Workplace Recovery Consulting for

Connectivity to the Internet has emerged as a mission-critical capability for many small businesses. The use of the Internet to distribute information has mushroomed to the point that many organizations are unable to perform day-to-day functions without Internet connectivity.

Traditional applications such as internal email clearly lose much of their value when they can’t be used to communicate with customers or vendors, but as organizations increasingly adopt Internet-based information delivery for line-of-business applications, even core functions can grind to a halt when Internet access becomes unavailable.

Until recently, only large organizations could afford to build fully redundant and transparent Internet connections that could survive a failed Internet link or router. Such seamless fault tolerance requires T1-class Internet lines, an option that in the past overstretched the budgets of most small businesses. As T1 prices have dropped to as low as a few $100 per month, and as alternative connections have become available, the opportunity for small businesses to achieve enterprise-class fault tolerance has become economically feasible. But even though the cost for lines has become affordable, the complexity of implementing these solutions has not.

Few small businesses have the in-house expertise required to work effectively with multiple ISPs, coordinate the necessary configuration steps with Internet numbering authority organizations, and implement advanced routing protocols such as Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) and Hot Standby Router Protocol (HSRP). Progent offers Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) consulting to help you apply the latest connectivity technology to implement a cost-effective fault-tolerant solution.

Today multiple options exist for building automatic and semi-automatic failover solutions. These can involve a mix of T1, DSL and wireless Internet connections. The viability of high-speed fixed-wireless links has recently opened up new alternatives for achieving transparent fault tolerance. By establishing diverse physical paths to the Internet, small businesses gain insurance against costly outages caused by events out of their control, such as a construction crew accidentally digging up phone lines.

As companies rush to deploy VoIP solutions, the potential productivity loss that could result from an interruption in Internet access increases dramatically. This creates another strong incentive to configure a fault-tolerant architecture. Current technologies from Cisco and other networking companies make it possible to build high-availability voice and data solution that have even better uptime potential than conventional voice and data services.

For small business with extremely limited budgets, fault-tolerant failover solutions are possible by utilizing redundant, low-cost DSL services. While not providing all the transparency of more complex and expensive solutions, this alternative can provide significant functionality and avoid costly productivity loss in the event of line failure.

As companies have shifted away from dedicated leased T1 and frame relay lines to Internet-based VPN connections, the demand for fault-tolerant Internet connectivity has accelerated. Businesses can apply the cost savings from retiring legacy leased circuits to upgrading their Internet infrastructure so that they will not only protect their connectivity to remote offices but also the Internet connectivity of office users. Absent those cost savings, many small companies are reluctant to invest in fault-tolerant Internet configurations.

Other High Availability Solutions Provided by Progent's Consultants
Progent's certified engineers can assist your company to build a sensible, zero-downtime system that resolves key issues covering a broad array of infrastructure technologies and processes including:

Disaster Recovery Planning
Progent's business continuity engineers can help you design a business continuity plan that will allow you to restore IT functionality in case of an information system catastrophe. Progent can help you to develop a complete disaster recovery strategy that includes periodic disaster recovery assessments and testing. Progent's Microsoft and Cisco-authorized consultants can also help you build an affordable, fault-tolerant network solution that addresses availability issues involving a broad array of network technologies and procedures. To read more, see Business Continuity Expertise.

Server Virtualization
Virtualization technology is central to any current disaster recovery solution. Virtual servers can be configured, updated, copied, and restored quickly and easily, providing a degree of versatility for achieving maximum uptime impossible to match with traditional physical servers. Progent can help you to plan and implement a virtualized solution powered by Microsoft Windows Hyper-V, which offers powerful business continuity features that include online system backup and live migration. Microsoft Windows Hyper-V can save most of the time and effort required for scheduled maintenance, failing over to hot backup data centers, and recovering normal network functions. For more information, see Windows Hyper-V Virtualization Consulting.

Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Failover Clusters
Windows Server 2008 R2 introduced enterprise-class fault tolerance and recoverability to Microsoft's clustering solution. Windows Server 2012 adds to this foundation and provides important improvements that offer increased expandability, non-stop storage availability for server applications, simpler administration, faster automatic failover, and more flexibility for designing failover clusters. For details, see Windows Server 2012 Clustering Consulting Services.

Windows Server 2008 R2 Failover Clusters
The clustering technology incorporated into the Datacenter and Enterprise versions of Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 is dramatically redesigned to simplify the deployment, configuration, and maintenance of clusters that provide greater levels of system dependability, protection, efficiency, and flexibility. New or enhanced features include cluster validation, easier setup and deployment, improved cluster management, new cluster infrastructure for increased availability, hardened security and quorum structure, elimination of failure points, greater disk and RAM capacity, and enhancements for geographically dispersed clusters. To read more, visit Windows ServerR2 2008 Clustering Support.

