Fault Tolerant Load Balancing ConsultingIn situations where a single server or cluster can’t provide the throughput required for a critical application, load balancing of multiple servers offers a solution that not only enhances performance but, as a natural byproduct, provides fault tolerance by working around failed servers in a load-balanced farm. Firewalls and routers can also be set up in a load-balanced and fault-tolerant configuration, so that failures of a single device have limited impact on overall system functionality. It is far easier for users and organizations to manage the impacts of reduced resources or bandwidth than to deal with complete outages.

Load balancing solutions area well suited for many web based applications where the front-end web servers can utilize the services of a back-end clustered SQL Server data repository. Applications such as web-based eCommerce are ideal candidates for a load-balanced configuration. Load balancing can provide greatly improved operational reliability because failed servers are transparently removed from the resource farm, thus making such failures nearly invisible to users.

Once you have established a base architecture for a load balancing environment, you have cleared the way for future growth and scalability because adding additional resources to the server farm is a seamless process.

Progent is experienced with a wide range of load balancing technologies covering server balancing, application balancing, and LAN/WAN infrastructure routing. Progent offers consulting expertise with products from the leading vendors of load balancing technology including Microsoft, Cisco, Citrix, and F-5 networks.

Windows Server 2016 Virtual Machine Load Balancing
VM Load Balancing is a new feature of Windows Server 2016 that can automatically and non-disruptively migrate virtual machines between nodes within a Failover Cluster. VM Load Balancing improves Failover Cluster availability and performance and can help you avoid the need to add physical servers to peak workloads. Virtual Machine M Load Balancing automatically determines whether a node has become over utilized and moves virtual machines from the over-committed node to an under-committed node, for example a server that has been freshly rebooted. This entails no cluster downtime, adheres to failure policies such as fault domains, and uses advanced heuristics for measuring VM memory pressure and CPU utilization of the node. Virtual Machine Load Balancing can be set up to run every 30 minutes or on demand. You can use PowerShell to pick one of three thresholds for establishing the aggressiveness of load balancing.

Windows Server 2016 VM Load Balancing Consultants

VM Load Balancing automatically performs live migration of virtual machines from over-utilized to under-utilized nodes

Cisco Content Services Switches and Cisco IOS-based Routers
Through content fast switching and forwarding, the Cisco CSS 11500 Series switches improve utilization, responsiveness, availability, scalability, and security of Web sites, server farms, cache clusters, and firewall systems. Load balancing is a standard functionality of the Cisco IOS router software, and is available across all router platforms. It is based on standard routing protocols, such as Routing Information Protocol (RIP), RIPv2, Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP), Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), and Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (IGRP), or derived from statically configured routes and packet forwarding mechanisms. Progent's Cisco-certified network engineers can help you select and deploy a Cisco-based network infrastructure that makes good business sense for your environment and can configure Cisco's IOS Server Load Balancing (SLB) service. To find out more about Progent's Cisco consulting services, see Cisco Consulting Support.

Citrix Metaframe, Presentation Server, and Access Gateway
Citrix Presentation Server is an application delivery system offering client-side and server-side application virtualization for enhanced application performance and flexible delivery options. Citrix Presentation Server allows organizations to centralize applications and data in secure data centers, reducing costs of management and support, increasing data security, and ensuring consistently high performance. MetaFrame Secure Access Manager technology has been integrated into Citrix Access Gateway, an SSL VPN that securely delivers any application with policy-based SmartAccess control. Users have easy-to use secure access to the applications and data they need to be productive. Organizations can cost effectively extend access to datacenter resources from outside the office while maintaining control through comprehensive SmartAccess policies. Progent's Citrix-certified consultants can help you implement Citrix products to help optimize application performance and availability.

F5 Networks BIG-IP and BIG-IP Global Traffic Manager
F5 Networks’ BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is an application delivery networking system featuring a set of unified application infrastructure services. BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager removes single points of failure and virtualizes the network and applications using L7 intelligence. LTM improves application performance, increases the capacity of existing infrastructure, and lowers infrastructure costs. BIG-IP Global Traffic Manager uses topology-based load balancing to inspect a user's IP and determine the most efficient data center. When users try to access a data center that is overloaded or unreachable, BIG-IP Global Traffic Manager automatically and seamlessly directs them to a secondary data center. This capability makes BIG-IP GTM especially important for enterprises that need to maintain operations in the event of a natural disaster, power failure, or any other large-scale service disruption. Learn more about Progent's disaster recovery consulting.

Additional Zero-Downtime Technologies Supported by Progent
Progent's certified engineers can help you to create a sensible, high-availability information network that addresses major challenges encompassing a broad range of networking solutions and operations including:

Workplace Recovery Planning
Progent's disaster recovery planning consultants can show you how to create a workplace recovery plan so you can resume network functionality in the event of an IT network disaster. Progent can assist you to create a complete disaster recovery strategy that includes scheduled disaster recovery evaluations and testing. Progent's Microsoft and Cisco-authorized professionals can also show you how to create an affordable, zero-downtime system architecture that takes into account availability issues covering a broad range of infrastructure technologies and procedures. For details, see Workplace Recovery Consulting.

