Data Center Therapy

#096 - SD-What?

Confused by the alphabet soup of SD-WAN? Wondering whether it's about connecting multiple sites or just improving your local internet performance? Join your Data Center Therapy guides, Matt "Connectivity Curmudgeon" Yette and Matt "Bandwidth Barista" Cozzolino, along with special guest Jeremy "The Network Navigator" Goosen, as they untangle the complexities and demystify SD-WAN in this insightful episode. What’s Inside: * SD-WAN Defined: We clarify the confusion around SD-WAN by breaking down the two primary uses—site-to-site LAN connectivity (think Meraki or Palo Alto), and local internet optimization solutions (Bigleaf, Cato Networks). * Internet Optimization Unpacked: Dive into how solutions like Bigleaf and Cato seamlessly handle multiple internet links, ensuring your traffic uses the most efficient route while maintaining the same public IP—even during failovers. * Real-World Stories: Jeremy shares compelling experiences from the trenches, highlighting creative uses of SD-WAN technologies to solve complex connectivity challenges, including cellular and Starlink integrations for reliable remote access. * Simplifying Complexity: Learn why companies might prefer plug-and-play SD-WAN solutions over traditional manual setups involving BGP and owned IP addresses, significantly easing deployment and management. Reminders: * The VCF Operations Workshop is April 10th; register for it here [https://www.eventcreate.com/e/vmwarecloudfoundationoperationsworkshop]. * The VCF Operations Class is May 20-23; register for it here [https://www.eventcreate.com/e/vcfoclassmay25].   Enjoying Data Center Therapy? Like, subscribe, and share this episode with your network! Until next time—stay connected, stay informed!

#095 - Into the Microsoft Jungle

Are the dense jungles of Windows Server leaving you lost? Are Active Directory tangles, Entra ID integrations, or legacy issues keeping your IT nights sleepless? Well, grab your machete (or PowerShell) and join us on an expedition into the depths of Microsoft ecosystems in this week’s episode of Data Center Therapy!In this thrilling adventure, your trusted guides, Matt “Server Sherpa” Yette and Matt “Patch Paladin” Cozzolino, are joined once again by IVOXY’s own Microsoft guru, Dade “Forest Ranger” Wilson. Together, they brave the wilds of Windows Server and Active Directory to uncover the secrets, pitfalls, and solutions waiting within.What treasures (and traps) await you in this episode? * Windows Server Assessment: Dade spills the beans on what his assessment covers, from identifying lurking performance issues to spotting security vulnerabilities in forgotten corners of your environment. * Active Directory & Entra ID: How do these two pillars of Microsoft infrastructure intersect, and why do they often make us break a sweat? * Best Practices & Pro Tips: Schema upgrades, time-sync nightmares, and why DNS is always the culprit—Dade and the Matts share their survival tips. * Upcoming Workshop Alert: Don’t miss out on IVOXY's upcoming Active Directory/Entra ID workshop and hands-on training class, led by Dade, designed to demystify these crucial Microsoft tools and set your team up for success. As always, if you enjoy the show, please be sure to like, share with three colleagues and subscribe wherever you get your quality podcasts.From the DCT crew – Stay cool, stay protected, be informed and see you at the next event and episode, compadres

