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It may seem that the turmoil of emotions has long since faded away and the dust has already blanketed the grief after the controversial demise of CentOS, but as soon as you step a little further behind the front door of most industry forums, you will quickly find out that the struggle to hook up with a worthy replacement is still very much real. So how could we not back you up on this battlefield by going the extra mile to keep EasyDCIM's support for the top alternative operating systems in peak condition? It is in precisely this way that our platform reached the release of version 1.9.1, further accompanied by the evolution of colocation support. A real treat for CentOS ex-users When one of the best-loved and most popular free Linux systems is forced out of nowhere to pack its bags, and vanishes into thin air, replaced by pretty much a totally different architecture, one can easily imagine most of the community entering the state of utter confusion progressing to borderline panic. Expecting crowds of disoriented users rushing to google all possible alternatives to CentOS, we quickly put on our superhero capes and equipped EasyDCIM with new templates meant to allow the automatic installation of operating systems thought of as most likely to fill in the vacant spot. Remember how quickly our poll revealed everyone's favorite? But implementing these templates is one thing. Keeping them closely fitted into the post-CentOS landscape is a whole other story, which today unfolds right before your eyes with the release of EasyDCIM v1.9.1. The OS Installation extension received a solid dose of code refreshments to deal with the 9th generation of AlmaLinux and CentOS Stream in the smoothest manner possible. Moreover, the spectrum of OS templates has been stretched to new levels after developing support for Fedora 36 Server. All three successfully handle the most needed processes which are: Time zone and language configuration Disk partitioning Creation of user accounts and root password Configuration of network interfaces Installation of additional system packages as well as post-installation and first-boot scripts If we were to run another round of this poll today, would your vote be the same as it was back then, or would it be different? Colocation hits the sweet spot Citing the report drawn up by Grand View Research, "The global data center colocation market size was valued at USD 44.42 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 13.3% from 2021 to 2028 to reach USD 117.82 billion by 2028". Quite an impressive trend, don’t you think? Like many of its kind, this one has emerged mainly due to COVID-19. When the pandemic swept the world, it changed the rules of the game once and for all, pushing thousands of companies outside the comfort zone in order to stay afloat in this competitive marketplace. With more and more employees working from home, and the explosion of our virtual interactions, the colocation route makes now more sense business-wise than ever. Expanding the colocation-related capabilities of EasyDCIM, therefore, felt like the only right direction for the platform to grow in. Consequently, in version 1.9.1, all data center owners are assisted by new actions when handling colocation orders: Enable/disable traffic aggregation ports Delete RRD files with graphs and traffic data Remove the activity log entries Unassign network ports/colocation devices But introducing these options didn’t seem functionally enough to call it a day. That’s why we took it even a tad further and enhanced the EasyDCIM’s client area with a list of network ports assigned to each colocation (with instant access to numbers behind data consumption), as well as a brand-new section specifically for adding and removing rDNS records within the colocation. Looking at how well the colocation data center market is doing today, would it actually be too bold of a move to jump on the bandwagon, and see for yourself where it gets you? Still to make friends with Debian 11? We know there’s a lot on your plate already, but as someone who cares about you a lot, we feel compelled to make sure that migrating to Debian 11 hasn't slipped too far down your to-do list. We wouldn't be making such a big deal out of it if it weren't for the fact that without "bullseye" installed, you won't be able to benefit from EasyDCIM v1.9.0, nor from any future updates! Don’t forget we offer comprehensive assistance with this process, and by comprehensive we mean step-by-step instructions as well as the possibility of our team upgrading your current EasyDCIM server totally free of any charge! However much we have already revealed, don't let your curiosity be fully satisfied just yet. Spare another minute or two to scan the changelog of EasyDCIM v1.9.1 some further as it guarantees you a detailed insight into new criteria-based order matching as well as multiple other enhancements that belong to the realm of modern data center management. View the Changelog!