Fully Managed Cloud Backup: ProSight Data Protection Services
ProSight Data Protection Services provide small and medium-sized organizations a low cost end-to-end solution for secure backup/disaster recovery (BDR). For a fixed monthly cost, ProSight DPS automates and monitors your backup processes and allows fast restoration of vital files, applications and virtual machines that have become lost or corrupted due to hardware failures, software bugs, disasters, human error, or malware attacks such as ransomware. ProSight DPS can help you back up, recover and restore files, folders, apps, system images, as well as Hyper-V and VMware virtual machine images. Important data can be backed up on the cloud, to an on-promises device, or to both. Progent's backup and recovery specialists can deliver advanced support to configure ProSight DPS to to comply with government and industry regulatory standards like HIPPA, FIRPA, PCI and Safe Harbor and, when needed, can assist you to restore your critical information. Learn more about ProSight Data Protection Services Managed Cloud Backup and Recovery.

Windows Server 2016 Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
Progent's Windows Server 2016 disaster recovery consultants can help you to plan and deploy a disaster recovery solution based on Microsoft's cloud-tested Failover Clustering tools such as Cluster Operating System Rolling Upgrade for non-disruptive migration to Windows Server 2016, Storage Replica for crash-consistent recovery, Storage Spaces Direct for enterprise-class storage clusters using commodity equipment, Virtual Machine Load Balancing for improving the performance and fault-tolerance of Failover Clusters while reducing TCO and operational expenses, and Cloud Witness for fast, affordable deployment of a failover cluster quorum witness. To read more, go to Microsoft Server 2016 Disaster Recovery Help.

Microsoft Server 2012 Failover Clusters
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 introduced world-class fault tolerance and recoverability to Microsoft's clustering solution. Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 adds to this technology and provides significant new and enhanced features offering increased scalability, non-stop storage uptime for server applications, simpler management, faster failover, and more options for architecting failover clusters. To find out more, see Windows Server 2012 Clustering Integration.

VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) Disaster Recovery Solutions
VMware's Site Recovery Manager (SRM) is an extension to VMware vCenter that lets you specify, automate and test a repeatable runbook for recovering services rapidly following an outage. Site Recovery Manager supports centrally controlled and automated recovery, application mobility, plus non-intrusive site migration, failback and re-protect. SRM also enables non-disruptive testing for site recovery, upgrades and patches and can generate audit reports to confirm complete service recovery, validate Service Level Agreements and demonstrate disaster recovery compliance. Progent can provide the skills of a VCDX certified VMware SRM consulting expert to assist you to plan, configure, test and maintain a DR system based on VMware SRM.

NetApp MetroCluster Disaster Recovery Platform
NetApp MetroCluster is a disaster recovery software suite that uses array-based storage clustering with continual replication to deliver fast, zero RPO disaster recovery (DR) between sites that are as far as 185 miles apart. Progent can provide online or on-premises access to a certified NetApp MetroCluster consultant who can assist you to plan, deploy, manage, upgrade, test and repair a disaster recovery solution built around NetApp MetroCluster. Progent can assist you to select an architecture for your MetroCluster environment that meets your functional needs and budget. Progent can ensure you adhere to best practices for configuring your MetroCluster environment by delivering help with procedures like assigning disk pools and shelf IDs, determining plexes layout, provisioning NetApp FlexVol volumes, setting up Data ONTAP configuration replication service, installing switches, implementing a tiebreaker, setting up a TCP/IP configuration replication network between your peered clusters, and verifying your MetroCluster disaster recovery system to show compliance with information assurance standards and regulatory requirements.

Fault Tolerant Internet Data Centers
Progent's Data Center professionals can show you how to identify fault-tolerant data centers that meet the particular needs of your business. High availability co-location sites are particularly appealing to small and mid-size organizations because of their affordability and convenience compared to pursuing a do-it-yourself approach. Trying to design an in-house data center that offers even a basic degree of fault tolerance is too costly for most small organizations. Progent is ready to help you get all the benefits of non-stop colo centers by providing a complete array of engineering and support services. To read more, see Fault Tolerant Data Centers Consulting.

High-Availability Branch Office Connectivity
Progent’s interoffice network infrastructure consultants can help companies create fault tolerant branch office connectivity by means of redundant system architectures featuring transparent failover. Progent’s Cisco-premier CCIE engineers can plan and deploy ultra-reliable Inter-office connections based on zero-downtime EIGRP network routers or zero-downtime OSPF configurations of Cisco routers. Progent can show you how redundant connections and transparent fail-over offers affordable 24x7 interoffice connectivity. For details, visit Fault Tolerant Interoffice Connectivity.