#094 - CrowdStrike Oops, Intel Woes, and Docker Management, Oh My

Hot enough for you, Data Center Therapy listeners? Go ahead, grab a plate of ribs, corn, and green beans, and belly up to the listening picnic table, as your ears get to feast on the freshness that is Episode 94.  In this one, our sun-drenched hosts, Mr. Matt “8 Panel Chamois” Yette and Mr. Matt “Deep Cycle Marine” Cozzolino share their summer exploits along with a healthy heaping of topical news items from the world of I.T. In this episode, you, our loyal DCT fans, will get to hear about: * The durability issues plaguing Intel’s 13th and 14th generation CPUs, along with their announced layoffs * Software testing, and some relevant details surrounding the CrowdStrike incident that affected millions of Windows systems worldwide * The complications that affect storage management and backups surrounding Docker containers While the boys also muse about the vagaries of automated testing suites and forced updates of software (both on desktop and mobile platforms) the Matts also discuss their latest home lab upgrades, StarLink on boats, and much more.  Give it a listen and get your healthy dose of I.T. empathy from DCT. Reminders:  * The Aria Operations Workshop is August 8th; register for it here [https://www.ivoxy.com/ariapod]. * The Aria Operations Class is September 24th; register for it here [https://www.ivoxy.com/ariaclasspod]. * The in-person IVOXY VMware Explore Redux Event in Portland, Olympia and Seattle are September 10th, 11th, and 12th, register for those events here: * 9/10/24 - Portland, OR [https://www.ivoxy.com/reduxpdxpod] * 9/11/24 - Olympia, WA [https://www.ivoxy.com/reduxolympiapod] * 9/12/24 - Seattle, WA [https://www.ivoxy.com/reduxseattlepod] As always, if you enjoy the show, please be sure to like, share with three colleagues and subscribe wherever you get your quality podcasts.   From the DCT crew - Stay cool, stay protected, be informed and see you at the next event and episode, compadres!

#093 - The (Active Directory) Forest from the Trees

What things Microsoft lurk in the shadows, basements, and dark closets of your I.T. organization?  Which parts of Active Directory, Exchange, or M365 keep you up at night, racked with anxiety and fear?  Is there no relief from scary upgrades and failures to be had?  Fear not, loyal compatriots!  Bust out your flashlights, proton packs, and ectoplasm-resistant onesies because this week on Data Center Therapy, your hosts, Matt ‘Venkman’ Yette and Matt ‘Ray’ Cozzolino welcome IVOXY’s newest Consultant and Microsoft Specialist, Mr. Dade ‘Egon’ Wilson to the virtual studios to explore all things ‘365.’    In this episode you, our captivated listeners, will: * Hear about Dade’s background, his hobbies, love of Seattle, and what he does in his spare time. * Find out if schema upgrades should be feared, whether Microsoft had constraints of what the backing storage of Exchange had to be, and why functional version upgrades are often neglected. * Learn of the new integrations like Intune and Entra ID which necessitate newer software infrastructure parts and pieces. * and be amazed by the myriad of ways in which Microsoft systems can break, whether it’s DNS, Kerberos, Certificates, or the time (but we all know, it’s DNS!). Come listen to this episode to meet the newest member of the IVOXY team and jump into the deep end of the Active Directory pool with us; it’ll be intimidating, but also a bit of a fun.  Register for Matt Cozzolino’s upcoming June 20th “Ask me Anything” for his Networking for Server Administrators class (coming July 30th) at https://ivoxy.com/n4sa [https://ivoxy.com/n4sa].  Register for the Aria Operations workshop, coming up August 8th, at https://ivoxy.com/ariaworkshop [https://ivoxy.com/ariaworkshop].  As always, if you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to like, share, and subscribe and tell three friends about how you get a hearty dose of I.T. empathy and free counseling just by listening to the show.  :)  Thanks for listening and we’ll see you on the next spooky episode, DCT faithful!

#092 - Endpoints, AI and Aria Operations

Welcome back for another new episode, Data Center Therapy aficionados!  This week, our adventurous and hard-working hosts, Matt “Master Link” Yette and Matt “Chromed Crankset” Cozzolino open up the virtual studios to IVOXY’s own Ryan “Security Gusset” Grelck, who joins the fellas to talk all things endpoint-related for the first part of the podcast. In addition to discussions of all things client-related, the crew also discuss: * The differences between endpoint protection (EPP) and endpoint detection and response (EDR). * SentinelOne’s purple.ai feature and automated root cause analysis (RCA). * Microsoft’s Recall feature for Copilot+ PCs, and its security implications. * The browser wars, Firefox, and how Chromium code maintenance impacts modern browser platforms. With all those topics and more, including the upcoming Q3 and Q4 classes from IVOXY, the Matts and Ryan also briefly cover the newer software suites now included in VMware vSphere Foundation and VMware Cloud Foundation.  We hope you have as much fun listening to the show as much as we had making it, and if you do, be sure to tell three friends, like and subscribe wherever you find your quality podcasts.   Thanks for joining us once again and we’ll see you in an IVOXY class, on a free webinar or on the next episode of DCT.  Ciao for now!