(Note: Microsoft has terminated support for Windows Server 2003 and it is advisable to consider upgrading from this legacy OS to an up-to-date version of Windows Server. If your organization is considering moving up to Windows Server 2019 or Windows Server 2016, Progent can provide online and onsite Windows Server 2019 planning and configuration consulting services or Windows Server 2016 disaster recovery consulting to ensure your project finishes on time and within budget. In addition, Progent's Windows Server Failover Clustering Consultants can help you a configure and troubleshoot a high-availability clustering solution based on Microsoft's latest technology.
Even with typical fault tolerant feature found in high-end server hardware, such as redundant power supplies and mirrored or RAID 5 disk arrays, failed devices must be identified and replacement components must be procured and installed. These failures can bring down a server for hours, if not days. Furthermore, during regularly scheduled software maintenance functions, servers need to be rebooted or brought off-line for an extended period. For customers who need 100% uptime, the only solution is to deploy a clustered server configuration that provides fully redundant servers for a single application.
A server cluster is a group of independent computers that work together to provide a common set of services. Windows 2003 provides this high-availability solution with the Cluster service. If a cluster node (a computer in a cluster) fails, other nodes in the cluster assume the functions of the failed node. Server clustering is an essential piece of any fault-tolerant architecture, and making large investments in communication infrastructure redundancy without providing for server redundancy defeats the value of that investment.
Progent offers Windows 2003 Server consulting to help your company implement clustered server configurations that can potentially provide 100% uptime, even for normal maintenance functions. This high-availability is possible because a single server in a cluster can be brought off-line for maintenance work without affecting users. Clustering also allows IT personal to perform critical security updates during regular business hours without reducing user productivity.
Microsoft Windows 2003 Server offers mature clustering technology. This is the third major release of Microsoft clustering technology, which was first released in 1997. Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition, and Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition, present a single view of the server to users, applications, and the network and both versions of Windows Server 2003 support up to eight-node clusters. Failover clustering configurations can be built around Microsoft technologies for mission-critical and collaborative applications such as Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SQL Server file and print services.
Host Clustering with Microsoft Virtual Server
Virtual Server host clustering is a technique for enhancing the capability of Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 with the server cluster support incorporated in Microsoft Windows Server 2003. By means of Virtual Server host clustering, your network can benefit from an array of services via a minimum number of actual hardware servers and, simultaneously, ensure the high availability of the provided services. In case one server requires scheduled or unscheduled downtime, another server can immediately take its place and begin supporting services. As a result, your clients experience minimal service disruption. Progent's Microsoft-certified network engineers have in-depth experience deploying and supporting Microsoft Virtual Server. For more information, refer to Consulting Services for Microsoft Virtual Server.
Server Clustering and Storage Area Networks
A storage area network (SAN) is a set of disks, tapes, and servers connected to a common infrastructure, or storage fabric, such as Fibre Channel. A SAN allows multiple servers to access a common pool of storage. This allows storage to be assigned dynamically from the pool whenever it is required. Storage on a given server can be increased or decreased as needed without complex reconfiguring or re-cabling of devices. SAN technology is a good way to build clusters where shared access to a data set is required. By deploying multiple clusters onto a single storage area network, all of the benefits of SAN technology can be brought to the cluster environment. Progent's Microsoft certified engineers can show you how to combine Microsoft's server cluster technology with storage area networking to make your network more fault tolerant and easier to manage.
Server Clustering with Microsoft Exchange
Messaging systems based on Microsoft Exchange are vital for many businesses. Unfortunately, this crucial function is vulnerable to component failure, power loss, operator errors, and natural disasters. By allowing the failover of resources, server clustering provides fault tolerance for an Exchange environment. Server clusters that use the Microsoft Cluster Service can maintain data integrity and provide failover support and high availability for mission-critical applications and services on your back-end servers, including messaging systems, databases, and file and print services.
This figure shows an example of a four-node Exchange cluster with three active nodes and a passive standby node:
Progent's Microsoft-certified Exchange experts have proven, world-class skills in designing high-availability Exchange environments and can show you how to configure an Exchange Server cluster with shared data access to data and automatic failover capabilities. For details about Exchange consulting services available from Progent, visit Microsoft Exchange Consulting Support.