Network Load Balancing
Progent offers fault tolerant load balancing consulting covering system load balancing, load balanced applications, network backbone routing, and content delivery technology such as F5 Networks 3DNS. Fault tolerant load balancing solutions for which Progent offers consulting services include Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and 2008 Network Load Balancing Manager, Citrix Metaframe and Presentation Server, Cisco Content Services Switch, Cisco Distributed Director and Cisco CDN Software, and F5 Networks BIG-IP. To learn more, visit Non-stop Load Balancing.

Non-stop Data Centers
Progent's Data Center engineers can show you how to find fault-tolerant data centers that meet the specific needs of your company. Fault tolerant Internet Data Centers are particularly appealing to small and mid-size organizations because of their low cost and convenience compared to taking a do-it-yourself approach. Attempting to design an in-house data center that offers even a minimum degree of fault tolerance is financially prohibitive for typical small organizations. Progent can show you how to get all the benefits of non-stop Internet data centers by offering a full range of consulting and maintenance services. To learn more, go to Fault Tolerant Internet Data Centers Consulting.

Fault Tolerant Inter-office Connectivity
Progent’s inter-site network infrastructure engineers can help businesses achieve non-stop branch office connectivity solutions via fully redundant networks with transparent failover. Progent’s Cisco-qualified CCIE network engineers can design and implement high-availability Inter-office networks based on fault tolerant EIGRP network routers or fault tolerant OSPF configurations of Cisco routers. Progent can show you how multi-path connections and automatic fail-over offers economical non-stop interoffice networking. For more information, go to Failsafe Inter-office Networking.

Microsoft Data Protection Manager (DPM) Backup and Recovery Consulting and Support Services
Progent's expert System Center Data Protection Manager engineers can assist you to develop a practical business continuity strategy, design an affordable zero-downtime IT infrastructure, install a Data Protection Manager-based recovery solution, comprehensively test your system, educate your IT personnel or regular service providers how to maintain Data Protection Manager, or provide complete IT outsourcing such as off-site hosting of Microsoft DPM servers in Progent's data center. To learn more, go to Microsoft Data Protection Manager Expertise.

Fully Managed Offsite DPM Backup Service Package
Progent’s affordably priced Offsite DPM Backup Service Package incorporates the power of Data Protection Manager (DPM) with the state-of-the-art security facilities of the Herakles co-location center to provide continual, transparent backup for as much as 2.5 Terabytes of data from one or more of your Windows-powered servers. Progent's service package includes all configuration, management, and tracking required for a comprehensive offsite backup system. To find out more, visit Fully Managed Offsite DPM-based Backup Service Package.

Backup and Restore Solutions Consulting
Progent offers economical remote support from engineers skilled in a broad array of products and technologies that deliver solutions for backing up Windows, Mac, and Linux/UNIX servers and workstations as well as notebooks and smartphones. Progent can provide expertise for leading data protection products including Acronis Backup and Recovery, Backup Exec, BackupAssist, CrashPlan, Double-Take Software, MozyPro, Retrospect, Apple Time Machine, VMware Data Recovery (VDR), and Solaris FLARs. Progent's consultants can help you to install, enhance, or troubleshoot backup/restore systems for a variety of topologies including on-premise, edge to datacenter, cloud, or a mix. For more information, see Backup and Recovery Technology Consulting and Support Services.

Consulting for Double-Take Software for Backup/Restore
Double-Take Software publishes a selection of products intended to deliver small and midsize companies a range of cost-effective alternatives for backing up and restoring business-critical workloads such as Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft SQL Server, Blackberry, and Microsoft SharePoint. Progent’s disaster recovery planning experts have in-depth experience integrating Double-Take Software products into small business IT systems to create a high state of fault tolerance and business continuity readiness at a budget-friendly cost. For more information, go to Consulting Services Double-Take Software for Data Backup.

CRISC-qualified Network Risk Management
The Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC) program was established by ISACA in 2010 to validate a consultant's ability to plan, deploy, and support information system control mechanisms to reduce network risk. Progent offers the expertise of a CRISC-certified engineer to assist you to develop and carry out a workplace continuity or disaster recovery plan based on industry best practices identified by CRISC and geared to match your company's risk tolerance, business objectives, and budgetary guidelines. To read more, go to CRISC-certified IT risk management specialists.

Why Pick Progent for Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Planning?
Since Progent is a Microsoft Gold Partner and provides specialized application support for a wide range of small business software programs, Progent is able to assist customers to arrive at comprehensive IT solutions that maximize the productivity of your information system. As a Registered Partner for Cisco, Progent can provide the support of certified engineers and specialists with expertise in architecting, implementing and maintaining networking environments based on Cisco Systems products. The broad scope of Progent's IT know-how and Progent's appreciation for the needs of small and midsize businesses make Progent a great resource for creating and maintaining an affordable, dependable network.

How to Contact Progent's Experts for Non-stop Network Support
To get in touch with Progent about consulting assistance for high availability IT design, call 1-800-993-9400 or e-mail fault-tolerant-help@progent.com.