Considered "so good, there's simply no reason to not use it", Debian 11, with quite a suggestive nickname "bullseye", has become our next prime target as soon as it popped up on our radar back in 2021. It immediately seemed clear to us that turning integration with this particular Debian distribution into an official feature of EasyDCIM would be... a bullseye (pardon the pun). But what precisely does the transition from Debian 9 mean for EasyDCIM, and how does it justify calling the platform's 1.9.0 version a game-changer on so many functional levels? We're about to find out! The mother of all Ubuntu-based distributions Among all Linux distributions you could possibly think of, Debian, with almost three decades of growth, is continuously being ranked as the most stable and versatile one. Its leading position on the global stage can best be illustrated by the fact that other no less known distributions such as Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Elementary OS, etc. can find their roots in Debian. Did you know? Each Debian release gets a codename from a Toy Story character. In like manner, it is Woody's wild west horse from Toy Story 2 that has officially become the face of Debian 11. Eleven is your new lucky number Debian 11 premiered officially on August 14th, 2021 and, just like all previous releases, is going to be actively maintained for the next 5 years. And to give you a scale of how fruitful two years, one month and nine days of development can be - "bullseye" contains over 11,294 new packages out of an impressive number of 59,551 ready-to-use packages overall in Debian's repositories. As you can easily guess, it's quite impossible to do Debian 11 justice in just a few words, but we'll happily use this limited space to discuss the most impactful changes (as if we haven't already done so dozens of times in the office), which we believe are: Linux kernel 5.10 series with support for the exFAT (Extended File Allocation Table) filesystem used by default to mount exFAT filesystems. Several desktop environments, such as: Gnome 3.38, KDE Plasma 5.20, LXDE 11, LXQt 0.16, MATE 1.24, and Xfce 4.16. A huge variety of updated software packages, including: Apache, BIND DNS Server, Emacs, GIMP, LibreOffice, MariaDB, OpenSSH, Perl, PHP, PostgreSQL, Python, Rust, Samba, and Vim. The powerful combination of EasyDCIM v1.9.0 and Debian 11 will not fail to produce a vast range of benefits, with higher security and faster performance being those particularly welcome. A word of caution: Debian 9 "stretch" goes End of Life (EOL) on June 30th, 2022, and as such, will not receive any security updates after this date. In consequence, Debian 11 will from now on be the only supported system on which EasyDCIM can be installed. Our documentation has been updated with detailed guidelines that will walk you through migrating from Debian 9 according to the method you find suitable. EasyDCIM has got your back! Secondly, to ensure that you are never left without access to effective protection in the event of e.g. system failure, OS Installation extension returns in the 1.9.6 version with an updated equipment meant to help you with various admin tasks: Clonezilla 2.8.1-12 Memtest86+ 5.31b GParted 1.3.1 Hiren's BootCD PE 1.0.2 A new face of power outlet management Another bold feature of EasyDCIM v1.9.0 puts the spotlight on the range of PDU drivers which has been momentously expanded to cover a new driver supporting Dell rPDUs devices. The list of available actions handled by PDU Management v1.2.2 extension include, inter alia, automatic device detection with easy viewing of key parameters as well as power usage monitoring simplified with a graph.   While we focused on highlighting Debian 11 support along with a few other newcomers in EasyDCIM v1.9.0 that we're personally most thrilled about, the changelog will, as always, detail every single kind of modernization that the platform has gone through. If you are eager to figure out which one is your own favorite, there's only one quick step left for you to take: View the Full Changelog!