Non-stop Technologies Supported by Progent
Progent's Microsoft and Cisco support professionals can help your business to create a cost-effective, high-availability system that resolves key challenges encompassing a wide range of infrastructure technologies and processes including:
Business Continuity Planning
Progent's business continuity professionals can help you create a disaster recovery plan in order to resume network functionality in the event of an IT system catastrophe. Progent can help you to define a comprehensive disaster recovery strategy that incorporates scheduled disaster recovery assessments and drills. Progent's Microsoft and Cisco-authorized consultants can also show you how to create an affordable, fault-tolerant system architecture that addresses reliability issues covering a wide range of infrastructure technologies and processes. For more information, go to Business Continuity Consulting.
CRISC-Premier Network Risk Management
The CRISC program was established by ISACA to verify an IT professional's ability to design, implement, and support information system controls to mitigate risk. Progent offers the services of a CRISC-certified engineer to assist you to create and carry out a business continuity or disaster recovery plan that follows leading practices identified by CRISC and geared to match your organization's risk tolerance, business goals, and budgetary guidelines. To find out more, go to CRISC-Certified IT risk management specialists.
Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Fault-tolerant Failover Clustering
Microsoft Windows Server 2019 introduced significant improvements in scale, throughput, manageability, cybersecurity, application compatibility, Linux support, container networking, and hybrid integration of local and cloud resources. Top enhancements of Microsoft Windows Server 2019 are Windows Admin Center for centralizing the management of hybrid on-premises/cloud deployments, System Insights for utilizing advance predictive analytics to control local environments, Windows Defender ATP (Advanced Threat Protection) Exploit Guard for host-intrusion prevention, container orchestration using Kubernetes, Cluster Sets technology for deploying and administering massive high-availability scale-out clusters, and Storage Migration Service for streamlining the upgrade process from legacy editions of Windows Server. To learn more, visit Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Fault-tolerant Failover Clustering Expertise.
Microsoft Server 2016 Disaster Recovery
Progent's Windows Server 2016 disaster recovery experts can help your organization to design a disaster recovery system built around Microsoft's most advanced Failover Clustering tools including Cluster OS Rolling Upgrade for non-disruptive migration to Windows Server 2016, Storage Replica for crash-consistent recovery, Storage Spaces Direct for high-performance storage clusters using industry-standard equipment, VM Load Balancing for enhancing the speed and resilience of Failover Clusters while minimizing capital investment and management overhead, and Cloud Witness for easy, economical creation of a stretch cluster quorum arbitration point. To learn more, see Microsoft Server 2016 Disaster Recovery Expertise.
VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) Disaster Recovery Solutions
VMware's Site Recovery Manager is a component of VMware vCenter that allows you to define, automate and test a consistent process for restoring applications and services quickly following an outage. Site Recovery Manager supports centrally managed and automated recovery, application mobility, and transparent site relocation, failback and re-protect. Site Recovery Manager also supports non-disruptive testing for site recovery, updates and fixes and can generate audit reports to confirm full service recovery, validate Service Level Agreements and prove DR compliance. Progent offers the support of a VCDX certified VMware Site Recovery Manager consultant to assist your organization to design, configure, test and administer a DR system based on VMware SRM.
NetApp MetroCluster High Availability and Disaster Recovery Software
NetApp MetroCluster is a high-availability and disaster recovery platform that uses failover storage clustering with continual replication to provide fast, zero RPO disaster recovery between sites located as far as 185 miles apart. Progent can provide online or on-premises access to a certified NetApp MetroCluster expert who can help your business to design, configure, administer, upgrade, test and repair a disaster recovery solution built around NetApp MetroCluster. Progent can help you to select an architecture for your MetroCluster deployment that meets your functional requirements and IT budget. Progent can ensure you adhere to best practices for installing your MetroCluster solution by providing guidance with procedures like assigning shelf IDs, arranging aggregate layout, setting up volumes, setting up Data ONTAP configuration replication service, provisioning Cisco and Brocade switches, designing a tiebreaker, designing a TCP/IP configuration replication network between your peered clusters, and testing your DR solution to verify adherence with industry standards and regulatory requirements.
