Data Center Therapy

IVOXY Consulting

IT talk with a healthy dose of empathy: Hosts Matt Yette & Matt Cozzolino draw on their combined 40+ years of infrastructure experience as they discuss the ever-changing technology landscape – from virtualization to storage, security to networking, and everything in between.

  1. #096 - SD-What?

    APR 2

    #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.The VCF Operations Class is May 20-23; register for it here.  Enjoying Data Center Therapy? Like, subscribe, and share this episode with your network! Until next time—stay connected, stay informed!

    36 min
  2. JAN 24

    #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

    43 min
  3. 08/05/2024

    #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 layoffsSoftware testing, and some relevant details surrounding the CrowdStrike incident that affected millions of Windows systems worldwideThe complications that affect storage management and backups surrounding Docker containersWhile 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.The Aria Operations Class is September 24th; register for it here.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, OR9/11/24 - Olympia, WA9/12/24 - Seattle, WAAs 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!

    41 min
  4. 06/21/2024

    #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.  Register for the Aria Operations workshop, coming up August 8th, at 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!

    41 min
  5. 05/23/2024

    #091 - Broadcom's VMware Acquisition: The Fireside Followup

    Welcome back, long-awaiting listeners, as your favorite IT podcast with a healthy dose of empathy, Data Center Therapy, returns after a seven-month hiatus.  It’s been too long, we know, but we’re back and we’re recharged so we can bring you the first of many new episodes with exciting, topical and relevant content.  Thanks for joining us! On this episode, your intrepid hosts, Mr. Matt “been through the desert on a horse with no name” Cozzolino and Mr. Matt “Call me Heisenberg” Yette share Cozzo’s adventures hiking from Supai to Havasupai Falls in the great state of Arizona, and talk all things Broadcom, given the big news of the acquisition of VMware completed since the last episode aired. While sharing their thoughts on the whole VMware ecosystem and the changes, the DCT crew muse about: The new tiers of subscription licensing that replace many of the old VMware SKUs,The changes in licensing from sockets to cores,The aborted licensing change back in the VMware days regarding vRAM,The “second day” about face on ROBO licensingViable alternatives to vSphereThe spinning off of the Horizon technology to the new firm named Omnissa,and much, much more.As a reminder, IVOXY are hosting a vSphere 8 Advanced Class in just two weeks, and we’re developing classes and workshops for Disaster Recovery and Aria Operations (formerly VMware vRealize Operations.)  If you’re interested in Matt Cozzolino’s Networking for Server admins Ask Me Anything on June 20th at 11AM Pacific, register at: https://ivoxy.com/ama-networkingforserveradmins.   If you’re looking for the DirtFish 2024 event registration, it may be found at: https://ivoxy.com/dirtfish2024.  As always, if you enjoy Data Center Therapy, please tell three friends and be sure to like, share and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.  Thanks for your patience, your attention, and we eagerly look forward to sharing more in 2024 with you all on the next episode of Data Center Therapy!

    47 min
  6. 10/20/2023

    #090 - Azure Virtual Desktops with Ryan Grelck and Aaron Hagman

    Welcome back, loyal Data Center Therapy listeners!  As summer gives way to fall, we’re dropping another fresh and topical episode onto the hot podcast grill for your informational delight (with a dash of fun thrown in for good measure.)  Your host, Mr. Matt “My Stack Overflowed” Cozzolino joins IVOXY End User Compute specialists Ryan "Universal Broker" Grelck and Aaron "Auto-Scaling" Hagman for a deep dive into the new and cloud-enabled world that is Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop, and Windows 365.   In just thirty-two minutes, you, our listeners will get to learn about: What Azure Virtual Desktop is, why it exists, and what the implications are for mobility and security. What kinds of capabilities AVD has for integration with VNETs, storage, profiles, domains and Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory.) Why some organizations use multi-session desktops. How Windows 365 differs from AVD, and how it’s two flavors (Business and Enterprise) differ from each other. What MSIX App Attach is, how it’s similar to Horizon’s AppVolumes, and how Horizon on Azure is now a thing. What the future of Windows Software Update Services is, how Intune and Group Policy interact, and what ADMX/ADML templates are. And many of the reasons businesses ultimately choose to implement AVD, including a focus on budget, CAPEX/OPEX, security or performance considerations. Along the way the crew also discusses Azure Arc, VPN tunnels and Express Routes, GPU-enabled cloud desktop instances, Windows Update for Business, thin clients and much more. If you like what you hear, please be sure to like, subscribe and share wherever you find quality podcasts like Data Center Therapy.  If you’re interested in learning more about AVD or Windows 365, please reach out to your IVOXY Account Manager and we’d be happy to help guide you on your journey.  Thanks for listening!  Be safe, be informed, manage your virtual desktop environment like a boss, and catch you on the next fresh episode!

    32 min
  7. 08/08/2023

    #089 - InTune Education with Ryan Grelck and Aaron Hagman

    Welcome back to another exciting episode of Data Center Therapy, where the digital device management seas are stormy but the DCT deck crew are always ready for a challenge!  While Matt ‘Hard to Starboard’ Cozzolino is out on PTO this week, your reliable and experienced Captain, Mr. Matt ‘Engines Steady at Quarter Impulse’ Yette welcomes IVOXY End User Computing Consultants Mr. Ryan ‘Magnum VDI’ Grelck and Mr. Aaron ‘Active Directory Animal’ Hagman to the virtual DCT studios, for a chat about all things Microsoft Intune.       In this episode, you, our adventurous listeners, will get to hear about: What Microsoft 365 traditionally encompasses and how offerings beyond M365 integrate into the usual core technologies (Exchange, Sharepoint, OneDrive and Teams). How Microsoft Intune can be helpful for hybrid work and remote/travelling sales teams, and how SCCM relates. Mobile Device Management, including some old stories of MobileIron, and what Intune is capable of doing for the new corporate end user’s experience and data management (including conditional access). How Azure Active Directory (now Entra) can integrate with on-premises infrastructure and clients and what happens when the Internet goes out.     After listening, if you’re excited to join the September 19th through 21st Intune class (with Office Hours on September 22nd) then please be sure to reach out to your IVOXY Account Manager or podcasts@ivoxy.com so you can register yourself.  If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to like, share and subscribe wherever quality podcasts like DCT are found.     Thanks as always for listening, and stay safe, get your (Windows) Autopilot on, stay (mobile) managed and catch you on the next fun and informative episode of Data Center Therapy!

    33 min
4.9
out of 5
14 Ratings

About

IT talk with a healthy dose of empathy: Hosts Matt Yette & Matt Cozzolino draw on their combined 40+ years of infrastructure experience as they discuss the ever-changing technology landscape – from virtualization to storage, security to networking, and everything in between.