Networks are growing in size and complexity. For many, this growth is being driven by the Internet of Things (IoT), mobile, Cloud, and even Software Defined Networking (SDN). As these trends, and the many changes they bring, impact your network, the big question you need to answer is this: Do I have the network configuration…

You might be asking yourself, what is an audit log and how do I use it? Understanding how a log audit operates and why an admin might want to audit their logs is crucial to business success. In fact, effective audit log management supports compliance, accountability, and security. Audit log management often goes overlooked in…

Protecting security in enterprise environments is critical for several reasons, not least of which is the risk of a data breach or service disruption. The use of enterprise software and operating systems, and associated add-ons, can cause vulnerabilities that allow malicious actors access to your IT environment. Updating your systems regularly is important and patching…

VLAN configuration and management involves maintaining and organizing all the data associated with your network. This information is crucial when a network needs to be repaired, modified, upgraded, or expanded. The main role of network configuration management is to replace a device’s operations if a failure occurs, but different devices save and store configurations in…

When managing a large enterprise network, having a clear overview of your entire network infrastructure and connections is critical for both troubleshooting and performance. One crucial piece of the puzzle is using a network graphing tool, or network topology tool. Network graphs show you your network’s physical and logical connections and allow you to have…

Wondering if your IT infrastructure is secure? You may need to consider an IT security audit, which can provide invaluable information about your security controls. Risk management audits force us to be vulnerable, exposing all our systems and strategies. They’re uncomfortable, but they’re undeniably worth it. They help us stay ahead of insider threats, security…

Your computer’s hard drive is one of the most important components of your machine. Without it, you can’t run an operating system or keep any data. And if it dies unexpectedly, you could end up with massive data loss if you haven’t created a backup (and even then, backups can become outdated). That’s why it’s…

Access management, sometimes referred to as identity and access management, is the umbrella term for the processes involved in certifying your team members have appropriate access to IT resources. This includes preventing unauthorized personnel from accessing certain resources and information. Access rights management is of critical importance to the security, efficiency, and regulatory compliance of…

VMware products are well known and fairly easy to explain. The VMware ESXi server, however, is one of the more complicated and lesser-known VMware products. To help you understand the VMware ESXi server, how to monitor ESXi, and VMware ESXi management, this guide will answer the following: What is a VMware ESXi server? What is…

In server and application monitoring, response time is one of the most critical attributes to track because it tends to have the biggest effect on end users. If a server response time is slow, then so are the applications or websites, regardless of how well-tuned your other resources are. It’s important to use ongoing server…

DNS, the old standby of name resolution protocols, has been with us for a long time and will be for a long time to come. But like any “old standby” protocol, DNS has some imperfections. Like many early internet protocols, DNS was designed with an almost total lack of security. Finding an IP address via…

Apache HTTP Server is an open-source, cross-platform web server capable of running on Linux, Unix, or Windows environments. It’s often used in combination with Linux, MySQL, and PHP/Perl/Python. Apache currently powers around 40% of active websites, including those of Cisco and Apple. Apache offers a modular architecture, making it appropriate for different use cases. Apache’s…

From single-page informational websites to multi-step transactions supporting web applications, business websites have evolved significantly. Unlike the monoliths of the past, today’s web applications are built using microservices and deployed over hybrid clouds. These applications receive much higher traffic, and their availability requirements have become more stringent. As a result, organizations now use advanced web…

Although Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) is widely used by websites and software providers to communicate event publicity and error details to Windows computer users, WMI monitoring is often overlooked. WMI can be a source of valuable system information for commercial network administrators and private computer users, but it often results in an unnecessary flood of…

When your web applications perform below optimal levels, the impact can be significant. Your organization might lose productivity, or end users may have a poor experience and leave your site. That’s why optimizing performance is a top priority for many businesses. Web application performance optimization involves monitoring and analyzing app performance and pinpointing the ways…

People using our services would be very familiar with our basic HTTP Uptime check by now. After all, it’s our most used feature. Something a lot of our users might not know is that you can make the HTTP checks more advanced by using the Optional settings of the check. You find these settings under…

Applications, services, programs, and databases all generate large volumes of log data at a near-constant rate. Any tech pro responsible for analyzing these logs will tell you it’s a headache to organize and monitor them all. But since log analysis can help tech pros with a wide range of important tasks—from troubleshooting application performance to…