Fault Tolerant Load Balancing
Progent offers fault tolerant load balancing consulting that addresses network load balancing, load balanced programs, network infrastructure routing, and content delivery technology including F5 Networks 3DNS. Non-stop load balancing products for which Progent offers consulting expertise include Microsoft Windows 2003 and 2008 Server Network Load Balancing Manager, Citrix Metaframe and Access Gateway, Cisco Content Services Switch, Cisco Content Engine and LocalDirector 400 series, and F5 Networks 3-DNS. For details, see Non-stop Load Balancing.
Fault Tolerant Colocation
Progent's Data Center professionals can show you how to identify zero-downtime data centers that meet the specific requirements of your company. Fault tolerant Internet Data Centers are particularly attractive to small and mid-size companies due to of their affordability and simplified logistics compared to pursuing a do-it-yourself strategy. Trying to build an on-site data center that offers even a basic degree of fault tolerance is too costly for typical small organizations. Progent can help you reap all the advantages of non-stop colo sites by providing a complete array of engineering and maintenance services. To find out more, go to Non-stop Internet Data Centers Solutions.
High-Availability Branch Office Connectivity
Progent's inter-site connectivity professionals can help companies achieve zero-downtime inter-site connectivity solutions by means of redundant system architectures with transparent failover. Progent's Cisco-certified CCIE engineers can design and deploy high-availability Inter-office connections based on non-stop EIGRP network routers or fault tolerant OSPF configurations of Cisco routers. Progent can demonstrate how multi-path connectivity and automatic fail-over can provide economical non-stop interoffice networking. To find out more, go to Non-stop Inter-office Connectivity.
24x7 Internet Access
Progent's Cisco-certified IT experts can help you design an affordable, fault tolerant Internet configuration solution that can achieve 24x7 Internet connectivity through a wide range of high availability Internet network technologies including fault tolerant BGP, transparent fail-over, and multiple Internet Service Providers. Progent can provide CCIE professionals to show you how to apply the most advanced technology for high availability Internet access to build an economical, fully redundant Internet interface with automatic failover and other features to deliver non-stop Internet connections. To read more, go to High Availability Internet Connectivity Architecture.
Backup and Restore Technology Consulting
Progent can provide affordable remote support from consultants skilled in a broad range of products and services that provide solutions for backing up Windows, Mac, and Linux/UNIX servers and desktops as well as notebooks and smartphones. Progent offers consulting support for all major data protection platforms such as Acronis, Symantec Backup Exec, BackupAssist Software, CrashPlan PRO, Double-Take Software, MozyPro, Retrospect for Macintosh, Apple Time Machine, VMware vSphere Data Protection (VDP), and Oracle Solaris FLARs. Progent can help your company to implement, enhance, or troubleshoot backup/restore solutions for a range of environments including local, edge to datacenter, cloud-based, or hybrid. For details, visit Backup and Recovery Technology Consulting and Support Services.
System Center Data Protection Manager (SCDPM) Backup and Recovery Consulting Services
Progent's certified Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager engineers can assist your company to create a practical disaster recovery strategy, implement an affordable fault-tolerante network infrastructure, deploy a Microsoft SCDPM-powered backup and restore solution, thoroughly test your DPM system, educate your administrative staff or regular consultants how to manage System Center Data Protection Manager, or provide complete information technology outsourcing such as remote hosting of virtual or physical SCDPM servers in Progent's data center. To find out more, visit Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager Expertise.
Barracuda Backup Multi-site and Cloud Backup and Disaster Recovery
Barracuda Backup is an affordable, subscription-based backup/restore service for small and mid-size businesses. A Barracuda Backup solution can include a purpose-built hardware storage device manufactured by Barracuda or a software-based appliance with similar functionality but which utilizes your own storage infrastructure. Barracuda Backup protects vital company data produced on-premises, at one or multiple remote sites, or in the cloud. For disaster protection, 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 offer a wide array of consulting services to assist your business to design, integrate, manage and repair a BDR system built on Barracuda technology. For more information, see Barracuda Backup and disaster recovery consultants.
