Data centers are the key to leveraging information technology resources to maximize the competitive value of an information system. For small businesses, data centers have often grown in a haphazard manner, creating a state where servers and disks are underutilized, available communications bandwidth is wasted, collaboration and knowledge sharing is limited, support requirements are excessive, expansion or reconfiguring is expensive, security is patchy, nominally simple modifications become major hassles, and full recovery from catastrophic failure is virtually impossible.
Cisco's most recent networking appliances and tools enable a new model of data center design that permits ongoing enhancements in processor, storage, network topology, and applications in a manageable and cost-effective way. Progent's consultants can help you to identify and deploy Cisco's connectivity solutions to create a robust basis for your data center and to streamline your operations in vital areas including:
- Server and storage utilization
- Comprehensive security policy enforcement
- Processor consolidation
- Regulatory compliance
- Disaster recovery
The important benefits that can be realized from using Progent's network experts to streamline your data center include:
- Reduced total cost of ownership: allows IT to significantly lower acquisition expenses via integration and more efficient utilization of formerly separate equipment, slash maintenance costs through streamlining and automating administrative jobs, and cut air conditioning and power costs.
- More Business Flexibility: permits IT management to react quickly to evolving business conditions by facilitating rapid provisioning of application and infrastructure services from common aggregations of integrated server, disk, and connectivity resources. This can streamline operational processes and support policy-based management.
- Better Business Resilience: enables IT management to defend against breakdowns or intrusions by safeguarding connections, programs, and information with advanced levels of availability, comprehensive security, and business continuance.
- Improved Service Levels: enables IT to optimize network service levels by providing safe, fast access to data center-resident applications and data from any location and at any moment throughout the organization.
Samples of Progent's Consulting Assistance for Cisco-powered Data Centers
Progent's certified Cisco consultants can provide a wide array of services that can enable companies of all sizes design a Cisco-powered architecture that will offer your data center a stable and secure basis for existing applications and future growth. Support services feature:
- Building efficient firewall security configurations based on PIX and ASA firewall products
- Deploying and troubleshooting secure VPN connections for linking data centers to other data centers, corporate offices, and mobile workers
- Designing, and implementing resilient fault tolerant LAN and Internet connectivity architectures in which single point failures do not interrupt productivity
- Setting up multiple Internet providers with transparent failover based on Border Gateway Protocol (BGP). Progent can assist clients along the complete process of paperwork with Internet supervisors, having ASN numbers and IP addresses allotted, working with ISP carriers to set up their systems, and configuring and checking customer devices.
- Building segmented and secure VLAN environments to compliment VMware virtual server systems
- Architecting, deploying and assisting clients to manage proactive intrusion prevention systems (IPS) so that assaults can be detected rapidly and remediated so they don't impact your business
- Designing, configuring, and supporting load balancing solutions. Consulting with customers, Progent can map customer needs to the best solutions and implement load balancing at the application and server levels, or network infrastructure layer. Such designs allow for seamless and convenient growth, reliability, performance, and fault tolerance.
- Progent can design efficient network management strategies based on Simple Network Management Protocol and Cisco's open Netflow protocols, along with Cisco Security Manager and CiscoWorks and a variety of outside vendor solutions that offer network managers a powerful look into the activity of their data center's infrastructure
- Setting up and supporting advanced data center capable infrastructure appliances including the Cisco Catalyst 4500, 6500, and 6800 Series switches, Cisco Nexus 5000, 6000, and 7000 Series switches, and Cisco 7200, 7600, and 12000 family routers.
To see additional information concerning Progent's engineering help for Cisco products, select a subject:
If you wish to get in touch with Progent about professional support for Cisco networking, phone 1-800-993-9400 or go to Contact Progent.