Fault Tolerant Internet ConsultingConnectivity 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.

Additional High Availability Solutions Provided by Progent's Experts
Progent's Microsoft and Cisco consultants can assist you to implement a cost-effective, zero-downtime information network that addresses critical challenges covering a wide range of infrastructure solutions and processes including:

Business Continuity Planning
Progent's business continuity consultants can show you how to design a disaster recovery plan so you can restore IT operations in the event of an information network disaster. Progent can assist you to define a complete disaster recovery plan that includes periodic disaster recovery evaluations and testing. Progent's Microsoft and Cisco-authorized consultants can also show you how to create an affordable, fault-tolerant system architecture that takes into account reliability issues covering a wide range of infrastructure technologies and processes. To find out more, see Business Continuity Expertise.

Managed Cloud Backup: ProSight Data Protection Services
ProSight Data Protection Services provide small and mid-sized businesses a low cost end-to-end service for reliable backup/disaster recovery (BDR). Available at a low monthly price, ProSight Data Protection Services automates your backup processes and enables fast recovery of vital files, apps and virtual machines that have become unavailable or corrupted as a result of hardware failures, software bugs, natural disasters, human mistakes, or malware attacks like ransomware. ProSight DPS can help you back up, retrieve and restore files, folders, applications, system images, as well as Microsoft Hyper-V and VMware virtual machine images. Critical data can be backed up on the cloud, to an on-promises device, or mirrored to both. Progent's cloud backup consultants can provide world-class support to set up ProSight DPS to to comply with government and industry regulatory requirements like HIPPA, FIRPA, PCI and Safe Harbor and, when necessary, can assist you to recover your critical data. Learn more about ProSight Data Protection Services Managed Cloud Backup and Recovery.

Microsoft Server 2016 Disaster Recovery
Progent's Windows Server 2016 disaster recovery/business continuity consultants can assist your organization to plan and deploy a DR system based on Microsoft's cloud-tested Failover Clustering tools such as Cluster Operating System Rolling Upgrade for non-intrusive migration to Windows Server 2016, Storage Replica for crash-consistent Recovery Point Objective (RPO), Storage Spaces Direct for high-performance storage clusters using industry-standard equipment, Virtual Machine Load Balancing for enhancing the speed and resilience of Failover Clusters while reducing capital investment and management overhead, and Cloud Witness for fast, affordable deployment of a failover cluster quorum arbitration point. To learn more, go to Microsoft Server 2016 Disaster Recovery Support.

Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Failover Clusters
Windows Server 2008 R2 brought enterprise-class fault tolerance and recoverability to Microsoft's clustering solution. Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 adds to this foundation and delivers significant improvements that offer increased scalability, non-stop storage uptime for server applications, simpler management, faster failover, and additional options for architecting clusters. To find out more, go to Windows Server 2012 Clustering Migration and Support.

VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) Disaster Recovery Solutions
VMware's Site Recovery Manager (SRM) is a component of VMware vCenter that lets you specify, automate and test a consistent process for restoring applications and services rapidly after an outage. Site Recovery Manager provides centrally managed and automated disaster recovery, application mobility, and transparent site relocation, failback and site re-protect. SRM also supports non-disruptive testing for disaster recovery, updates and fixes and can generate reports to verify full service restoration, validate SLAs and demonstrate compliance. Progent offers the support of a VCDX certified VMware SRM consultant to help you to design, deploy, test and maintain a DR system powered by VMware SRM.

NetApp MetroCluster Disaster Recovery Technology
NetApp MetroCluster is a high-availability and disaster recovery platform that combines array-based storage clustering with synchronous replication to deliver rapid, zero data loss disaster recovery between sites located as far as 300km apart from each other. Progent offers access to a certified NetApp MetroCluster expert who can assist you to design, configure, administer, upgrade, test and repair a disaster recovery system built around NetApp MetroCluster. Progent can help you to choose a topology for your MetroCluster environment that meets your technical needs and budget. Progent can make sure you follow leading practices for installing your MetroCluster solution by delivering help with procedures like assigning disk pools, determining aggregate layout, provisioning FlexVol volumes, setting up NetApp Snapshot, provisioning switches, designing a tiebreaker, designing a TCP/IP configuration replication network, and verifying your MetroCluster disaster recovery solution to show adherence with information assurance standards and government mandates.

Fault Tolerant Load Balancing
Progent provides high availability load balancing consulting that addresses system load balancing, load balanced applications, network infrastructure routing, and content dispatching technology such as F5 Networks 3DNS. Non-stop load balancing products for which Progent can provide consulting services include Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and 2008 Network Load Balancing Manager, Citrix Access Suite and Presentation Server, Cisco CSS, Cisco Content Engine and LocalDirector 400 series, and F5 Networks 3-DNS. To learn more, visit High Availability Load Balancing.

Fault Tolerant Colocation
Progent's Data Center consultants can show you how to select zero-downtime data centers that meet the specific requirements of your company. High availability colocation sites are particularly attractive to small and mid-size businesses due to of their affordability and convenience compared to pursuing a do-it-yourself approach. Attempting to create an on-site data center with even a minimum degree of fault tolerance is financially prohibitive for typical small companies. Progent is ready to show you how to get all the benefits of 24x7 colocation centers by providing a full array of engineering and maintenance services. To read more, visit Non-stop Colocation Consulting.