ProSight Altaro VM Backup Solutions for Data Protection and Disaster Recovery
Altaro VM Backup provides small organizations a dependable and budget-friendly platform for backing up and recovering Hyper-V and VMware-based virtual machines (VMs). Altaro VM Backup can be deployed in local, offsite, multi-site, and cloud-hosted environments and also supports low-cost backup to Microsoft Azure Block Blob storage. Altaro VM Backup supports advanced capabilities like Immutable Cloud Storage for an extra layer of protection from ransomware. Progent is a certified Hornetsecurity Altaro partner and can provide a broad array of remote or on-premises consulting services to assist you to design, install, optimize and troubleshoot a modern backup and disaster recovery solution powered by Altaro VM Backup software. With ProSight DPS Altaro VM Backup, Progent offers a fully managed backup/restore service powered by on Altaro VM Backup software. To read more, visit Altaro VM Backup consulting services.
ProSight Data Protection Services 365 Total Backup Services for Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 provides rudimentary archiving but does not have integrated support for key data protection capabilities like Exchange backups or greater than 30-day point-in-time data recovery for OneDrive or SharePoint. Hornetsecurity's 365 Total Backup delivers a feature-rich platform for programmable backup and quick recovery of all your organization's M365 mail, Teams Chats, SharePoint sites, OneDrive for Business files, and content on Windows desktops and laptops. Progent is an authorized Hornetsecurity/Altaro partner and offers ProSight Data Protection Services 365 Total Backup to provide comprehensive management services for Hornetsecurity's 365 Total Backup suite. ProSight DPS 365 Total Backup delivers a budget-friendly backup-as-a-service (BaaS) solution that defends M365 apps against data loss caused by human or software mistakes, malicious corruption, and cyber assaults such as ransomware. For more information, see ProSight DPS 365 Total Backup services for Microsoft 365.
Fully Managed Cloud Backup: ProSight Data Protection Services ECHO
ProSight Data Protection Services ECHO offer small and medium-sized businesses an affordable end-to-end solution for reliable backup/disaster recovery. For a low monthly cost, ProSight DPS ECHO automates and monitors your backup activities and allow rapid restoration of critical data, applications and virtual machines that have become unavailable or damaged due to hardware breakdowns, software bugs, natural disasters, human mistakes, or malicious attacks such as ransomware. ProSight Data Protection Services ECHO can help you protect, retrieve and restore files, folders, apps, system images, as well as Microsoft Hyper-V and VMware virtual machine images. Important data can be backed up on the cloud, to a local storage device, or mirrored to both. Progent's backup and recovery consultants can provide world-class expertise to configure ProSight Data Protection Services ECHO to to comply with regulatory standards like HIPAA, FIRPA, PCI and Safe Harbor and, when necessary, can assist you to recover your critical data. Read more about ProSight Data Protection Services ECHO managed cloud backup and recovery.
ProSight MSP360 Backup Services
Progent's data protection experts can assist your company to design, deploy and debug a backup/restore plan built around MSP360 technology. MSP360 offers file or image-based backup/restore for virtual machines and physical machines, supports all leading public clouds, and allows businesses to create a backup ecosystem with a low Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and a granular Recovery Point Objective. With ProSight MSP360 Backup, Progent can provide comprehensive monitoring and remote management of your backup system to protect against data loss resulting from user mistakes, computer errors, malicious users, and external attacks like ransomware. To read more, visit ProSight MSP360 Backup services.
Consulting Services Double-Take Software for Data Backup/Restore
Double-Take Software publishes a selection of tools designed to provide small businesses a range of cost-effective solutions for backing up and recovering business-critical workloads including Exchange, SQL Server, RIM Blackberry, and Microsoft Office SharePoint. Progent's business continuity planning experts have extensive backgrounds incorporating Double-Take products into small company IT networks to create an advanced state of fault tolerance and disaster recovery capability at an affordable price. For details, go to Consulting for Double-Take Software for Data Backup.
Why Pick Progent for Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Planning Solutions?
Because Progent is a Microsoft Certified AI Cloud Partner and offers specialized application expertise for a wide variety of business applications, Progent is able to help customers to find comprehensive information technology solutions that optimize the business value of your information system. As a Registered Partner with Cisco, Progent can provide the expertise of certified consultants and specialists with experience in architecting, configuring and managing infrastructure solutions based on Cisco products. The depth and breadth of Progent's technical know-how and Progent's familiarity with the needs of small companies make Progent the perfect partner for creating and running an affordable, high-availability information system.
How to Get Help from Progent's Engineers for Support for Fault Tolerant Computing
In order to contact Progent about technical help for high availability networking, call