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News

• Puppet gets a more expressive configuration language

  With an update to its namesake configuration tool, Puppet Labs has introduced a programming language designed to give administrators more flexibility in scripting their deployment routines.

• HP updates IT automation suite for cloud deployments

  Further pursuing its strategy to help enterprises move workloads to hosted environments, Hewlett-Packard has updated a number of its IT management tools with more capabilities to work with public and private clouds.

• eBay develops metric for data center performance

  There's a maxim in the data center business that you can't manage what you can't measure, and eBay has come up with a new measurement for doing both.

• Citrix outfits NetScaler with troubleshooting tools

  Citrix has released new software to help users of its NetScaler Application Delivery Controller (ADC) more easily troubleshoot application performance problems in complex network and data center environments.

• HP simplifies automated software testing suite

  Hewlett-Packard is incorporating three different components, previously available separately, into its HP Unified Functional Testing (UFT) automated testing application so developers can test all aspects of a multi-tiered application from a single interface.

• Splunk 5 offers fault-tolerant indexing for mission-critical applications

  The new version of the Splunk machine data search engine comes with a distributed indexing technology that could save storage costs for those customers running the software as a high-availability service.

• Quest extends Unix Sudo tool

  Reflecting the growing need for automation tools in the enterprise, Quest Software has released a software package that could help Unix administrators better manage policy files that determine which users can access privileged material and programs on Unix and Linux systems.

• CA equips management tools for cloud oversight

  CA Technologies has updated a number of its programs to make their users more ready to run some operations in a cloud environment, the company announced Wednesday.

• CA modernizes the mainframe with updated stack

  Addressing some of the chief problems faced by mainframe operators today, CA Technologies has updated its stack of mainframe management software to help cut costs and simplify management.

• Aternity app monitor now covers Web 2.0 apps

  Aternity has updated its application monitoring platform so that it can monitor Ajax-styled Web applications as well as 64-bit Java desktop applications, the company announced Tuesday.

• Attachmate has high hopes for Novell products

  Attachmate intends to revitalize the sales and technical development of the end-user computing products that it acquired when it purchased Novell, such as those for virtualization and enterprise collaboration.

• Webmasters face new site optimization challenges

  From the Web's early days, companies have struggled to make their sites faster, but the problem remains a thorny one, with new challenges emerging regularly as technology advances.

• Microsoft Windows troubleshooter goes remote

  Microsoft has expanded the capabilities of its Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT) to allow administrators to troubleshoot ill-behaving desktop Windows computers from afar.

• Virtual machines need defragging too

  Weighing in on a seemingly perennial question asked by system administrators, IT analysts Osterman Research is recommending that virtual machines be defragmented just as often as physical drives.

• Microsoft to push harder for cloud

  Microsoft is shifting its strategy away from pitching itself as a company that can offer companies a choice of software or hosted services, toward pushing the cloud, an executive said on Thursday at the software giant's annual financial analyst meeting.