The IT Project-Tracking Database: Keep Your Key People In The Loop By Ashish Nadkarni, GlassHouse data mobility practice lead ECT News

This piece is not about educating the reader on project management or the productivity tools available today, but rather about a simple set of mechanisms to employ in order to yield a higher success rate in the completion of IT initiatives and projects. Major topics include the power of the intranet and tracking-database attributes,  ...

Operating system comparison: The Windows OS security debate.

Reader Question: Google made some waves when they began ending internal use of Windows. Why was that the case, and will the shift in operating system make a difference? Can you do a quick operating systems comparison?...

What Can the Khobe Technique Do to Windows Antivirus Software?

The Khobe technique, discovered by researchers at the network device testing group Matousec.com, is a method for malware to bypass scanning hooks implemented by a Windows user's antivirus software. The System Service Descriptor Table (SSDT), a Windows module, is a facility at the boundary between user mode and kernel mode of the operating system, which provides access to various system service...

Retiring IT Assets to Avoid Maintenance Penalties

In this installment, learn how data center consulting and managed services firm GlassHouse Technologies Inc. worked with a client that needed to consolidate IT assets to avoid maintenance costs and penalties. Here, Ashish Nadkarni, GlassHouse Technologies' practice lead for data mobility, explains the consolidation process....

Do all drives in a RAID 10 array need to be the same specification?

The only absolute requirement for matching drive specs in a RAID 10 array is that the drives must be of the same architecture, e.g., all SAS or SATA. Mixing and matching drives of differing performance levels will not compromise the ability of the drives to provide the RAID level, but the worst drive among them will lower the performance or capacity of the RAID set significantly. Two example sc...

How to Use Windows Group Policy to Secure and Restrict USB Devices By Robbie Higgins, GlassHouse VP Security Services SearchMidMarketSecurity

Portable USB flash drives have become an integral part of the workspace and everyday life for many people. Ease of use, form factor, capacity and simplicity have truly made USBs a disruptive and pervasive technology over the last few years. USBs come in many forms, including small external hard drives, card readers, cameras and mobile phones to mention a few....

Which Windows malware tools are available to monitor a specific virus?

A SearchMidmarketSecurity.com reader asks our resident security expert Tom Chmielarski, "Which Windows malware tools will help you examine the actions of a specific virus on your computer?"...

Choosing a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, VDI, is no longer perceived as just a niche tactic and is poised to become a mainstream enterprise strategy. Gartner predicts that the worldwide hosted virtual desktop (HVD) market will accelerate through 2013 to reach 49 million units, up from more than 500,000 units in 2009. VDI has the potential to help businesses manage their desktop environments more efficie...

The Top 5 Don'ts of Data Center Consolidation

When considering a data center consolidation project, it's as important to know what not to do as it is to know what to do. A complete don't-do-this list could go on and on, but here are five behaviors in particular that should be avoided. For example, don't over-plan, don't underestimate the business impact, and don't blindly trust savings estimates that project out more than four years....

Are there options beyond a Windows XP SP2 upgrade?

A SearchMidmarketSecurity.com reader writes to our resident security expert Tom Chmielarski, "Microsoft announced that it will stop support for machines running Windows XP SP2. If we're a business that still runs SP2, what steps should we take to stay secure?"...

Steve Pinder’s Ask the Expert Article - Thin provisioning: Over-allocation, wide striping, space reclamation

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David Boyd SAN vs. DAS: Which is better in terms of performance and scalability?

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How to test windows operating system patches

SearchMidmarketSecurity.com reader: I read your article: "What is the best Windows patch management procedure?" I just recently completed a patch management review. One of the issues is understanding the testing on the patches related to the Windows operating system. If I am testing a Windows application like Outlook, I can easily apply the testing factors as you have discussed in your previo...

Windows rootkit detection tools and tactics

A SearchMidmarketSecurity.com reader asks our expert Tom Chmielarski, "I'm concerned that my Windows machine has a rootkit - what is the best way to detect and remove it?"...

Data Centre Management: ITSM by-line coverage received

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