Buying the right network devices is an essential part of network design, and can have an impact throughout the network lifecycle. Get it right, and your network is high-performing, easy to troubleshoot, and reliable. Get it wrong, and downtime, complexity, and costs add up fast. A network device buyer’s guide would probably be really helpful. So we made you one.

Configuration management is one of those network management topics people often neglect. It’s not very exciting—but it’s incredibly important. Administrators rely on network configuration management in a variety of circumstances. Let’s discuss what network configuration is, delve further into the importance of network configuration, and explore the benefits of configuration management.

Hostile work environments are a real problem in tech and can be a significant driver of IT job stress. This is particularly true for IT helpdesk and support roles. Helpdesk agents often complain of burnout and frustration related to how end-users treat them. IT service roles will never be “stress-free”. The nature of break-fix work for critical systems inherently comes with the job.

In the business world, information technology (IT) is everything. Without it, companies would struggle to keep track of their data and operations. However, managing all of a company’s IT assets can be a daunting task. This is where IT asset management (ITAM) comes in.

VPNs: not just sponsors of YouTube tech videos! If you think of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) as data privacy tools or a way to access geographically restricted content, then the idea they’re dying out probably seems far-fetched. But if we’re talking about internet-based VPNs, the kind that enables access to corporate networks, there’s been plenty of prognostication that the last days of VPN may be upon us.

Network loops are bad news. Here’s a recap from network engineer Ethan Banks on why.

Broadcast storms are a major pain point for network administrators. Let’s talk a bit about what they are, what causes them, and what steps you can take to eliminate sources of broadcast storms on the networks you manage.

When network hardware vendors issue device recalls, field notices, or security alerts, the implication can be massive for MSPs. Take the 2017 clock signal issue, for example. That huge recall of Intel microchips was a large-scale vulnerability for tons of devices—and left MSPs scrambling to figure out which devices were affected on which client sites.

Routing problems tend to emerge when you’re first setting up a new piece of network equipment, and when something has failed. Usually, routing problems are caused by some sort of configuration or design error. Troubleshooting routing problems is tricky because the usual tools like ping and traceroute don’t always tell you what you need to know.

Paul Dippell is the co-founder and CEO of Service Leadership, Inc., a company that measures IT and managed service provider (MSP) performance across the industry and annually publishes the results as the Service Leadership Index®. In this interview, we ask about his work using operational maturity in benchmarking managed service providers.