Make it …

System admins live inside the details. "Make it work … make it faster … make it secure … ." Our computer systems keep changing, and the tools and techniques for managing those systems follow their own mysterious evolution. At Admin magazine, we watch the story of the network unfold. You'll find in-depth articles on all the topics that matter to system administrators: virtualization, performance tuning, interoperability. At Admin magazine, we help you find better, safer ways to manage your systems.

We start this issue with a study of several IPsec implementations. You'll learn which systems work best together, and you'll get a glimpse at how to set up secure IP networking using KAME/Racoon, Windows, Solaris, Cisco, Checkpoint, Juniper, and Fortigate IPsec variants.

We also describe the latest developments in the Open-Xchange collaboration server, which includes new interfaces, enhanced mobile support, and better Outlook integration. We study the Request Tracker help desk ticketing system, and we show you how to run your own web applications on Google's servers with Google App Engine.

Elsewhere inside, you learn about the Pulp central repository system. You'll take a flight with the Univention virtual infrastructure management tool, and you'll get a look at Citrix provisioning services.

We bring network monitoring into focus with an article on the Windows monitoring tools PRTG Network Monitor, with its mobile iPRTG app, and NetCrunch, as well as a close look at how to monitor server hardware with the Nagios IPMI plugin. Also up ahead, Nagios users will be interested to discover an exclusive interview with Nagios founder Ethan Galstad.

If you monitor, manage, or configure real-world computer networks, you're sure to find something you can use in this issue of Admin magazine.