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.
Zero-Downtime Solutions Supported by Progent's Consultants
Progent's Microsoft and Cisco engineers can assist your business to implement an affordable, fault-tolerant IT architecture that addresses critical issues covering a wide array of infrastructure technologies and processes including:
Workplace Recovery Planning
Progent's business continuity planning consultants can help you design a business continuity plan in order to resume IT operations in the event of an information network catastrophe. Progent can assist you to define a complete disaster recovery strategy that incorporates scheduled disaster recovery assessments and testing. Progent's Microsoft and Cisco-certified consultants can also show you how to build an affordable, high-availability system solution that addresses availability issues covering a broad range of infrastructure technologies and processes. To learn more, visit Workplace Recovery Consulting Services.
CRISC-Certified IT Risk Management
The CRISC program was initiated by ISACA to verify a consultant's skills to design, deploy, and maintain information system controls to mitigate network risk. Progent can provide the services of a CRISC-certified engineer to help you to create and execute a business continuity plan based on leading practices promoted by CRISC and crafted to align with your company's risk tolerance, business objectives, and IT budget. To read more, see CRISC-Premier IT risk control specialists.
Microsoft Server 2019 High Availability Failover Clustering
Microsoft Windows Server 2019 incorporated significant enhancements in scale, performance, management, cybersecurity, app compatibility, Linux support, Kubernetes networking, and hybrid integration of on-premises and cloud-hosted resources. Headline new features of Microsoft Windows Server 2019 include Windows Admin Center for unifying the management of hybrid on-premises/cloud resources, System Insights for utilizing advance predictive analytics to manage on-premises networks, Windows Defender ATP (Advanced Threat Protection) Exploit Guard for host-intrusion prevention, container orchestration using Kubernetes, Cluster Sets technology for deploying and managing massive non-stop scale-out clusters, and Storage Migration Service for simplifying the migration from legacy versions of Windows Server. For details, visit Microsoft Windows Server 2019 High Availability Failover Clustering Help.
Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
Progent's Windows Server 2016 disaster recovery experts can help you to design a DR solution built around Microsoft's latest Failover Clustering technologies such as Cluster Operating System Rolling Upgrade for non-disruptive migration to Windows Server 2016, Storage Replica for crash-consistent Recovery Point Objective (RPO), Storage Spaces Direct for high-performance network-attached storage using low-cost hardware, VM Load Balancing for enhancing the performance and resilience of Failover Clusters while minimizing TCO and management overhead, and Cloud Witness for easy, economical creation of a stretch cluster quorum arbitration point. For more information, visit Windows Server 2016 Disaster Recovery Support.
VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) Disaster Recovery Solutions
VMware's Site Recovery Manager (SRM) is a component of VMware vCenter that allows you to orchestrate, automate and test a repeatable workflow for restoring applications and services rapidly following an outage. SRM provides centrally managed and automated recovery, application mobility, plus transparent site migration, failback and site re-protect. Site Recovery Manager also supports non-intrusive testing for disaster recovery, upgrades and fixes and can generate audit reports to verify complete service restoration, validate SLAs and demonstrate DR compliance. Progent offers the support of a VCDX certified VMware SRM consultant to help you to design, deploy, test and administer a disaster recovery system based on VMware Site Recovery Manager.
NetApp MetroCluster Disaster Recovery Software
NetApp MetroCluster is a high-availability and disaster recovery platform that uses array-based storage clustering along with continual replication to deliver rapid, zero data loss disaster recovery between datacenters that are as far as 185 miles (300km) apart. Progent offers access to a certified NetApp MetroCluster expert who can help your business to plan, configure, administer, update, test and troubleshoot a disaster recovery solution based on NetApp MetroCluster. Progent can help you to select a topology for your MetroCluster environment that meets your functional requirements and budget. Progent can ensure you adhere to leading practices for installing your MetroCluster solution by delivering help with procedures like assigning disk pools, determining aggregate layout, provisioning FlexVol volumes, setting up Data ONTAP configuration replication service, installing switches, implementing a tiebreaker, setting up a TCP/IP configuration replication network, and testing your MetroCluster disaster recovery system to verify adherence with information assurance standards and government mandates.
