IT Connection Newsletter: Issue 5
Progent's Certified Experts Offer
Virtual Server Consulting
Virtual server software from Microsoft, VMware, and Citrix has never been more affordable or powerful. Progent can help you choose a virtualization solution that works best for your business and makes an immediate, positive impact on your bottom line.
Virtualization allows you to run many Virtual Machines (VMs) on a single physical computer, reducing the number of servers you need to run your workloads. Virtual server solutions from Microsoft, VMware, and Citrix are designed to make economic sense for networks of any size. Unfortunately, many small companies are intimidated by virtual technology and unaware of its many benefits.
In addition to the obvious advantage of cutting hardware costs by 50% or more, virtualization offers improved availability, streamlined management, better security, optimized performance for critical applications, faster recovery from unplanned downtime, lower costs for data center space and power, shortened development cycles, more thorough testing of new applications, plus faster software deployment and hardware provisioning.
Licenses for the entry-level virtual server software from Microsoft, VMware, and Citrix are free. The net result is that businesses can save 50-70% on overall IT costs through virtualization, a return on investment unmatched by any other technology initiative. When used properly, virtualization is one of the most leveraged ways to add business value to your information network.
Windows Hyper-V
Hyper-V is a role of Windows Server 2008 R2 that provides the tools to deploy and manage virtual servers. Hyper-V's hypervisor-based architecture, which requires an x64 host with hardware-assisted virtualization, offers better speed, capacity, and security than Microsoft's previous virtualization platform. Hyper-V supports enterprise-class features such as symmetric multiprocessing, live migration, dynamic storage, expanded memory, and host clustering. An entry-level edition with a single-role version of Windows, called Hyper-V Server 2008 R2, is available as a free download.
Hyper-V works along with Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) to provide a comprehensive backup and recovery solution, and Hyper-V's integration with System Center Virtual Machine Manager unifies the administration of a virtualized environment. Hyper-V Management Console and Windows PowerShell provide advanced tools for remote and automated management.
VMware vSphere
VMware is the leading source of virtualization software and offers
a free entry-level hypervisor, vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi), to provide a fast start for companies new to virtual server technology. VMware offers an easy, affordable upgrade path to vSphere Essentials to add improved management and security features or to the powerful vSphere Essentials Plus, which offers high availability and live migration.
Unlike Hyper-V, which runs in conjunction with Windows Server 2008, all editions of vSphere install on bare metal as purpose-built, low-overhead hypervisors that require only about 100 Mb of disk space. This improves security by exposing a small attack surface. Advanced versions of vSphere and its predecessor, VMware ESX, have been adopted by the world's largest enterprises.
Citrix XenServer
The entry-level version of XenServer from Citrix has advanced features that include live migration, central management of multiple servers, and unlimited servers, VMs, and memory. XenServer has a bare-metal hypervisor, like vSphere, but it also has an open architecture (proven by use in the world's largest virtual technology deployment, Amazon's Elastic Cloud). Like Hyper-V and unlike vSphere, XenServer utilizes paravirtualization to achieve near-native performance, which makes it practical to support more VMs per physical server.
Progent's Hyper-V, vSphere, and XenServer Support
Progent's certified Microsoft and VMware engineers can help you assess the potential benefits of virtualization and select a product that meets your business needs, perform pilot installations to test virtual servers with your production applications, organize your network and server architecture for optimal performance with virtual technology, help you migrate from an older virtualization platform, follow industry best practices for rolling out virtual servers, and train your IT staff to monitor and manage Windows Hyper-V, VMware, or Citrix solutions.
If you plan to deploy Hyper-V, Progent's Microsoft-certified consultants can help you configure, manage, and troubleshoot all aspects of Windows Server 2008 R2.
Contact Progent for Virtualization Help
For help with Hyper-V, vSphere, or XenServer virtual server software, call Progent at
For a more detailed description of virtualization technology from Microsoft, VMware, and Citrix, visit Server Management with Virtual Servers.
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An index of content::
CISSP Certified Security Technology Professional
CISSP-ISSAP Security Services
Progent's CISSP-premier network security experts can help businesses of any size with any facet of IT security. Progent can implement efficient security solutions that protect a small business against advanced threats or Progent can design, deploy, and manage an end-to-end security strategy for hybrid networks that accommodate onsite, remote, and mobile clients accessing IT resources spread over multiple physical datacenters and various clouds.
Windows 11 Compatibility Testing Support Organization
Windows 11 Virtual Desktop Online Support
Progent's Windows 11 consultants can provide a variety of services to support Windows 11 such as cloud solutions, mobile device management, teleworker connectivity, data and identity security, centralized provisioning, and Help Desk Call Center support services.
Automated Server Monitoring Technical Consultant
Server and Desktop Monitoring and Reporting Technical Support Services
ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM is Progent's network, server and endpoint monitoring service that incorporates advanced remote monitoring and management (RMM) technology to help keep your IT system operating efficiently by checking the state of vital assets.
Remote Support Windows Server 2016 Cluster Operating System Rolling Upgrade
Consultants Windows Server 2016 Workgroup clusters
Progent's certified information technology consultants offer Windows Server 2016 migration consulting to help organizations of all sizes to plan and implement a smooth move to Windows Server 2016 and Windows Hyper-V 2016 based on a local, cloud-centric, or hybrid deployment model. Progent can assist your company to evaluate the benefits of Windows Server 2016 for your enterprise and can help you with any facet of designing, configuring, administering or troubleshooting your Windows Server 2016 and Windows Hyper-V 2016 ecosystem. Progent can help your organization to benefit from the many innovative disaster recovery and security features of Windows Server 2016 and Hyper-V 2016 such as Windows Containers, Shielded Virtual Machines, Credential Guard, Just In Time (JIT) Privileged Access Management, Virtual Machine load balancing, Storage Replica for zero-data-loss disaster recovery, plus multi-domain clusters.
Wireless Link Support Outsourcing
24-7 WiFi 6/6E Onsite Technical Support
Progent's Wireless Consulting Services offer a convenient, affordable way for businesses of any size to configure, manage, monitor and repair cutting edge wireless connectivity technology. For 802.11n and the latest 802.11ac wireless environments, Progent can show you how to design and deploy hardware such as Cisco's Aironet and Meraki wireless access points and wireless controllers. For mobile email and web-based applications, Progent can help with Apple iPhones, Apple iPads, Google Androids, and Windows phones and tablets.
Exchange 2013 In-Place Hold Professional
Exchange 2013 Load Balancing Information Technology Consulting
Exchange Server 2013 includes major enhancements to the functionality of its predecessor Microsoft Exchange 2010 and introduces powerful innovations plus a redesigned architecture. These improvements favorably impact key areas such as ease of administration, high availability (HA), security and compliance, cost of ownership, collaboration, scalability, performance, cross-version interoperability, and the user experience. Progent's certified Exchange 2013 consulting professionals can assist your organization to evaluate the potential advantages of upgrading to Microsoft Exchange Server 2013, design a cost-effective validation and rollout strategy, and educate your IT staff to manage your Exchange Server 2013 environment. Progent also offers affordable remote consulting and support and management for Microsoft Exchange Server 2013.
Cisco Certified Expert Small Business Network Consult
Immediate Small Office IT Technical Support Company
Progent delivers the help of Microsoft and Cisco-Premier IT support experts to show clients affordable ways to help organizations optimize the benefits of Microsoft and Cisco technology. For environments that span from remote offices to large enterprises, Progent's network engineers can show you how to enhance your network's e-mail infrastructure, security, reliability, performance, and system management.
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