Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Consulting for
Business Computer Networks:
Windows Server 2012 R2 Failover Clustering Solutions
Failover clustering plays a critical role in serious disaster recovery strategies. Windows Server 2008 R2 failover clustering support introduced enterprise-class fault tolerance and recoverability to Microsoft's server platform. Windows Server 2012 R2 builds on this technology and offers important new and enhanced features that offer more expandability, non-stop storage availability for server applications, easier management, quicker automatic failover, and more options for designing failover clusters.
In addition to offering comprehensive Windows Server 2012 R2 consulting services, Progent's Microsoft-certified failover clustering experts can help optimize your Windows Server 2012 R2 clustering deployment to build a high-availability/disaster recovery solution or assist you to design and deploy a failover cluster environment powered by a modern version of Windows Server. Propgent can provide online or on-premises consulting services and technical support for clustered physical servers or virtual machines, and show you how to streamline the management of clustered servers.
New and Improved Features of Windows Server 2012 R2 Failover Clustering
With failover clustering, if any clustered servers (called nodes) stop working properly, other servers automatically and transparently take up (or failover) their workloads such as Exchange Server or SQL Server. Cluster Shared Volume (CSV) is a refinement of failover clustering that provides a consistent, shared namespace that clustered services and applications (called roles) can use to utilize shared storage regardless of the node that is currently running them. This ability to replace IT resources on the fly can dramatically enhance network availability and facilitate rapid recovery in case of a localized catastrophic event.
The failover clustering enhancements built into Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 include:
Cluster Expandability
Failover clusters in Windows Server 2012 R2 can scale to a greater number of nodes and virtual machines than clusters in Windows Server'2008'R2. Windows Server 2012 R2 scales to 64 nodes and 8,000 virtual machines per cluster. In contrast, Windows Server 2008 R2 supports 16 nodes and 1,000 virtual machines per cluster.
Server Manager and Failover Cluster Manager
Windows Server 2012 R2's Server Manager makes it easy to manage cluster nodes by enabling remote multi-server management as well as the remote installation of roles and features. Server Manager can also start Failover Cluster Manager, which provides a wealth of new features including new search, filtering, and custom views; the ability to select a defined set of VMs for performing desired operations such as live migration; one-click configuration of Cluster Shared Volumes (CSVs); and support for Hyper-V Replica for point-in-time replication of VMs.
Virtual Machine Mobility
Multiple live migrations including VM storage can be initiated at the same time to nodes with adequate resources and failed migrations are automatically retried. In addition, you can add or a virtual machine to a failover cluster while the VM is running.
Cluster Shared Volumes
Improvements to Cluster Shared Volumes (CSVs), which provide clustered VMs with common storage, include storage capabilities for additional clustered roles, the CSV proxy file system (CSVFS), support for BitLocker encryption, Direct I/O for faster access to file data, elimination of external authentication dependencies, integration with SMB Multichannel and SMB Direct for better performance and with Storage Spaces for lower-cost storage, and the ability to scan and fix volumes without service disruption.
Support for Scale-Out File Servers
The new clustered file server makes it possible to store server application data like Hyper-V virtual machine files on scale-out (known as active-active) file shares, offering performance and manageability similar to storage area network (SAN) solutions.
Cluster-Aware Updating (CAU)
This new feature allows the automation of software updates to the host operating system or other system components on clustered servers without downtime.
Monitoring and Managing VM Applications
This new capability enables high-level monitoring of applications hosted on clustered VMs running Windows Server 2012 R2.
Integration with Active Directory Domain Services
Enhanced integration with Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) improves flexibility and resilience by including easy alignment of failover cluster dependencies on AD DS, automated recovery of unintentionally removed cluster virtual computer objects (VCOs), support for cluster deployments in branch office with read-only domain controllers, and the ability for failover clusters to start without AD DS dependencies.
Cluster Quorum Management
Improvements to cluster quorum management that simplify quorum setup and increase the uptime of clusters during the failover process include a revamped quorum configuration wizard, the ability to assign which nodes have quorum votes, and the ability to automate quorum vote assignment depending on the current state of the node.
Enhancements to the Cluster Migration Wizard
The enhanced Migrate a Cluster Wizard in Windows Server 2012 R2 simplifies the tasks of installing, updating, and migrating Windows 2008 failover clusters through improvements that include the ability to export and re-import Hyper-V VMs, migrate to Cluster Shared Volume (CSV) disks, map virtual networks and storage, and reuse current storage.
Task Scheduler Integration
Windows Server 2012 R2 failover clustering features a new integrated Task Scheduler that makes it possible to use Windows PowerShell cmdlets to configure cluster tasks, providing a versatile tool for utilizing cluster resources to run processes or applications at set times. Tasks can be scheduled to run on a single random node, all nodes, or nodes with specified resources.
Windows PowerShell support
An enhanced Failover Cluster module for Windows PowerShell provides a library of cmdlets for automating support for the Failover Clustering features in Windows Server 2012
R2. New cmdlets support a variety of features such as the ability to manage cluster registry checkpoints, create Scale-Out File Servers, monitor VM applications, change the properties of a Distributed Network Name resource, create and manage clustered tasks, and create a fault-tolerant iSCSI Target Server.
For details about Progent's consulting expertise for Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V, which provides enhanced support for failover clustering, refer to Progent's Consulting Services for Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V.
How Progent Can Help You Benefit from Microsoft's Failover Clustering
Progent's Microsoft-certified consultants can help you evaluate the business benefits of Windows Server 2012 R2 failover clustering, set up test systems to help you optimize performance and ensure compatibility for your critical workloads, design and carry out an efficient roll-out plan, train your administration staff to manage your failover clustering solution, and provide as-needed consulting and technical support either online or onsite to keep your system productive. Progent can also provide comprehensive Help Desk services.