As a data center owner, spare time isn’t likely something you have at hand in overly large amounts. There are quite a few things we imagine that you have a lot of though... like tasks to accomplish, and deadlines to meet. So how not to break down under the strain of overwork and carry through the business chores in a shorter time? With EasyDCIM v1.8.3 of course! Leap into (bulk) action! We would not do justice to the mightily time-saving nature of this just finished 1.8.3 release without turning the spotlight on a brand-new feature empowering you to add devices or items in bulk. The "Mass Add" tool has been introduced to free you from the repetitive, mundane task of manually creating inventory items one by one... We're getting a headache just thinking about it. Fortunately, those rough times are over, as now you can easily - and above all quickly - add as many devices or items of the same type as you only need. If you take a good look around this new set of equipment, you certainly won’t fail to spot an additional option for managing the bulk import from a CSV file. The possibility to import data about all your devices and items at once will come in particularly useful for new EasyDCIM users during the early phase of migration from other systems. And to make this entire process as comfortable as it is express, the form of the table with inventory elements mirrors that of the world-popular Google Sheets (with all proportions intact). Next chapter of visual makeover What only adds to the modern look and feel of EasyDCIM, manifested specifically in the visually pleasing 1.8.0 edition, is a new driver based on "Chart.js" that has been implemented to handle interactive graphs in the backend. Naturally, previous graph types are still supported, so you can freely specify in the global system settings which one exactly you would like to apply. Apart from an even more tasteful model of data visualization, the update is also responsible for enriching the repertoire of available graphs with as many as 13 new ones, presenting such important insights as: Aggregate Traffic Average Packet Size Load Network Traffic Percent Utilization Ping Power Usage Remote Agent Status Remote Poller Performance Status Traffic Unicast Packets User Aggregate Traffic Greater controllability at hand Is he using his port too much again? No worries, you no longer have to stand idly by. Because next time one of your customers starts generating a high traffic on their Arista VEOS device, you can simply change the allowed speed of their port to a lower one. All credit goes to Switch Management For EasyDCIM v1.4.1. Working hard will only get you far but working smart will propel your business to heights you have never even dreamed of. The changelog will take it from here to bring you up to speed on other newly established powers within EasyDCIM v1.8.3. Enjoy! View the Full Changelog!

For a rapidly growing control panel that deals with countless types of data center operations on a daily basis, keeping up with the times seems to be the only right New Year’s resolution. And even though we are still a few days away from officially stepping into 2022 with this very goal close at heart, we are closing the EasyDCIM’s busiest year of development yet with a true cherry on top - a spanking-new 1.8.2 release which apart from following the current trends and customer expectations, progresses in leaps and bounds into the future, especially in the field of effective control over switch devices. VLAN management got smarter… again! Juniper was today joined by the switches based on the HPE Comware Software and Arista VEOS systems in the group of officially supported devices. Just like the previous addition, this pair of newly implemented drivers is responsible for allowing you to manage VLANs as well as toggle the network ports on and off without the need to use any other protocols. Switch Management For EasyDCIM, with its latest 1.4.0 edition, is an extension where all the key actions on VLANs happen, including that of: VLAN addition, VLAN assignment to the network port (either singly or in bulk), automatic detection during the device’s polling process. Let all those craving an even more sophisticated understanding of the subject feel cordially invited to explore our documentation loaded with various business-critical insights. Zero in on furthered Proxmox VE support Another major step up for the automatic OS installation has been scored by adding the leading-edge generation 7.1 of Proxmox Virtual Environment to the rich portfolio of system templates - all for your clients to acquire instant access to a number of functional capabilities of this ultra-modern platform for virtual machines and containers management. But that’s not the only reason why we are bringing OS Installation For EasyDCIM right before your eyes today – let’s not forget that Debian 11 "bullseye" system template also forms a central part of the extension’s fine-tuned 1.9.5 update. Feeling tempted to delve much deeper into this brand-new spot on the EasyDCIM’s growth map, and learn how to work the above described along with multiple other supplies of freshly unlocked powers straight into your data center business? View the Full Changelog!

