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Russell Smith, the Editorial Director at Petri IT Knowledgebase, has over two decades of hands-on experience in IT, in both small business settings and government IT infrastructure projects.
Russell started writing for Windows IT Pro Magazine in the early 2000s. Since then, he has contributed insights to various IT publications, including Petri and CDW. His authoritative voice has resonated across industry blogs, where he dissects complex topics into an ‘easy read’.
Russell has authored over a thousand articles, each a testament to his depth of knowledge. His expertise doesn’t stop there: he wrote a book on Privilege Management and co-authored another for Microsoft’s MOAC series. Moreover, Russell’s commitment to education shines through in the courses he crafted for Pluralsight.
He is also presenter on his own YouTube channel, This Week in IT, and the current presenter of Petri Dish.

Last Update: Sep 24, 2024
Skip the Windows Store and discover how to download the Windows 8.1 RTM bits in this easy how-to article.

Last Update: Sep 24, 2024
Corrupted files a problem? Learn to force a spotfix offline repair using chkdsk in Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8 in this Ask an Admin.

Last Update: Sep 24, 2024
Is Resilient File System (ReFS) in Windows Server 2012 ready for production? Check out our list of pros and cons of using ReFS in this Ask an Admin.

Last Update: Sep 24, 2024
SSL sites fighting over one IP address? In this Ask an Admin, learn to host multiple SSL websites on IIS8 when there is only a single IP address and port.

Last Update: Sep 24, 2024
Improve security when connecting to remote desktops by using Restricted Admin mode! Check out this handy Ask an Admin article.

Last Update: Sep 24, 2024
Still haven’t tried PowerShell? In this Ask an Admin, check out the PowerShell History Viewer in Active Directory Administrative Center.

Last Update: Sep 24, 2024
Use DHCP policy-based assignment in Windows Server 2012 to simplify network management.

Last Update: May 24, 2025
In this Ask an Admin, find out how to make a Windows Server 2012 DC as a global catalog server using Active Directory.

Last Update: Sep 24, 2024
Prevent your users and client computers from accessing Windows Store! Learn how using these easy steps in this Ask an Admin.

Last Update: Sep 24, 2024
In this Ask an Admin, discover how to use auditpol to get effective audit policy settings in Windows Server 2012!

Last Update: Sep 24, 2024
Learn to mount .iso and VHD files in Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8 without burning the image to disk in this Ask an Admin! It’s easy!

Last Update: Sep 24, 2024
In this Ask an Admin, learn to use constrained endpoints to allow users to connect remotely using PowerShell without granting administrative privileges.