IT Services

Review: VMware vSphere 5.1 looms large

VMware takes virtualization higher and deeper with rich storage automation and more advanced virtual networking tools

By Paul Ferrill | 24 April, 2013 10:18

Tags: Configuration / maintenance, Server Virtualization, Microsoft, hardware systems, private cloud, Data Center, cloud computing, internet, VMware, virtualization

Virtualization showdown: Microsoft Hyper-V 2012 vs. VMware vSphere 5.1

Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V brings advanced virtualization features to small shops, but VMware still reigns at the high end

By Paul Ferrill | 24 April, 2013 10:18

Tags: Configuration / maintenance, Microsoft, Microsoft Hyper-V, hardware systems, private cloud, Data Center, cloud computing, internet, VMware, virtualization, Server Virtualization

Review: Microsoft Hyper-V 2012 narrows the gap

Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V combines easy setup and management with new features that lower the entry barrier to highly available virtualization clusters

By Paul Ferrill | 24 April, 2013 10:18

Tags: Configuration / maintenance, Server Virtualization, Microsoft, Microsoft Hyper-V, hardware systems, Data Center, cloud computing, internet, VMware, virtualization

Review: 4 killer cloud IDEs

Surprisingly beefy, browser-based JSFiddle, Icenium, Cloud9, and Codenvy stretch from client-side JavaScript to server-side Java and Web stacks

By Peter Wayner | 17 April, 2013 10:09

Tags: PHP Web, application development, web development, internet, cloud computing, Development tools, Development Environments, Apple, python, html5, Java Programming, zoho, Google, Microsoft, software, javascript, ruby on rails

Puppet or Chef: The configuration management dilemma

Puppet is model-driven, Ruby is procedural, and both are large, messy, open source ecosystems plagued with pitfalls

By Peter Wayner | 27 March, 2013 10:14

Tags: Configuration / maintenance, Networking, hardware systems, Network management, software, open source software, Data Center, internet, cloud computing, system management, systems management, management, Devops

Review: Dell Cloud lets you have it your way

Dell's VMware-based cloud infrastructure provides all of the flexibility and complexity of the leading enterprise virtualization platform

By Peter Wayner | 20 February, 2013 11:09

Tags: Configuration / maintenance, Microsoft, hardware systems, iaas, Data Center, cloud computing, internet, VMware, Dell, virtualization, Server Virtualization

Transcend ESD200 review: A fast little external SSD

Transcend's ESD200 external SSD is fast and very portable. Unfortunately, the backup software doesn't impress.

By Lucas Mearian | 18 February, 2013 11:11

Tags: Data storage, storage, storage hardware, transcend

IronKey Workspace review: Windows 8 PC on a stick

Imation's IronKey division has introduced a new USB drive from which you can boot up an encryption-secured Windows 8 PC on any computer.

By Lucas Mearian | 01 February, 2013 18:20

Tags: Mobile/Wireless, Data storage, Networking, wireless, Windows, software, mobile, operating systems, intel, imation, Apple

Office 2013 is the best Office yet

With Office 365 Home Premium, Microsoft brings excellent cloud features and pay-as-you-go pricing to the world's best office suite

By Serdar Yegulalp | 29 January, 2013 14:22

Tags: LibreOffice, SaaS, applications, Office Software, microsoft office, Software as a service, operating systems, cloud computing, internet, cloud storage, Microsoft Windows, Google, Microsoft, software

Review: SoftLayer's cloud is fast and flexible

SoftLayer brings fine-grained configuration options, high performance, and interesting extras to the self-service cloud

By Peter Wayner | 16 January, 2013 11:14

Tags: HP, Google, iaas, cloud computing, Joyent, internet, rackspace

Review: Windows Azure shoots the moon

Microsoft's cloud wows with great price-performance, Windows toolchain integration, and plenty of open source options

By Peter Wayner | 19 December, 2012 11:17

Tags: paas, Microsoft Windows Azure, iaas, mysql, software, operating systems, cloud computing, Joyent, internet, rackspace, HP, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft

Review: Rackspace Cloud keeps IaaS simple

Rackspace stands apart with familiar tools, open standards, and enterprise-grade support

By Peter Wayner | 28 November, 2012 11:10

Tags: HP, Google, iaas, cloud computing, Joyent, internet, rackspace

Review: Joyent Cloud is built for speed

Joyent's very smart SmartOS proves that some cloud servers are better than others

By Peter Wayner | 21 November, 2012 11:13

Tags: Google, solaris, iaas, OpenSolaris, private cloud, cloud computing, Joyent, internet, HP

Review: HP Cloud challenges Amazon and Google

HP's OpenStack-based IaaS cloud blends openness and portability with nice proprietary extras and welcome hand-holding

Behind the wheel with Cadillac's high-tech CUE

Get behind the wheel of any new car and you'll quickly grasp the importance that electronics and gadgetry play in the auto industry these days. Companies are starting to put just as much effort into the entertainment system as the mechanics and that means some pretty high-tech rides like the Cadillac XTS.

Review: Google Compute Engine rocks the cloud

Google's new compute cloud offers a crisp and clean way to spin up Linux instances and easily tap other Google APIs

First look: Windows Azure Active Directory preview

It's lacking enough functionality to make it worth waiting for subsequent versions, Jonathan Hassell says, unless you're building Azure apps right now.

First look: Microsoft Office 2013

The next revision of Office adds touches of Metro without itself being a Metro app

Microsoft System Center targets cloud, virtualization

With the revamped System Center 2012 suite of management tools, Microsoft has launched a powerful new weapon in the battle to control the virtualized data center and the cloud, both private and public.

Microsoft raises the bar with SQL Server 2012

While SQL Server 2008 was little more than a service-pack level upgrade, the 2012 version of Microsoft's database has a boatload of new features and delivers solid performance improvements.