Now that the quality graphics of "Locations" and "Floors & Racks" sections have smoothly blended into your everyday workflows, making your admin experience as aesthetically pleasing as it is technologically advanced, the timing is perfect to unlock more doors to EasyDCIM's functional growth. Though the expanded PDU management capacities alone can elevate it to the must-have status, this article highlights a few more reasons why the all-new EasyDCIM v1.8.1 deserves every ounce of attention it can get. Raritan takes the stage What many shall view as the centerpiece of this stand-out release - and quite rightly so - is PDU Management For EasyDCIM v1.2.1 which has had its collection of PDU drivers enlarged with support for Raritan devices - more specifically, for their PX2 and PX3 series. Something to think about: Raritan’s intelligent solutions have been chosen by more than 60,000 data centers around the globe - including 9 of the top 10 Fortune 500 technology companies. Among the key features that we developed with Raritan’s PX PDUs in mind you will find, for example, detecting devices along with their key parameters via the Auto-Discovering process, controlling the status of power outlets as well as collecting real-time data on power usage in graph form. Two more reasons to appreciate JAVA KVM IPMI Integration For EasyDCIM is back in a vastly updated 1.4.2 version featuring a couple of new drivers for the JAVA KVM console: one dedicated to HP iLO 5 and the other to Lenovo ThinkSystem (TSM) devices. Whether either of these two is a likely choice for your business, we’ll leave it for you to decide, and instead focus just on reminding how important, yet often unseen role the KVM console plays these days. Working as an application in your browser, the console’s job is to imitate a real-time keyboard, video, and mouse (KVM) interaction with your servers from any remote location. To put it more visually, if that helps your understanding: imagine as if you were sitting directly in front of your server - this is precisely how easy it is to operate your devices with the use of a KVM console. Another attractive OS alternative at hand The guide to our favorite additions of EasyDCIM v1.8.1 could not possibly be complete without mentioning the growing catalog of OS templates. Included in OS Installation For EasyDCIM v1.9.4, the latest template is responsible for the automatic installation of Windows Server 2022, the system which continues to be quite a hot-button issue in the eyes of the IT community. Interestingly, Windows Server 2022 did not become known for an outstanding set of features in the first place, but rather for its pretty unusual - to say the least - way of announcing its own general availability, far less festive than the one which made Bill Gates dance 26 years ago. However, it would be grossly unfair not to give Microsoft credit for a number of new solutions contained in Windows Server 2022 that rank it as the most sophisticated version to date. The most noticeable enhancements include: ✓ Secured-core server - Apply an active multi-layered protection against advanced attacks. ✓ Azure hybrid capabilities - Connect with Azure Arc to take advantage of assorted cloud services with on-premises Windows Server 2022. ✓ Flexible application platform - Benefit from 40% smaller Windows Containers images, better application compatibility and simplified Windows Container experience with Kubernetes. Help is on the way! A different yet just as valuable feature that was made available upon the update of OS Installation extension is a new SystemRescueCd 8.0.4 rescue template full of tools that will come in particularly useful when the need to restore the server configuration arises. Essentially, it secures an easy way to carry out many key actions on your computer such as creating or editing the hard disk partitions. We hope this article, though brief, shows clearly how many more doors EasyDCIM v1.8.1 has opened when it comes to efficient and trouble-free data center management. Make your next stop at our website as the full changelog of this release promises you an even wider variety of the newest developments to delve into. View the Changelog!

While growing the variety of EasyDCIM tools with ever more advanced solutions is an explicit goal, it is of equal weight for us to keep its equipment invariably easy in navigation and intuitive in regular use. But what exactly does it take for a control panel to be user-friendly? On August 25th, EasyDCIM makes a successful comeback in a 1.8.0 version, ready to bring some next-level thinking to the table, together with its newly minted "Locations" and "Floors & Racks" sections. Let’s unfold the map! As the user experience officially becomes a ranking factor in Google search results, it no longer comes as a shock that the times of text-heavy content are over (good riddance!), replaced by a way more digestible model of data visualizations. It was therefore only to be expected that we tap into this indisputable trend sooner rather than later. And voilà! The grand debut of two new sections of EasyDCIM is a tribute to an effortless, and visually aesthetic management of locations, floors and racks. Everything from generating a building view to placing racks in a grid of selected sizes is now based on easily navigable graphic representations. Hand in hand with the world map showing the exact location of each server, switch or PDU device, the "Locations" section invites you to scan statistics on either all or single locations