Follow Russell
Russell Smith
Editorial DirectorRussell 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.
LATEST
How to Set Up SMS-Based Authentication for Microsoft 365 and Azure Active Directory Users
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Oct 13, 2020
-
Russell Smith
Configure SMS-based sign-in for Azure Active Directory and Microsoft 365 users.
How to Optimize Windows 10 VDI for Improved Performance and Density
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Oct 07, 2020
-
Russell Smith
In this article, we’ll look at how to optimize Windows 10 virtual machines for improved performance and VM density.
Using Microsoft Graph API To Help Admins Quickly Deploy Policies at Scale
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Oct 06, 2020
-
Russell Smith
Microsoft Graph Conditional Access support and insights make it easier to secure users at scale.
How to Set Up Passwordless Sign-in Using the Microsoft Authenticator App for Microsoft 365
Last Update: May 26, 2026
- Oct 06, 2020
-
Russell Smith
Improve security by setting up passwordless sign-in for Microsoft 365 users.
Everything You Need to Know About Windows – September 2020
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Oct 02, 2020
-
Russell Smith
Windows 10 feature updates could become once yearly, and Microsoft Ignite brings announcements for Edge and Windows Virtual Desktop.
Azure Arc Now Generally Available for Windows and Linux Servers
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Sep 29, 2020
-
Russell Smith
Azure Arc extends Azure’s management features to Windows and Linux servers regardless of their physical location.
Azure Backup Center Brings Unified Admin Experience for Management at Scale
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Sep 28, 2020
-
Russell Smith
Azure Backup Center provides a single pane of glass for managing backup of Azure resources at scale.
Azure Resource Mover and Zone-to-Zone Disaster Recovery Now Available
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Sep 23, 2020
-
Russell Smith
Azure Resource Mover provides a single pane of glass for managing cross-regions move operations.
Understanding How MDM Policies are Applied in Windows 10
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Sep 17, 2020
-
Russell Smith
Microsoft has improved Mobile Device Management in Windows 10 and it now works more like Group Policy.
Uncover Weaknesses in Active Directory Before Attackers Do
Last Update: Jul 28, 2025
- Sep 16, 2020
-
Russell Smith
For twenty years, Active Directory (AD) has been the cornerstone of identity management. Despite the popularity of cloud computing, AD remains a key part of the infrastructure that almost every IT service relies on for its security. Active Directory is vulnerable to attack Active Directory was designed for a world without cloud computing and where…
Microsoft Readies Windows Server 2021 with New Preview Builds
- Sep 15, 2020
-
Russell Smith
Microsoft releases two new Windows Server vNext builds with a comprehensive list of new features.
How to List Active Directory Privileged Group Membership Using PowerShell
Last Update: Jun 05, 2025
- Sep 09, 2020
-
Russell Smith
One of the biggest security issues that organizations face with Windows Server Active Directory is the proliferation of privileged accounts.