Failsafe Interoffice Networking
Progent’s branch office connectivity consultants can help companies achieve fault tolerant interoffice connections via fully redundant networks featuring transparent failover. Progent’s Cisco-certified CCIE engineers can design and implement high-availability Inter-office connections supported by zero-downtime EIGRP network routers or zero-downtime OSPF configurations of Cisco routers. Progent can show you how multi-path connectivity and transparent fail-over offers economical non-stop interoffice connectivity. To learn more, see High-Availability Inter-office Networking.

Backup and Restore Technology Consulting and Support Services
Progent offers affordable online access to consultants skilled in a broad range of products and services that deliver solutions for protecting Microsoft Windows, Mac, and Linux servers and workstations plus laptops and handhelds. Progent offers help for all major data protection products such as Acronis Backup and Recovery, Backup Exec, BackupAssist, CrashPlan PRO, Double-Take Software, MozyPro, Retrospect, Time Machine, VMware vSphere Data Protection (VDP), and Oracle Solaris FLARs. Progent's consultants can help you to design, enhance, or troubleshoot data backup solutions for a range of environments including on-premises, remote, cloud-based, or hybrid. To read more, go to Backup and Restore Technology Expertise.

Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager Backup and Restore Consulting
Progent's certified System Center Data Protection Manager (SCDPM) engineers can help your company to develop an effective business continuity plan, design a cost-effective fault-tolerante IT architecture, deploy a Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager-powered recovery system, comprehensively test your system, educate your administrative personnel or regular service providers how to manage SCDPM, or provide extensive information technology outsourcing services such as remote hosting of Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager servers in Progent's world-class data center facility. For details, see Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager Expertise.

Barracuda Backup Local, Offsite and Cloud Backup and Disaster Recovery
Barracuda Backup is a low-cost, subscription-based backup/restore platform for small and medium-size organizations. A Barracuda Backup solution can incorporate a custom-designed physical storage device manufactured by Barracuda or a virtual appliance with similar functionality but which utilizes your existing storage infrastructure. Barracuda Backup protects critical business data generated on-premises, at one or multiple remote locations, or in the cloud. For disaster recovery, you can replicate data to the Barracuda Cloud, to Amazon AWS, or to any site with a physical or virtual Barracuda appliance. Progent is a Barracuda partner and Progent's Barracuda Backup consulting experts offer a wide range of consulting support services to assist your business to design, integrate, operate and troubleshoot a BDR solution based on Barracuda Backup. For details, go to Barracuda Backup and disaster recovery consulting and management.

Altaro VM Backup Software for Data Protection and Disaster Recovery
Altaro VM Backup software provides small businesses a reliable and budget-friendly solution for backing up and recovering Hyper-V and VMware-based virtual machines (VMs). Altaro VM Backup can be used for on-premises, remote, multi-site, and cloud environments and also enables cost-effective backup to Microsoft Azure storage. Headline capabilities include state-of-the-art Augmented Inline Deduplication to reduce backup storage requirements, Continuous Data Protection with backup spacing as short as five minutes for minimizing your exposure to data loss, advanced encryption, item-level recovery capability for individual files and emails, support for Windows Cluster Shared Volumes and for VMware vCenter for handling larger environments, and support for Microsoft VSS technology to back up live VMs without downtime. Progent is an Altaro partner and offers a wide range of services to help you to design, deploy, manage and troubleshoot a backup/restore solution powered by Altaro VM Backup software. To find out more, visit Altaro VM Backup Consulting Services.

Consulting for Double-Take Solutions for Data Backup and Recovery
Double-Take offers a family of tools designed to provide small and midsize companies a variety of affordable alternatives for backing up and restoring vital applications including Microsoft Exchange, SQL Server, Blackberry, and Microsoft SharePoint. Progent’s disaster recovery planning consultants have extensive backgrounds incorporating Double-Take products into small business information systems to create a high state of fault tolerance and business continuity capability at an affordable cost. For more information, see Consulting for Double-Take Solutions for Backup.

CRISC-Certified Network Risk Management
The Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC) certification program was initiated by ISACA in 2010 to verify a consultant's ability to design, implement, and maintain IS controls to reduce network risk. Progent offers the expertise of a CRISC-certified consultant to help your company to develop and carry out a business continuity or disaster recovery strategy based on industry best practices identified by CRISC and crafted to match your organization's risk tolerance, business goals, and budgetary guidelines. To learn more, go to CRISC-Certified network risk mitigation experts.

Why Pick Progent for Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Planning?
Since Progent is a Microsoft Partner and provides high-level application consulting for a broad variety of small business applications, Progent is able to assist clients to find comprehensive IT solutions that optimize the business value of your network. As a Registered Partner with Cisco, Progent can provide the expertise of premier consultants and specialists with experience in designing, deploying and supporting infrastructure environments based on Cisco technology. The extent of Progent's technical experience and Progent's sensitivity to the requirements of small businesses make Progent the ideal resource for building and maintaining an affordable, dependable network.

How You Can Contact Progent's Consultants for Non-stop Computing Support
To contact Progent about professional support for fault tolerant architecture, call 1-800-993-9400 or refer to Contact Progent.

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