in the system as well as traffic and power usage presented in graph form. The "Floors & Racks" section features the building’s 2D view where you can create a grid for each floor and locate rack cabinets in any preferred position with no more than just a few clicks. This one is also equipped with a handy set of graphs and figures to let you quickly drill down into specific pockets of information on floors and racks. [gallery link="file" size="large" ids="3027,3028"] No such thing as too much choice OS Installation For EasyDCIM extension continues to be more and more versatile with its collection of system templates. To satisfy a popular demand, its 1.9.3 edition unlocks the automatic installation of: 1. Rocky Linux 8 - named after one CentOS co-founder (Rocky McGaugh) and kicked off by the other (Gregory Kurtzer) in direct response to Red Hat’s strategy shift towards CentOS Stream, Rocky Linux has proven instantly popular as a free, "bug-for-bug compatible" drop-in replacement distro for the RHEL distribution. See Kurtzer himself praising the project on LinkedIn: 2. Oracle Linux 8 - aspiring to the title of the fastest-growing Linux distribution on the market, Oracle Linux is a freely distributed open source OS that is fully compatible - both source and binary - with RHEL, and suited to enterprise-class workloads. If you are eager to learn some salient facts about other operating systems hailed as the most functionally capable to fill the void left by CentOS, this article is your next go-to guide. More functional powers on tap Just in case you are wondering, that is still not all EasyDCIM v1.8.0 has up its sleeve. Go ahead and dig around for more updates packed into the following extensions: IPMI Integration For EasyDCIM v1.4.1 PDU Management For EasyDCIM v1.2.0 EasyDCIM v1.8.0 with its brand-new layer of graphics is much more than just pleasing to the eye. It improves scannability and reduces mouse clicks by providing a high-level snapshot of the absolute essentials - locations, floors and racks, with at-a-glance views of how much data transfer is used. And that’s all at a fraction of the time it would take to get the same meaning from just the numerical data! So, are you ready to take your data center beyond the bare figures? View the Full Changelog!

What can safely be described as the end of an era is unfolding right before our eyes. The EOL of CentOS as we all know it. The news of this unlooked-for farewell that shocked the entire community triggers a rather obvious question: "What to do now?" To make answering a bit easier for you, we are today delivering our latest brainchild - EasyDCIM v1.7.4 kitted up with three entirely new system templates going hand in hand with a major bonus for IPMI proxy servers. As for April 28th, 2021, CentOS Linux is actively used by 4.7% of all the websites whose operating system is known to public. However, that level is doomed to drop radically in the months to come, all because of the latest Red Hat announcement about shifting focus exclusively to CentOS Stream. CentOS under the microscope CentOS, which stands for the Community Enterprise Operating System, is a 100% rebuild of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. While RHEL is a paid product, CentOS has always had a definite advantage over it due to being a free community-inspired Linux distro. Developers and companies with first-hand experience in Linux in most cases have opted for CentOS to kill two birds with one stone - that is, to save money, and work with enterprise-class software at the same time. But the free ride is over. What’s next? Even with the support for CentOS Linux 8 being maintained up until the end of 2021, many people are already considering replacement - and who could blame them? To spare you the research, we are sharing what we found to be among the no. 1 alternatives on the market. 1. AlmaLinux, created by CloudLinux and launched with the code-name Project Lenix, is a community-driven, free and open-source Linux operating system, self-proclaimed to be the perfect replacement for CentOS 8. The first stable version of AlmaLinux was released just a month ago, on March 30th, 2021. ✓ When asked "Why Alma?", Igor Seletskiy, CEO & Founder of CloudLinux explained: "At CloudLinux, we have benefited from the dedicated, nourishing efforts of the Linux community - just like everyone else that relies on a Linux-powered OS. This community is the soul of Linux – and in the spirit of a dedicated community, we decided to call our new distribution Alma: a Latin-language word for soul." ✓ Some others say AlmaLinux may owe its name to the goal of capturing the soul of CentOS. ✓ AlmaLinux created a non-profit organization called AlmaLinux Open Source Foundation meant to take over managing the future project development. ✓ CloudLinux granted a $1 million annual endowment to support AlmaLinux until at least 2029. 2. CloudLinux, the origins of which reach as far back as 2010, needs no special introduction. It is a community-supported Linux operating system known for delivering advanced management of resources, strengthened security and a high-quality performance tailored specifically towards the multi-tenant hosting ecosystem. 3. CentOS Stream is a logical and interesting alternative. It is a rolling-release distro, serving as the upstream development branch of RHEL. It has been brought into being as an initiative to bridge the gap between the surging Fedora and the latest stable release of CentOS.   // The above analysis of the emerging trends in the data center space laid the groundwork for what has become a prime addition to the OS Installation For EasyDCIM extension. Updated vastly into the 1.9.2 version, it now features three entirely new system templates to ease the installation process of: AlmaLinux 8 CloudLinux 8 CentOS Stream 8 With so many alternatives available for immediate use, the demise of CentOS doesn’t sound so terrifying anymore, does it?   A new face of IPMI proxy servers We wouldn't be ourselves if we didn't introduce at least one more enhancement to the brand-new release. And here it is! You probably think: "But IPMI proxy is hardly news". Technically yes, but to make it work properly so far you had to configure an additional physical server, which in a way was a needless waste of the resources. Upon promoting the IPMI Integration For EasyDCIM extension to the 1.4.0 version, IPMI proxy servers have been moved to remote agents. Now all you need to do is configure a proxy server, and specify in the settings which remote agent should use it. No additional data to connect, no additional servers. Easy and resource-friendly! Among the other new IPMI proxy-related features that made it into EasyDCIM you will spot: three predefined JAVA versions to choose from in place of just one an all-new possibility to change the JAVA version for a proxy server downloading JAVA KVM applets now taking place on the remote agent instead of on the EasyDCIM main server to avoid problems with network configuration   How did you take the news of the CentOS project coming to a close? Even if you consider the Red Hat’s decision to be a somewhat controversial move, you have no other choice but to face its consequences. But you do not have to shoot in the dark, luckily. Spare an extra minute to scroll through the rest of changes in EasyDCIM v1.7.4, and make it your most trusted business partner! View the Changelog!

In every story there is always an unsung hero, the one who does a great deal of job and pushes the course of action forward but remains unnoticed and receives little or no recognition. Would you agree that in the data center world the role of such a gray eminence is performed by PDU devices? The EasyDCIM v1.7.3 release that we have the genuine pleasure to trumpet today, places the PDU devices much in the foreground and widens the selection of PDU drivers you now have the full convenience to choose from. New PDU drivers suite Here's a quick reminder on what the PDU is for those who need their memory refreshed: PDU stands for Power Distribution Unit, and simply put, is a device for distributing and managing large amounts of electricity within a data center environment. PDU Management For EasyDCIM v1.1.0 received a solid update to include drivers to such two intelligent PDU devices. One of them is Sentry Switched PDU which offers SNMP traps delivering automated alerts for power and environmental conditions via Syslog and email as well as the possibility to add extra outlets under one IP address. The second one is PowerAlert PDU which, thanks to free NMS software, aims at reducing troubleshooting time by providing a color-coded alarm history in an easy-to-read list format. PDU devices under close guard The red-hot 1.7.3 version of EasyDCIM has a much wider repertoire of novelties in the realm of PDU management. It grants you the power to handle the status of power outlets and control the electricity supply just with the use of these no-sweat actions: Outlet On, Outlet Off and Outlet Reboot. Feeling a shiver of excitement down your spine already? Sit down comfortably in the armchair and watch carefully for more because the Auto-Discovering process will automatically detect devices which are connected to the network. That is still not enough because the PDU Management extension is at the ready mode to present you with a whole lot of information about the detected devices. It may give you a sense of being a data bank or a sort of a fact file for a while when the Auto-Discovering process will reveal the type, model, series number, label and producer of the piece of hardware it has just detected. And know what? There are still more experiences that come with the just-out EasyDCIM 1.7.3 because the freshly added feature will not let you guess the levels of power usage during the device's polling process as it collects the information automatically for you. API-based PowerDNS 4 support The special requests of our clients encouraged us to stretch the list of available DNS submodules. DNS Management For EasyDCIM v1.4.0 has been tuned to connect with PowerDNS 4 via API, and this substantial change brings about a wide range of handy tools to you. They are meant not only to import the existing DNS zones, but also add and later on edit them whenever the need arises - without leaving the device view. The creation of rDNS records can be performed just as easily. To work up your curiosity for more, let's also give a mention to new advanced filtering options that are now available in the extension's tables to facilitate the search of DNS zones and records. Although the extent of improvements waiting to be discovered is much larger than what can possibly be covered here, there is one last feature deserving a spotlight - KVM console support for Dell PowerEdge C6100 and C6220 devices introduced to IPMI Integration For EasyDCIM v1.3.1. But not to spoil you the fun of exploring the remaining details of EasyDCIM v1.7.3, you are more than warmly invited to treat yourself to the full changelog! Let’s dive right in!

