe the patterns that breathe life into civil architectures, from intimate spaces to buildings to entire towns. No matter where you look along this spectrum of size, you’ll find common structures and common behaviors. At each point in the spectrum, the patterns therein form the architecture of each instance.
Across the software landscape, you’ll find a similar spread, from small programs to systems to systems of systems. Each instance has an architecture, be it intentional or accidental, and the forces that work upon each system—from small to gargantuan—vary accordingly.
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- Backup Basics Part 2: Demystifying Backup Media
- Jun 30, 2006
- In part two of a three-part series on backup basics, Ryan Faas continues to demystify backup options for new technicians and server/systems administrators. This time, the topic is choosing the media in which to store your backups. Find out the pros and cons of tape, hard drives, and RAID arrays; using network storage; and archiving using CDs or DVDs.
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- Backup Basics Part 1: Demystifying Server and Workstation Backup Methods
- Jun 16, 2006
- Understanding the options for backing up servers and workstations is important for any technician or system/server administrator. But for new IT staff, all the details about how backups work and how to configure them can be confusing. In this first article in a three-part series, Ryan Faas demystifies the various types of backups that can be performed on servers and workstations using most backup applications.
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- Keeping Your Data Safe with a RAID 1 Setup
- Jun 16, 2006
- Kulvir Bhogal shows you how you can build a low-cost RAID 1 setup to protect yourself against hard drive data loss.
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- Troubleshooting Cisco Secure ACS on Windows
- Jun 16, 2006
- Cisco Secure Access Control Server, which is known as CS ACS, fills the server-side requirement of the Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA) client server equation. For many security administrators, the robust and powerful AAA engine, along with CS ACS's ability to flexibly integrate with a number of external user databases, makes the CS ACS software the first and sometimes only choice for an AAA server-side solution. This chapter explores CS ACS in detail and walks you through troubleshooting steps. The chapter focuses on the approach required to troubleshoot any issue efficiently, either with the CS ACS software itself or with the whole AAA process.
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- Building Resilient IP Networks: The Access Module
- Jun 9, 2006
- This chapter focuses on Ethernet switching technology, specifically Layer 2 network resiliency and how it should be built to provide a solid foundation for the Layer 3 network.
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- Concentrator Remote Access Connections with PPTP, L2TP, and WebVPN
- Jun 9, 2006
- This chapter will focus on using a concentrator to terminate other types of remote access sessions, including PPTP, L2TP over IPsec, and WebVPN. The remainder of this chapter will focus on the configuration of the concentrator to support these types of remote access VPN implementations.
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- Fundamentals of Six Sigma
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By
David M. Levine
- Jun 9, 2006
- Six Sigma management is a quality improvement system originally developed by Motorola in the mid-1980s. Six Sigma offers a prescriptive and systematic approach to quality improvement and places a great deal of emphasis on accountability and bottom-line results. Many companies all over the world use Six Sigma management to improve efficiency, cut costs, eliminate defects, and reduce product variation. This chapter offers an introduction to Six Sigma.
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