Features

Features

• 8 WSUS alternatives for patch management

  Compare the features and functionality of eight prominent patch management tools for Microsoft OSes and third-party applications to find the right option for your organization.  Continue Reading

• Learn how to start using Docker on Windows Server 2019

  Getting started with Windows containers requires an understanding of basic concepts and how to work with Docker Engine. Orin Thomas' book covers the topics admins need to know.  Continue Reading

• Securing Active Directory also involves good backup practices

  The 'Active Directory Administration Cookbook' covers what admins can do in advance to bring the identity and access management platform back online after an attack.  Continue Reading

• PowerShell book captures the tool's intense early days

  Getting PowerShell off the drawing board and into Windows required an iron will, as well as technical chops. A new book unveils the story behind its development process.  Continue Reading

• Q&A: Recounting the rough-and-tumble history of PowerShell

  Today, PowerShell is a key tool for many Windows administrators, but its developers had to battle to get it launched. Don Jones talks about PowerShell's tumultuous start.  Continue Reading

• A closer look at new and updated Microsoft security features

  Microsoft augments the native protection features in its newer Windows Server releases with cloud-based security products to reduce the likelihood of a successful breach attempt.  Continue Reading

• 5 PowerShell tools to help simplify admin tasks and support

  Learn how systems admins, software developers and engineers can use tools, such as Cimitra Software, to build better PowerShell scripts to manage and automate repetitive tasks.  Continue Reading

• 7 PowerShell courses to help hone skills for all levels of expertise

  Online PowerShell courses, such as the seven examined here, offer systems administrators and other users basic tutorials as well as more advanced courses.  Continue Reading

• Windows Server 2008 end of life means it's time to move

  Your organization has a few options to migrate from unsupported Windows Server 2008/2008 R2 systems to avoid becoming another cyberattack statistic.  Continue Reading

• On-premises server monitoring tools meet business needs, budget

  Compare these eight on-premises network, server and application monitoring tools to determine which best fits your organization's specific use cases, business needs and budget.  Continue Reading

• PowerShell tutorials capture attention of admins in 2019

  Interest in automation continues to trend upward for administrators of Windows systems, particularly when it involves PowerShell.  Continue Reading

• What admins need to know about Azure Stack HCI

  Microsoft put its branding on a relatively new hyper-converged infrastructure offering that capitalizes on the software-defined features in Windows Server 2019.  Continue Reading

• Microsoft's history and future strategy beyond 2020

  Microsoft's history over the past 20 years is marked by the pivot from closed software models to support for open source and cloud. Quantum computing will shape the next decades.  Continue Reading

• How to plan for an Azure cloud migration

  A Windows Server migration into the Microsoft cloud comes with several administrative benefits, but it also means there are new management aspects to worry about.  Continue Reading

• The future of PowerShell begins to sharpen in focus

  PowerShell's promise as a cross-platform management tool has come a long way, but much work still needs to be done for both Linux and Windows admins to pick up adoption.  Continue Reading

• Install Exchange Server 2019 on Server Core 2019 to boost security

  If you don't know how to manage servers without GUI, there may be a bit of a learning curve to get the benefits of running Exchange on Server Core.  Continue Reading

• System administrator resources you'll actually use

  The learning resources available for IT administrators are more plentiful than the technology that admins manage. How do they sift through the inundation of information?  Continue Reading

• 7 Windows Server 2019 features to know

  If administrators want to get the most from Windows Server 2019 features, they should familiarize themselves with this cheat sheet of the improvements Microsoft has made.  Continue Reading

• System administrator skills you need to succeed in the cloud

  Cloud technology gives IT administrators more tools to manage enterprise resources than ever before, but the expanding technology also requires admins to develop a new skill set.  Continue Reading

• Windows Admin Center brings server management under one roof

  Microsoft built Windows Admin Center to make administrators' jobs easier, but the tool has many facets to learn to expertly manage Windows servers.  Continue Reading

• Potential PowerShell telemetry raises security concerns

  When admins discovered the PowerShell team proposal for additional telemetry, some bristled; however, the data collection could mean a better management language for IT pros.  Continue Reading

• 4 Windows Server 2019 storage features to ease management

  Microsoft includes storage features in Windows Server 2019 to ease migration and create highly available and scalable software-defined storage in data centers.  Continue Reading