High Availability Internet Access
Progent's Cisco-certified IT professionals can show you how to create an economical, fault tolerant Internet configuration solution that can achieve 24x7 Internet connectivity through a wide array of fault tolerant Internet network solutions including high availability BGP, transparent fail-over, and redundant Internet Service Providers. Progent offers CCIE consultants to help you utilize the latest technology for high availability Internet connectivity to build an economical, fully redundant Internet network with automatic failover and other features to create non-stop Internet availability. To read more, see Fault Tolerant Internet Connectivity Architecture.

Backup and Recovery Solutions Consulting Experts
Progent can provide affordable remote support from engineers skilled in a wide range of utilities and services that deliver solutions for protecting Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac, and Linux servers and workstations plus laptops and smartphones. Progent can provide consulting support for leading backup platforms such as Acronis, Backup Exec, BackupAssist Software, CrashPlan, Double-Take, MozyPro, Retrospect, Apple Time Machine, VMware Data Recovery (VDR), and FLARs. Progent can help your company to deploy, enhance, or troubleshoot data backup solutions for a range of environments including on-premises, remote, cloud, or hybrid. To read more, visit Backup and Recovery Solutions Expertise.

System Center Data Protection Manager (SCDPM) Backup and Restore Consulting Services
Progent's certified Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager engineers can assist your company to develop an effective workplace recovery strategy, implement a cost-effective fault-tolerante IT infrastructure, install a System Center Data Protection Manager-powered recovery solution, comprehensively validate your DPM system, train your administrative personnel or regular service providers how to manage Microsoft SCDPM, or provide complete IT support outsourcing including off-site housing of virtual or physical SCDPM machines in Progent's data center facility. For more information, go to Microsoft SCDPM Expertise.

Barracuda Backup Cloud and Offsite Backup and Disaster Recovery
Barracuda Backup is an affordable, subscription backup/restore service for small and mid-size businesses. A Barracuda Backup deployment can incorporate a custom-designed physical storage device manufactured by Barracuda or a software-based appliance with similar functionality but which utilizes your own storage hardware. Barracuda Backup safeguards vital business data produced locally, at one or more remote locations, or in the cloud. For disaster recovery, you can replicate data to the Barracuda Cloud, to Amazon AWS, or to any location with a physical or virtual Barracuda appliance. Progent is a certified Barracuda partner and Progent's Barracuda Backup consultants can provide a broad range of consulting support services to help you to design, integrate, manage and troubleshoot a backup and disaster recovery system built on Barracuda Backup. For details, go to Barracuda Backup and disaster recovery consultants.

Altaro VM Backup Software for Backup and Disaster Recovery
Altaro VM Backup software offers small organizations a dependable and affordable solution for backing up and recovering Hyper-V and VMware-based virtual machines (VMs). Altaro VM Backup can be used for local, offsite, distributed, and cloud-hosted environments and also enables low-cost cloud backup to Microsoft Azure storage. Top features include state-of-the-art inline deduplication to cut backup storage needs, Continuous Data Protection with backup spacing as little as five minutes for minimizing your Recovery Point Objective, military-grade encryption, item-level recovery options for individual files and emails, extensive support for Windows Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV) and VMware vCenter for managing larger deployments, and the ability to leverage Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service to back up online VMs without downtime. Progent is a certified Altaro partner and offers a wide array of services to help you to design, deploy, manage and troubleshoot a backup and disaster recovery solution based on Altaro VM Backup software. For details, visit Altaro VM Backup Consulting.

Consulting for Double-Take Solutions for Data Backup and Recovery
Double-Take publishes a family of tools designed to deliver small and midsize businesses a variety of affordable alternatives for replicating and restoring business-critical applications such as Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft SQL Server, RIM Blackberry, and Microsoft Office SharePoint. Progent’s disaster recovery planning experts have extensive backgrounds incorporating Double-Take Software technology into small company information systems to achieve a high level of fault tolerance and business continuity readiness at an affordable price. To learn more, visit Consulting for Double-Take Software for Data Backup.

CRISC-Premier IT Risk Management
The Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC) certification program was established by ISACA in 2010 to validate an IT professional's ability to design, deploy, and support information system control mechanisms to reduce network risk. Progent can provide the expertise of a CRISC-certified consultant to help you to develop and execute a business continuity strategy that follows industry best practices promoted by CRISC and geared to match your organization's risk appetite, business objectives, and IT budget. To learn more, go to CRISC-Certified IT risk control experts.

Why Pick Progent for Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Planning?
Since Progent is a Microsoft Certified Partner and offers professional application support for a broad variety of small business applications, Progent is able to help customers to arrive at complete information technology solutions that optimize the productivity of your network. As a Registered Partner with Cisco, Progent can provide the expertise of certified consultants and specialists with experience in architecting, configuring and supporting infrastructure environments based on Cisco technology. The depth and breadth of Progent's technical experience and Progent's appreciation for the needs of small companies make Progent a great resource for building and maintaining a cost-effective, high-availability network.

How You Can Access Progent's Experts for Fault Tolerant Computing Support
In order to ask Progent about professional support for fault tolerant networking, call 1-800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.

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