Nagios is an extremely popular network monitoring solution. It’s an open source program driven by a large developer community, with users including massive enterprises (like Yahoo, Amazon, and Google), ISPs, and governmental bodies. It was released in 1999, under the name NetSaint, and has been refined over the years by numerous contributors. Nagios has certainly … Read more Best Nagios Alternatives for Windows & Open Source
Databases are at the center of most fundamental business processes. As applications become more complicated, IT infrastructures become increasingly diverse and sophisticated. This is a good thing—our IT technology is advancing, becoming more versatile and evolved. But with this evolution comes the issue of troubleshooting and problem rectification. In such wide-ranging infrastructures, finding the source … Read more Ultimate Guide to Database Monitoring + Best Tools List
What is load balancing all about? Well, the truth is you can’t afford a web server overload—nobody can. A slow, faulty network can impact critical business services and result in a poor end-user experience. As external end users leave your site, profitability plummets. But external end users aren’t the only ones impacted. Every time an … Read more What Is Server and Application Load Balancing? Types, Configuration Methods, and Best Tools
All businesses need a way to detect vulnerabilities on their networks. This is especially true for larger businesses and those with sensitive data—banking, government, finance, law, health care, and education are all industries in which safeguarding network data and infrastructure is paramount. But smaller businesses must also ensure their information is secure, without pouring all … Read more Top 15 Paid and Free Vulnerability Scanner Tools
Businesses typically rely on network storage setups, in the form of either network attached storage (NAS) or a storage area network (SAN). These can be harder to manage and monitor than simpler storage infrastructures. In many cases, especially for larger businesses, storage performance monitoring software is a must. In this article, I’ll focus on SANs. … Read more Best Storage Monitoring Software + SAN Performance Tools
I have a confession to make. I love Power BI, but I don’t always do nice things to external APIs when I use it. A good example is when I need a quick set of data visuals from Salesforce. It is so easy just to pop open the “Get Data” dialog, pull in entire objects, … Read more Power BI & Salesforce “Query is too complicated…” Error Resolved
Patching software tends to be an annoyance for end users—and all too often, recommended patches go ignored. At the same time, admins may find it difficult to ensure all systems are adequately patched. Software patches and updates are of paramount importance, as they can prevent your software and systems from being vulnerable to bugs, malware, … Read more What Is Patch Management?
Issues and delays caused by database performance networks are a time and money drain IT teams can’t afford. With so many performance risk factors at play (memory usage, indexing, etc.), it can be hard to determine where, when, and why a problem is occurring. Implementing SQL tools focused on performance, monitoring, and management is a … Read more Best SQL Server Performance Tools
If you’re an IT admin responsible for managing your organization’s critical assets in an enterprise network, Active Directory (AD) should be your number one tool. Whether you’re running a small network or a large one, managing a slew of assets, users, and permissions can be a tedious ordeal. AD facilitates and streamlines this process. A … Read more Active Directory Forest and Domain Guide + Best Tools
Virtualization can be useful everywhere, whether for home office and small business use, or in large enterprises and data centers. Using appropriate software to manage those virtualizations is important—if you aren’t using the right tools, your virtual environment can be messy and ineffective at best, or buggy and non-functional at worst. In this guide, I’ll … Read more Best Virtualization Software Comparison