There are literally hundreds of possible types of log sources around your environment and choosing which bubble to the top of your IT consciousness can be difficult. In a job where everything seems to be a top priority, understanding all the log types and sources available for selection can be daunting. In your environment, some logs may be more valuable than others, but having general guidance about logging and what types of logs may be available to monitor can help make you a better technologist.
Welcome to the new DNSstuff!
Before I worked for SolarWinds, DNSstuff was my go-to place for checking how the rest of the internet saw my domain information. After joining SolarWinds, it’s still my go-to place. Over the years, we have increased the value of the site by adding tool reviews, guides, industry news, tweaking existing tools, and adding entirely new free tools. Realistically, the site hasn’t had many formatting updates over the last five years. That needed to change.
First Look at SQL Operations Studio
Since the release of SQL Server® 2017 on Linux®, DBAs have been waiting for a native release of SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) on Linux. At this point, Microsoft has stated that they have no plans for a native Linux version of SSMS. However, they have just released a preview version of SQL Operations Studio, … Read moreFirst Look at SQL Operations Studio
Centralized Active Directory Management and Clean-Up
Do you regularly clean up your Active Directory® (AD)? Have you set a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly schedule, or do you wait until you receive a change request? If you neglect AD cleanup and maintenance, your environment will get cluttered and increasingly difficult to navigate. Accounts become inactive for a variety of reasons, such as … Read moreCentralized Active Directory Management and Clean-Up
Is Syslog Useful?
<Syslog_output> <server> 192.168.1.1</server> </syslog_output> Many people are familiar with the above commands, which are used for forwarding syslog to the syslog server (192.168.1.1). However, do you know how syslog can be helpful? Read on to find out how and see some different use cases for enabling syslog in your infrastructure. The primary use of syslog … Read moreIs Syslog Useful?
How to Tame — and Redefine — Your Network Now
The network as we know it is being redefined. As more endpoints, applications, and devices are added to the mix, the network is transforming. For IT, the challenge is two-fold: stay on top of the network today, and prepare for what it could look like tomorrow. In an environment where workers expect to be online … Read moreHow to Tame — and Redefine — Your Network Now
Maximizing Database Performance – MySQL Tuning Best Practices
With the added complexity of growing data volumes and ever changing workloads, database performance tuning is now necessary to maximize resource utilizations and system performance. However, performance tuning is often easier said than done. Let’s face it, tuning is difficult for a number of reasons. For one thing, it requires a significant amount of expertise … Read moreMaximizing Database Performance – MySQL Tuning Best Practices
The Importance of Performance Certainty
Uptime is assumed. Performance is the new black. You can’t hope for performance, you need to be certain of the performance of the system. You need to know what drives performance and how any changes to the system change (or could change) the performance profile. This is, in summary, what performance certainty means. It’s a new world, performance matters Not … Read moreThe Importance of Performance Certainty
How SQL Server DMVs Can Be a Savior in SQL Azure, Too
Be it SQL Server or the improved version of SQL Server on the cloud called as SQL Azure, when it comes to monitoring, there is nothing as powerful as DMVs (Dynamic Management Views). For a primer, Dynamic Management Views (DMVs) are a set of virtual views which expose the internal states of SQL Server deployment. … Read moreHow SQL Server DMVs Can Be a Savior in SQL Azure, Too
Must-know Tips and Tools for Oracle Virtualization
These days, even business-critical applications are being virtualized, and with the increasing costs and complexity of data environments, it’s not surprising. Some estimate that large organizations are as much as 70% virtualized already, with no plans to go back to physical servers. Virtualization, however, introduces new challenges for the Oracle DBA, including getting visibility to … Read moreMust-know Tips and Tools for Oracle Virtualization