Network Load Balancing
Progent provides fault tolerant load balancing support covering system load balancing, load balanced applications, network backbone routing, and content delivery products such as Cisco Content Engine. High availability load balancing solutions for which Progent can provide consulting expertise include Windows Server 2003 and 2008 Network Load Balancing Manager, Citrix Metaframe and Access Gateway, Cisco CSS, Cisco Content Distribution Manager and ACNS, and F5 Networks 3-DNS. To learn more, visit Non-stop Load Balancing.
Zero Downtime Internet Data Centers
Progent's Data Center consultants can help you identify zero-downtime data centers that match the specific requirements of your company. High availability off-site data centers are particularly appealing to small and mid-size businesses because of their affordability and convenience compared to pursuing a do-it-yourself approach. Trying to build an in-house data center that offers even a minimum level of fault tolerance is too costly for typical small organizations. Progent can help you get all the benefits of non-stop colocation centers by providing a complete array of consulting and support services. To read more, visit High-Availability Data Centers Consulting.
Non-stop Inter-office Networking
Progent's branch office connectivity engineers can help companies achieve non-stop inter-site connections by means of fully redundant networks featuring transparent failover. Progent's Cisco-premier CCIE engineers can design and deploy high-availability Inter-office networks supported by non-stop EIGRP routers or fault tolerant OSPF deployment of Cisco routers. Progent can demonstrate how multi-path connectivity and automatic fail-over offers economical non-stop interoffice connectivity. To find out more, go to High-Availability Inter-office Networking.
Backup and Restore Solutions Consulting Experts
Progent offers economical online support from consultants skilled in a broad range of utilities and technologies that deliver solutions for backing up Microsoft Windows, Mac, and Linux servers and workstations plus laptops and smartphones. Progent offers consulting support for leading backup platforms including Acronis, Symantec Backup Exec, BackupAssist, CrashPlan PRO, Double-Take, MozyPro, Retrospect, Apple Time Machine, VMware Data Recovery (VDR), and Oracle Solaris FLARs. Progent's consultants can assist you to install, enhance, or troubleshoot data backup solutions for a variety of environments such as on-premises, remote, cloud, or hybrid. For more information, go to Backup and Restore Technology Consulting.
System Center Data Protection Manager Data Recovery Consulting and Support Services
Progent's expert System Center Data Protection Manager (SCDPM) consultants can help your company to develop an effective disaster recovery plan, implement a cost-effective fault-tolerante IT architecture, deploy a Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager-powered backup and recovery solution, comprehensively test your system, educate your IT personnel or regular service providers how to manage System Center Data Protection Manager, or provide complete IT outsourcing services including remote housing of Microsoft SCDPM servers in Progent's world-class data center. For details, see System Center Data Protection Manager (SCDPM) Expertise.
Barracuda Backup Cloud and Offsite Backup and Disaster Recovery
Barracuda Backup is an affordable, subscription backup/restore platform for small and medium-size businesses. A Barracuda Backup solution can include a purpose-built physical appliance built by Barracuda or a software-based appliance with similar features but which utilizes your existing storage hardware. Barracuda Backup safeguards critical company data produced on-premises, at one or multiple remote sites, or in the cloud. For disaster preparedness, you can replicate data to the Barracuda Cloud, to Amazon AWS, or to any location with a Barracuda appliance. Progent is a Barracuda partner and Progent's Barracuda Backup consultants can provide a wide range of consulting services to assist you to plan, integrate, operate and troubleshoot a BDR solution built on Barracuda technology. For more information, go to Barracuda Backup and disaster recovery consultants.
ProSight DPS Altaro VM Backup Software for Backup and Disaster Recovery
Altaro VM Backup software offers small businesses a dependable and budget-friendly solution for backing up and recovering Hyper-V and VMware-based VMs. Altaro VM Backup can be used for on-premises, offsite, distributed, and cloud architectures and also enables low-cost cloud backup to Azure Block Blob storage. Altaro VM Backup includes advanced features like Immutable Cloud Storage for enhanced protection from ransomware. Progent is an Altaro partner and offers a broad range of online or on-premises services to assist you to design, deploy, manage and debug a comprehensive backup and disaster recovery solution powered by Altaro VM Backup software. With ProSight DPS Altaro VM Backup, Progent delivers a managed backup/restore service powered by on Altaro VM Backup. For more information, visit Altaro VM Backup consulting.