There’s no denying that we always aim at surpassing our own expectations, and defining ever higher standards in development of EasyDCIM. Could we resist sharing with you another ambitious goal accomplished in the platform’s 1.7.2 version that just saw the light of day? Of course not. We just can’t hold the excitement in as we announce that one of the features most frequently asked for is now a part of EasyDCIM! Before we show you around the variety of advantages that the spanking new VLAN Management is about to fit into your business, let’s get back to basics for a minute. What is a VLAN? A VLAN stands for Virtual Local Area Network, and is meant to gather a set of network ports on a switching device into a single broadcast domain. In a VLAN, computers, servers, and other network devices are logically connected so they can freely communicate with each other, regardless of their physical location. Created as a response to specific problems that may occur in switched environments, VLANs provide increased operational capacities, and allow effortless segmentation of the network. VLANs Management As from the 1.7.2 version, EasyDCIM is equipped with a brilliantly inventive mechanism of VLAN Management that supports Juniper devices with JUNOS 12.3R12-S12. A diverse range of functionalities aimed at handling VLANs has been introduced into Switch Management For EasyDCIM v1.3.0 module, and consists of such actions as: integration with the NETCONF protocol, automatic detection of VLANs during the process of a device polling, adding VLANs, assigning a single or multiple VLANs to a network port of a switch. [gallery link="file" size="medium" ids="2849,2847,2846,2850,2848"] Provisioning VLANs One very important detail of the whole release is advanced support for VLANs during the provisioning process of your device. This profound feature extends the purpose of IP Address Management For EasyDCIM 1.8.0 module by creating the possibility to mark VLANs of a switch as provisioning VLANs. EasyDCIM will from now on come as supremely helpful in a situation when a switch has a few VLANs, and you need to select one that shall be used during the installation of operating system on dedicated servers. This way, before launching the process, a given port of a switch will be transferred to the provisioning VLAN. Once the installation is complete, the previous VLAN for this network port will be restored. Let’s dispel any possible doubts with this quick example: Your dedicated server has a network interface that is connected to the switch port ge-0/0/3. This switch port is located in the appropriate VLAN destined for this server, that is "VLANServer10". Now, the IP Address Management module allows you to decide that "VLANProvisioning" is intended for the operating system installation of this switch. Once you run the installation on a dedicated server, EasyDCIM will automatically transfer the network port of the switch ge-0/0/3 to the VLAN "VLANProvisioning". As soon as the process has been finished, the previous VLAN "VLANServer10" will be restored. SNMP Auto-Discovering We pulled out all the stops to supply the Auto-Discovering process with ultra-competitive functionalities that will raise the performance bar of EasyDCIM a notch further. As a result, the whole mechanism of automatic device detection has been transferred to the servers of Remote Agents. Not only will it bring relief to the platform’s main server that no longer needs to have access to SNMP dedicated servers or switches, but also tighten up network security, as well as enhance the efficiency of the process from A to Z. Debian Non-Free Drivers It comes as no surprise that Debian is one of the most powerful Linux distributions given how widely appreciated it is for security, stability as well as an excellent system of package management that has proven to be very supportive when coming across certain dependency issues. The current stable distribution is Debian Buster which is the development codename for Debian 10. It is a well-deserved follower of the previous Debian Stretch that stands for the development of Debian 9. During the installation of the operating system, the installer detects the appropriate devices, and adjusts the drivers for these devices. Unfortunately, the installer has only standard built-in drivers with limited support for some types of devices. In some cases the installer may detect the need to use a non-free driver, and a user is asked to provide the firmware to complete the installation process successfully. Such a situation commonly occurs with wireless network cards which require non-free firmware to work properly. EasyDCIM v1.7.2 delivers a perfect solution to this bothersome problem. Now, the administrator is empowered to indicate the appropriate URL that contains the driver package for devices that previously fell outside the scope of support.   Rest assured that the above rundown through EasyDCIM v1.7.2 is nowhere near to being complete, and many more substantial upgrades are not to be missed - all listed neatly in the changelog! View The Changelog!