• How to automate with PowerShell in Windows Server 2019

  Microsoft developed many tools to simplify tasks in Windows Server 2019, but PowerShell skills still remain a staple of an administrator's tool set.  Continue Reading

• Windows Server cluster sets add more protection to workloads

  Microsoft stepped up its high availability game with its cluster sets technology in Windows Server 2019 to give on-premises workloads more cloudlike resiliency.  Continue Reading

• Server 2008 R2 end of life hitting home for many in IT

  As Microsoft support for Server 2008 R2 nears its sunset, a raft of complications make it difficult for many in IT to get on board with the Azure platform.  Continue Reading

• Got infrastructure needs? These PowerShell tutorials can help

  From streamlining remote sessions to setting up an SSL certificate, these PowerShell tutorials show IT admins how to get more done with the management tool.  Continue Reading

• Understand Azure Update Management basics

  Microsoft provides a variety of tools that IT administrators can use to simplify update deployment, including Azure Update Management. Find out if the service will work with your systems.  Continue Reading

• Hone your PowerShell text manipulation skills

  Retrieving content from and modifying content in text files with PowerShell are skills many administrators need to cultivate to aid their automation efforts.  Continue Reading

• Understanding the three main goals of PowerShell Core 6

  The book 'Learn PowerShell Core 6.0' offers a closer look into the history of PowerShell and its evolution into the PowerShell Core open source project.  Continue Reading

• IT pros must adapt to Azure certification path changes

  Microsoft reworked its Azure certifications recently and offers an upgrade path for IT pros with older credentials, but there is little time before the transition tests expire.  Continue Reading

• Server Core vs. GUI: Is Server Core ready for prime time?

  IT Director Christopher Rivers says the Windows Admin Center is a step in the right direction to boost adoption of Server Core, but administrators will still encounter challenges.  Continue Reading

• Q&A: Will Microsoft artificial intelligence change your job?

  Technical architect Jason Wynn says the data center is already on the path to a more autonomous future due to the acceleration of Microsoft artificial intelligence efforts.  Continue Reading

• Discover the top Windows Server and PowerShell tutorials of 2018

  Administrators can level up their management game with these Windows Server tips and PowerShell tutorials that got the most attention on the SearchWindowsServer site in 2018.  Continue Reading

• Handy PowerShell ISE add-ons for server administrators

  PowerShell ISE might be on the way out, but these extensions continue to sustain the development of management scripts for many Windows administrators.  Continue Reading

• Taking stock of Windows Server management tools

  Microsoft provides a mix of server management tools that administrators can choose from to control the machines that run the business. This comparison can help steer your decision.  Continue Reading

• Mastering PowerShell commands for Exchange by the book

  This book works through common scenarios administrators face when managing Exchange Server 2016 and explains how to tackle them with PowerShell scripts.  Continue Reading

• Future of Windows might involve significant weight loss

  The influence of containerized applications could sway Microsoft to introduce more far-reaching refinements to Windows Server and reduce the OS to the bare necessities.  Continue Reading

• Server Core installation offers perks, challenges for IT

  Server Core is a lighter Windows Server deployment that frees up server resources for additional workloads, but the management aspect will put some admins to the test.  Continue Reading

• Crunching the costs of Microsoft Exchange on-premises vs. cloud services

  Security concerns are less of an issue for most organizations, but do the costs of using Exchange on premises vs. the Office 365 mail service stack up?  Continue Reading

• Office 365 issues that torment email admins

  Tricky Office 365 problems are no treat to the IT admin. Fix the nuisances that corrupt your email with these troubleshooting treats.  Continue Reading

• Learn Group Policy basics for Windows administrators

  Group Policy hasn't changed much since its introduction, but it can be overwhelming to beginners. Learn how to use Group Policy to manage users and computers.  Continue Reading

• How to calculate Exchange 2013 resource requirements

  Inadequate server resources can impair performance and growth. Here's how to calculate megacycles of work and memory requirements for Exchange 2013.  Continue Reading

• Configure disk volumes to optimize your Exchange 2013 performance

  The wrong disk volumes can foil Exchange optimization practices. Assess your configurations with support and compression in mind.  Continue Reading

