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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
Manage Active Directory Groups Using PowerShell
Last Update: May 24, 2025
- Jul 08, 2016
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Russell Smith
In this Ask the Admin, Russell Smith shows you how to create AD groups using PowerShell, how to add parameters when creating an AD group using the Windows PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE), and then modify (or remove) AD group membership using PowerShell.
Office 365 Tip: Exchange Server Retention Policies
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Jul 07, 2016
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Russell Smith
In today’s Ask the Admin, I’ll explain how to use Retention Policies in Exchange Server, Exchange Online and Office 365. Hoarding information seems to be a hobby for many of us, and if you’ve ever been an Exchange administrator, you’ll be familiar with the problem of users who are determined to store every last email…
Enabling HTTPS for PowerShell Remoting in Windows Server 2012 R2
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Jul 05, 2016
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Russell Smith
In today’s Ask the Admin, I’ll kill two birds with one stone by showing you how to enable secure PowerShell Remoting in Azure virtual machines (VMs) and on-premises servers running Windows Server 2012 R2.
What Is Exchange Online Archiving?
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Jun 27, 2016
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Russell Smith
Learn all about Exchange Online Archiving, a set of optional features that can be purchased separately from Exchange Online, which is also included in some Office 365 plans.
Windows Server 2012 R2: Get a list of active Remote Desktop Users
Last Update: Jun 04, 2025
- Jun 16, 2016
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Russell Smith
In today’s Ask the Admin, I’ll show you how to quickly get a list of users connected to a server via Remote Desktop (RDP).
Create a GitHub Repository
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Jun 09, 2016
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Russell Smith
In today’s Ask the Admin, I’ll show you how to create a repo in GitHub that you can use with Azure DevTest Labs. As we move more towards using declarative configuration technologies like Azure Resource Manager (ARM), PowerShell Desired State Configuration (DSC), and in the not too distant future Azure Stack for Windows Server 2016,…
Understanding In-Place Hold and Litigation Hold in Exchange
Last Update: Jun 05, 2025
- Jun 06, 2016
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Russell Smith
In today’s Ask the Admin, Russell Smith explains the difference between an in-place hold and a litigation hold in Exchange.
Create an Azure Network Security Group using ARM PowerShell
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- Jun 02, 2016
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Russell Smith
Learn how to create a Network Security Group in Azure, using PowerShell Azure Resource Manager, to control inbound and outbound traffic.
Azure DevTest Labs Reaches General Availability
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- May 31, 2016
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Russell Smith
Learn more about Microsoft’s new Azure DevTest Labs service and what it has to offer to developers and sysadmins.
Setting Application Control Policies with Microsoft’s AppLocker
Last Update: Nov 19, 2024
- May 27, 2016
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Russell Smith
Russell Smith shows us how best to set up application control policies in Windows using AppLocker.
Deploy an Azure VM to an Existing Domain using an ARM Template
Last Update: Nov 19, 2024
- May 26, 2016
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Russell Smith
Learn how to add a member server to an existing domain using a Microsoft Azure Resource Manager (ARM) template.
Windows 10: Stop Data Flow to Microsoft
Last Update: Sep 04, 2024
- May 24, 2016
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Russell Smith
Russell Smith shows us how to stop various Windows 10 apps and OS components from sending or receiving data to and from Microsoft.