The Network Monitor

When an operating system crashes, a server stops responding to ping, or a simple PowerShell DSC configuration needs to be debugged, where's the first place a sysadmin goes? The event log. The Windows event log records a wealth of information. Let's see how we can automate log reviews.

Technology in the financial sector, otherwise known as fintech, has matured at an impressive rate in recent months. Much of this progress can be directly attributed to growing interest from brick-and-mortar banks. In fact, these pillars of the financial sector have raised $14.6 billion in venture capital last year for a tech movement that some thought might herald the end of traditional banking. Despite the sometimes contentious relationship, banks are clearly seeing promise in financial technology as it continues to evolve. With that in mind, here are a few ways banks are currently using this innovative technology.

Wireless networks have become a requirement for most K-12 schools, and that presents a challenge for IT teams who need to maintain consistent access and performance for students and teachers alike.

A multinational office furniture and design company came to us with a problem. Their Internet service costs were skyrocketing and they didn't know why. They had over 60 flow sources across North America and Asia. And they had little to no visibility into their network traffic and bandwidth utilization.

Taiwan-based KHS is one of the world's largest manufacturers of musical instruments with popular brands like Walden Guitars and Mapex Drums. The company's five business subsidiaries used to operate independently, each with its own IT team. KHS decided to centralize all IT operations at its headquarters which led to sorting out system integration and network troubleshooting. This major IT initiative included a data center virtualization project to standardize all Point of Sale (PoS) and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems.

Panama is known for its sloths, but we can all agree no one likes slothy Internet and shoddy cable service.

Until a few years ago, most people thought of hackers as bright but maladjusted teenagers who mainly broke into networks for the fun of it. But now that hacking has gone big time, you're more likely to associate hacking with organized crime groups or "state actors."

When pilots talk about things getting busy in the cockpit, they mean something very specific: clanging alerts, paralyzing uncertainty and the ground getting closer.

In my opinion, geolocation or location-based data (call it what you will) is the most frustrating aspect of mobile device usage. Although I was unable to obtain prompt expert insights to aid story credibility, surely I can't be the only one that thinks in this manner?

After several years of steady cloud adoption in the enterprise, an interesting trend has emerged. More companies are retaining their existing, on-premise IT infrastructures while also embracing the latest cloud technologies. In fact, IDC predicts markets for such hybrid cloud environments will grow from $25 billion in 2014 to a whopping $84 billion by 2019.

Who among us can argue that automated network monitoring isn't necessary when you consider how much the role of IT has expanded in recent years? Uptime on workstations and servers has been relegated to a secondary role and is considered the norm. While enhancing business processes and functions has become more of a primary focus.

The promises and challenges associated with the Internet of Things (IoT), the fragmentation of mobile devices at the workplace and the diverse applications and services we use to get our daily work done, are just some of the issues IT pros have to deal with these days.

The Delta Airlines power outage that grounded thousands of flights across the country was attributed to their legacy systems. What could they have done to prevent it? A network monitoring tool would have pinpointed the source of the problem possibly before the outage happened or even in just minutes instead of the reported 30 minutes. It would have allowed Delta's IT team to be nimbler while they remediated the issue.

Follow these steps and get yourself out of the server room and onto the beach.

In the early days of public education, and even in some rural areas today, multiple grades were taught in a single classroom. As challenging as that environment was for teachers, today's pedagogues find themselves in a similar situation, but now they're better equipped to handle it with the help of ed-tech tools. Teachers today may have classes full of kids with learning needs as diverse as the kids in the one-room schoolhouse, but with modern technology they can meet those needs and help children develop to their full potential.

The world is getting ready to watch the opening ceremonies of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio. IT teams may find themselves behind the game, though. They might be spending some time over the next 16 days dealing with the consequences that the event will have on network bandwidth and application performance.

Managing IT is an Olympian task. From looming deadlines to emerging threats, it's no wonder that more IT pros than ever are stressed out over performance and expectations. Effectively meeting the increasingly complex demands of executives and stakeholders with a minuscule budget and limited resources is, in itself, a Herculean feat of physical and mental prowess. With Rio 2016 just around the corner, maybe it's time for another look at the role of IT pros. What does technology at the Olympics look like this time around? And how do tech experts stack up against top athletes when it comes to work ethic and stamina?

One of the biggest headaches for IT is dealing with intermittent network performance problems. These are the kinds of issues that boldly appear but soon vanish before the source can be pinpointed. Only to happen again and again, frustrating and random each time. In most cases, these network performance problems look like they could be rooted in a certain area when, in fact, they lie somewhere completely different.

Last Friday was Sysadmin Day (or, System Administrator Appreciation Day in full form), an annual day of recognition for hard working sysadmins. It was created by sysadmin Ted Kekatos in 2009 after being inspired by an HP ad promoting LaserJet 400 printers where a sysadmin was celebrated by colleagues. For context and the full story, check out this 2011 interview with Ted by Spicehead Nic Tolstoshev.

It's the last Friday in July which means it's the annual System Administrator Appreciation Day, also known as Sysadmin Day. It's kind of the Hallmark holiday of the IT world, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have any significance.