ProSight DPS 365 Total Backup Solutions for Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 offers simple archiving but does not include native support for crucial data protection capabilities such as Exchange Online backups or greater than 30-day point-in-time recovery for OneDrive or SharePoint. Hornetsecurity's 365 Total Backup provides a feature-rich BDR solution for programmable backup and quick recovery of all your organization's M365 mail, Microsoft Teams Chats, SharePoint sites, OneDrive files, and content on Windows desktops and laptops. Progent is a certified Hornetsecurity/Altaro partner and offers ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS) 365 Total Backup to provide comprehensive managed services for Hornetsecurity's 365 Total Backup product. ProSight DPS 365 Total Backup provides a low-cost backup-as-a-service alternative that protects M365 apps against data loss caused by user or system mistakes, malevolent corruption, and malware attacks such as ransomware. To find out more, see ProSight DPS 365 Total Backup solutions for Microsoft 365.
Managed Cloud Backup: ProSight Data Protection Services ECHO
ProSight Data Protection Services ECHO from Progent provide small and medium-sized organizations an affordable and fully managed solution for secure backup/disaster recovery. Available at a low monthly price, ProSight DPS ECHO automates and monitors your backup processes and enable rapid recovery of vital data, apps and virtual machines that have become unavailable or damaged as a result of hardware failures, software glitches, disasters, human mistakes, or malicious attacks such as ransomware. ProSight DPS ECHO can help you protect, retrieve and restore files, folders, apps, system images, plus Microsoft Hyper-V and VMware images. Critical data can be protected on the cloud, to a local device, or mirrored to both. Progent's backup and recovery specialists can deliver advanced support to configure ProSight Data Protection Services ECHO to be compliant with government and industry regulatory standards like HIPAA, FIRPA, PCI and Safe Harbor and, whenever necessary, can assist you to recover your critical data. Find out more about ProSight Data Protection Services ECHO managed backup.
ProSight Data Protection Services 360 Backup Services
Progent's data protection experts can assist you to design, deploy and troubleshoot a backup/restore plan based on MSP360 software. MSP360 enables file or image backup/restore for virtual machines and physical computers, supports all leading public clouds, and permits businesses to build a data protection ecosystem with a low Recovery Time Objective and a granular RPO. With ProSight DPS 360 Backup, Progent offers comprehensive monitoring and management of your backup environment to protect against data loss resulting from user mistakes, system errors, malicious insiders, and external assaults such as ransomware. To read more, see ProSight Data Protection Services 360 Backup solutions.
Consulting for Double-Take Solutions for Data Backup
Double-Take publishes a selection of tools designed to deliver small businesses a range of cost-effective alternatives for backing up and recovering vital applications such as Exchange Server, Microsoft SQL, Blackberry, and Microsoft SharePoint. Progent's disaster recovery planning consultants have extensive experience incorporating Double-Take Software products into small business IT systems to achieve an advanced state of fault tolerance and disaster recovery capability at an affordable price. To read more, go to Consulting for Double-Take Software for Data Backup.
Why Choose Progent for Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Planning Solutions?
Because Progent is a Microsoft Certified Partner and offers specialized application expertise for a broad range of business software programs, Progent can help clients to arrive at efficient IT solutions that maximize the business value of your network. As a Registered Partner with Cisco, Progent can provide the services of premier consultants and specialists with expertise in designing, installing and troubleshooting infrastructure solutions built on Cisco technology. The broad scope of Progent's IT know-how and Progent's appreciation for the needs of small companies make Progent the ideal resource for creating and maintaining an affordable, dependable information system.
How to Access Progent's Experts for Support for High Availability Networks
To contact Progent about professional assistance for high availability infrastructure, call