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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: Feb 07, 2025
In this Ask the Admin, Russell Smith shows you how to add a custom Azure role for restarting virtual machines.

Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
In this Ask the Admin, Russell Smith looks at what you need to take into consideration when planning access to privileged AD groups.

Last Update: Nov 19, 2024
In today’s Ask the Admin, Russell Smith looks at the prerequisites for setting up Microsoft Store for Business and show you how to set up your own private store.

Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
In this Ask the Admin, Russell Smith looks at how Windows Server Essentials can help small businesses manage File History, users recover files, and how it compares to other backup options.

Last Update: Nov 19, 2024
In this Ask the Admin, Russell Smith looks at how Azure File Sync works and how to enable it in the Azure management portal.

Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
In today’s Ask the Admin, Russell Smith explains the different licensing options for G Suite and how they compare to Office 365 plans.

Last Update: Jun 04, 2025
In this Ask the Admin, Russell Smith explains what Microsoft’s AD tier administrative model is and how it can improve security.

Last Update: Nov 19, 2024
In this Ask the Admin, Russell Smith looks at Microsoft SQL Server 2017 being available for the first time on Windows, Linux, and Docker and what this means for DevOps and database admins.

Last Update: May 24, 2025
In today’s Ask the Admin, I’ll look at Microsoft’s recommendations for securing Active Directory forests using its Enhanced Security Administrative Environment model.

Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
In this Ask the Admin, Russell Smith provides a brief overview of Microsoft’s Azure Confidential Computing technology and looks at how it might help persuade otherwise hesitant organizations to move sensitive data to the cloud.

Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
In this Ask the Admin, Russell Smith explains why you should use application control to restrict which Windows Store apps users can run.

Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
In this Ask the Admin, Russell Smith looks at the technical details of how Windows Defender Exploit Guard will replace the Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) in Windows 10.