Internet Data Centers offer an attractive option for companies with the need to host applications that are delivered to a geographically dispersed user base.

For costs that are well within the IT budget of virtually any small business (often starting as low as $100 per month), companies can immediately enjoy the advantages of housing their equipment in a professional-grade Data Center whose benefits include Internet availability that usually exceeds 99.999% uptime, greatly reduced savings in management expenses due to the elimination of common infrastructure failures, lighting-fast Internet connections that are usually at least 60 times faster than the fastest Internet connections available to most small businesses, the highest levels of physical security, and electrical power that is immune to blackouts, brownouts, and internal breakdown.

Data Centers offer useful features including "remote hands" capability, a service in which Data Center staff can provide rudimentary but valuable assistance such as pushing a reset button or power cycling a server. This value-added service avoids the cost of having your in-house support personnel travel to the office to perform simple troubleshooting steps. Better yet, such Data Center services are available on a 24x7 basis, 365 days a year, relieving stress and cutting expenses by dramatically simplifying the logistics required to maintain high network availability.

There are over 75 mission-critical class Internet Data Centers in Northern California, and Progent's Data Center consulting experts can help you select one that meets the particular requirements of your business, including geographic proximity, space, connectivity, affordability, and value-added features and services.

For companies concerned about the risks associated with potentially catastrophic impacts caused by major earthquakes in the Bay Area, world-class Data Centers in the Sacramento area offer close proximity to your business while significantly reducing your network's exposure to damage from seismic events.

Internet Data Centers are especially appealing to small businesses because of their affordability and feasibility in comparison to taking a do-it-yourself approach. Trying to build an in-house data center with even a minimum level of fault tolerance by installing features such as a local computer room generator for power protection, redundant air conditioning systems, multiple Internet T1 lines, and a physically secure infrastructure, is for most small businesses either impossible due to facility limitations or financially prohibitive.

By using multiple data centers, businesses can enhance not only fault-tolerance but also performance. For example, by deploying F5 Networks' BIG-IP controller in each data center to load balance a farm of web servers, and then F5's BIG-IP Global Traffic Manager (formally 3-DNS) product at each data center, Internet traffic will be spread automatically between multiple, geographically dispersed sites. The BIG-IP Global Traffic Manager routes web requests to different data centers based on their proximity to the requester, availability and current utilization/response times. This approach can accelerate application performance by up to three times, ensure that priority applications are served first, and offload expensive server cycles. For more information about Progent's support for fault tolerant technology from F5 Networks, visit Load Balancing Consulting.

Additional High Availability Solutions Supported by Progent
Progent's certified consulting experts can assist you build an efficient, non-stop network that resolves key problems encompassing a broad array of networking solutions and operations including:

24x7 Internet Connectivity Architecture
Progent's Cisco-authorized IT consultants can help you design an economical, fault tolerant Internet configuration solution that can achieve non-stop Internet connectivity via a broad array of fault tolerant Internet network technologies including high availability BGP, transparent fail-over, and redundant ISPs. Progent offers CCIE consultants to show you how to apply the latest technology for fault tolerant Internet access to build an affordable, completely redundant Internet interface with automatic failover and other capabilities to deliver non-stop Internet access. For details, visit Non-stop Internet Access Architecture

Microsoft Server 2008 Clustering
The cluster technology built into the high-end editions of MS Windows Server 2008 is dramatically re-engineered to simplify the installation, setup, and administration of clusters that offer greater levels of network availability, protection, performance, and flexibility. New or improved features include automated cluster Validation, revamped configuration and deployment, improved cluster management, redesigned cluster infrastructure for increased uptime, hardened security and quorum structure, elimination of failure points, more disk and memory capacity, and enhancements for geographically dispersed clusters. To read more, go to Windows Failover Clustering Expertise.

Microsoft Windows 2003 Server Cluster
Progent provides Windows 2003 Cluster Server assistance to help your company deploy fault-tolerant clustered servers designed to provide 24x7 operation. Clustered Windows servers for high-availability systems include Windows Cluster Server, Microsoft SQL Server Cluster, and Exchange Cluster. By assisting you to create fault-tolerant server clustering environments around Microsoft Windows Server Cluster 2003, Progent’s certified Windows consultants make sure that your fault-tolerant server clusters are set up to optimize the business advantage of your IT network. To find out more, see Microsoft Windows 2003 Cluster Server Consulting.

High Availability Load Balancing
Progent provides fault tolerant load balancing support that addresses network load balancing, load balanced applications, network infrastructure routing, and content dispatching products including Cisco Content Engine. High availability load balancing vendors for which Progent offers consulting services include Windows 2003 and 2008 Server Network Load Balancing Manager, Citrix Metaframe and Presentation Server, Cisco Content Services Switch, Cisco Content Engine and ACNS, and F5 Networks 3-DNS. To find out more, see Non-stop Load Balancing.

High-Availability Inter-office Networking
Progent’s non-stop inter-site connectivity and 24x7 network connection professionals can help small companies create fault tolerant Interoffice connectivity by means of redundant networks featuring automatic failover. Progent’s Cisco-certified Cisco Certified Internetwork Experts can plan and implement ultra-reliable Inter-office networks based on non-stop EIGRP network routers or fault tolerant OSPF deployment of Cisco routers. Progent can show you how multi-path connections and transparent fail-over can provide economical non-stop interoffice networking. For details, visit Fault Tolerant Interoffice Connectivity.

Disaster Recovery Consulting
Progent's disaster recovery planning and business continuity consultants can show you how to create a disaster recovery plan in case of an IT system disaster. Progent can help you create a complete disaster recovery plan that incorporates scheduled disaster recovery assessments and testing. Progent's Microsoft and Cisco-authorized professionals can also show you how to create an affordable, high-availability system architecture that addresses reliability issues involving a wide array of network technologies and procedures. To find out more, see Business Continuity Consulting and Support Services.

Data Protection Manager (DPM) Data Recovery Consulting
Progent's expert System Center Data Protection Manager engineers can help you to develop a practical business continuity strategy, implement an affordable high-availability IT infrastructure, install a Microsoft DPM-powered backup and recovery solution, thoroughly test your system, educate your IT personnel or local consultants how to maintain Data Protection Manager, or handle extensive information technology outsourcing services such as off-site housing of Data Protection Manager machines in Progent's world-class data center. For more information, see Microsoft Data Protection Manager Consulting and Support Services.

Why Companies Select Progent
Because Progent is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and provides professional application expertise for a wide variety of small business software programs, Progent can help customers to find efficient information technology solutions that substantially enhance the business value of your IT network. As a Registered Partner for Cisco Systems, Progent can provide the expertise of certified consultants and specialists with experience in architecting, installing and troubleshooting infrastructure environments built on Cisco products. The breadth of Progent's technical experience and Progent's sensitivity to the requirements of small and midsize businesses make Progent a great partner for creating and running an affordable, dependable information system.

How to Access Progent's Engineers for Non-stop System Support
To contact Progent about technical support for fault tolerant networking, phone 1-800-993-9400 or e-mail fault-tolerant-help@progent.com.