• Learn how to use BitLocker in Windows Server 2012

  BitLocker is an encryption feature in all versions of Windows Server 2012 that can protect the data on your PC and hard drive. Learn how to install and use it.  Continue Reading

• Q&A: Microsoft's Brad Anderson talks Windows Server 2012 R2

  Microsoft's Brad Anderson discusses new features in Windows Server 2012, including a faster update cycle and cross-platform integration.  Continue Reading

• Microsoft Exchange Online explained

  With all the chatter around hosted services these days, it pays to know about Exchange Online. Get a handle on its benefits and drawbacks.  Continue Reading

• Five Quick Links: Windows server hardening

  Learn to effectively lock down your systems with these server security resources, including must-have tips and tricks for hardening the Windows OS.  Continue Reading

• Q&A: Microsoft positions Hyper-V for cloud-minded IT

  Is the hypervisor war already over? Probably not, but Microsoft contends that its shift toward an app management approach to virtualization will put it ahead of VMware in the end.  Continue Reading

• The SharePoint content repository: It's just a database

  SharePoint's lifeline is the content repository, where all the content is housed. Learn how the database works as well as its challenges.  Continue Reading

• Top iPhone apps for Windows admins: iPowerShell

  This free Windows app gives admins PowerShell 2.0 knowledge straight from their iPhones. It includes advanced search capabilities and detailed cmdlet information.  Continue Reading

• Ten cool iPhone apps for Windows admins

  Are you an admin on the go? Check out some of the best iPhone apps available for Windows server and network management.  Continue Reading

• Windows server management guides and learning resources

  Check out our collection of guides, tutorials, FAQs and more covering a wide array of Windows server administration topics and technologies.  Continue Reading

• Recovering an Active Directory root domain in a multiple domain forest

  Imagine your entire forest root domain failed. What would you do? This case study explores the steps taken in such a situation.  Continue Reading

• Forcing the removal of a Windows Server 2008 domain controller

  Need solutions for Microsoft Active Directory 2008? This excerpt from "Active Directory Domain Services 2008 How-To" explains how to force the removal of a Windows Server 2008 Domain Controller and how to perform a metadata cleanup.  Continue Reading

• Windows Distributed File System (DFS) Namespace primer

  This excerpt from "The Complete Guide to Windows Server 2008" goes over the basics of Distributed File System Namespace (DFSN). Learn the applications, components and mechanics of DFSN, as well as what's new with Windows Server 2008.  Continue Reading

• Quest Authentication Services

  Quest Authentication Services allows organizations to extend Active Directory (AD) to Unix, Linux and Mac platforms and enterprise applications. It enables the unification of identities and directories for simplified identity and access management.  Continue Reading

• Downloading and Installing Windows PowerShell

  In this excerpt from "Essential PowerShell" you'll learn the steps and procedures for downloading and installing Windows PowerShell. You'll also go over the process of taking WPS for a test run in interactive mode and script mode.  Continue Reading

• Database grooming for System Center Operations Manager 2007

  This excerpt from "System Center Operations Manager 2007 Unleashed" takes you through the process of grooming your operational, data warehouse and ACS databases in SCOM 2007  Continue Reading

• Exchange Server and Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS)

  Learn to install, configure and secure Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) for Exchange Server email communications with these tips, tools, and tutorials.  Continue Reading

• How to get process information with Windows PowerShell

  In this column, Christa Anderson explains how to use Windows PowerShell's get-process cmdlet to retrieve information about the processes on your computer and how to kill the unnecessary ones.  Continue Reading

• Hacking for Dummies: Test your firewall rules

  Before someone else hacks your firewall, test your firewall rules during the self-hacking process to test your network's security. Learn about the tools involved in this excerpt from Chapter 9, "Network Infrastructure," from, Hacking for Dummies,...  Continue Reading

• How to save and run scripts with Windows PowerShell

  Learn how to save a Windows PowerShell cmdlet and edit Powershell settings so saved scripts will execute.  Continue Reading

• Filtering output from Windows PowerShell

  With PowerShell, it's pretty simple to browse Windows Management Instrumentation classes without cheating by filtering the content -- all it takes is a new cmdlet and working with variables.  Continue Reading