Progent's service professionals can also help you migrate to Windows Server 2012 R2 Failover Clusters from Windows Server 2008 R2 or from Windows Server 2003 clustering technology.
Progent's CISM, CISA, GIAC, CRISC, and CISSP certified security engineers can assess the protection offered by your cluster environment and can recommend and implement affordable improvements. Progent's security experts can also help you design, document, and validate disaster recovery and business continuity and plans.
If you are considering the creation of a hybrid network model that integrates on-premises resources with public cloud services like those offered by Microsoft Azure, Progent can help you evaluate and deploy Windows Server 2019 or Windows Server 2016, which incorporate major elements of Azure technology and are designed to support hybrid networks. See Progent's Windows Server 2019 DR/BC consulting and Windows Server 2016 disaster recovery consulting.
High Availability Solutions Supported by Progent's Consultants
Progent's certified support professionals can help your business to design an affordable, zero-downtime network that addresses critical problems encompassing a broad range of infrastructure solutions and operations including:
Disaster Recovery Planning
Progent's disaster recovery engineers can help you create a disaster recovery strategy that will allow you to restore network functionality in case of an information network catastrophe. Progent can help you to create a complete disaster recovery plan that includes periodic disaster recovery assessments and drills. Progent's Microsoft and Cisco-authorized engineers can also show you how to create an affordable, non-stop network architecture that takes into account availability issues involving a broad array of infrastructure technologies and procedures. To find out more, see Business Continuity Consulting and Support Services.
CRISC-Certified IT Risk Control
The CRISC program was established by ISACA in 2010 to verify a consultant's ability to plan, implement, and maintain IS controls to mitigate network risk. Progent can provide the expertise of a CRISC-certified engineer to help you to develop and execute a business continuity or disaster recovery strategy that follows leading practices identified by CRISC and geared to align with your company's risk tolerance, business objectives, and budgetary guidelines. To learn more, visit CRISC-Certified network risk management specialists.
Microsoft Windows Server 2019 High Availability Failover Clustering
Windows Server 2019 incorporated important enhancements in capacity, performance, management, security and compliance, app compatibility, Linux support, container networking, and hybrid combinations of on-premises and cloud-hosted assets. Headline new features of Microsoft Windows Server 2019 include Windows Admin Center for unifying the management of hybrid local/cloud resources, System Insights for taking advantage of modern predictive analytics to manage local environments, Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection Exploit Guard for host-intrusion prevention, container orchestration with Kubernetes, Cluster Sets technology for deploying and managing large high-availability scale-out clusters, and Microsoft's Storage Migration Service for simplifying the upgrade process from legacy versions of Windows Server. For more information, go to Microsoft Server 2019 Fault-tolerant Failover Clustering Support.
Microsoft Server 2016 Disaster Recovery
Progent's Windows Server 2016 disaster recovery/business continuity consultants can help your organization to design a DR system based on Microsoft's latest Failover Clustering tools including 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 enterprise-class storage clusters using commodity equipment, Virtual Machine Load Balancing for enhancing the speed and fault-tolerance of Failover Clusters while minimizing capital investment and operational expenses, and Cloud Witness for easy, economical deployment of a failover cluster quorum witness. To read more, visit Microsoft Server 2016 Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Expertise.
VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) Disaster Recovery Solutions
VMware's Site Recovery Manager is an extension to VMware vCenter that lets you orchestrate, automate and test a repeatable runbook for recovering applications and services quickly following an outage. Site Recovery Manager provides centrally controlled and automated disaster recovery, application mobility, and non-disruptive site migration, failback and site re-protect. Site Recovery Manager also enables transparent testing for site recovery, updates and patches and can generate reports to confirm complete service recovery, validate Service Level Agreements and prove compliance. Progent can provide the skills of a VCDX certified VMware Site Recovery Manager consulting expert to assist your organization to plan, configure, test and manage a DR solution powered by VMware SRM.
NetApp MetroCluster High Availability and Disaster Recovery Platform
NetApp MetroCluster is a high-availability and disaster recovery software suite that combines array-based storage clustering with synchronous replication to deliver rapid, zero RPO disaster recovery (DR) between datacenters that are up to 185 miles (300km) away from one another. Progent offers online or on-premises access to a NetApp MetroCluster expert who can assist you to design, deploy, administer, upgrade, test and repair a disaster recovery solution built around NetApp MetroCluster. Progent can help you to select a topology for your MetroCluster environment that aligns with your technical needs and budget. Progent can make sure you adhere to leading practices for installing your MetroCluster solution by providing help with procedures such as assigning shelf IDs, arranging aggregate and plexes layout, setting up FlexVol volumes, setting up NetApp Snapshot, provisioning switches, implementing a tiebreaker, setting up a TCP/IP configuration replication network, and testing your MetroCluster disaster recovery solution to prove compliance with information assurance standards and government mandates.
Network Load Balancing
Progent offers fault tolerant load balancing consulting that addresses system load balancing, load balanced programs, LAN/WAN backbone routing, and content delivery products including Cisco Content Engine. Fault tolerant load balancing technologies for which Progent offers consulting services include Microsoft Windows 2003 and 2008 Server Network Load Balancing Manager, Citrix Access Suite and Access Gateway, Cisco CSS, Cisco Content Distribution Manager and ACNS, and F5 Networks 3-DNS. For more information, go to Fault Tolerant Load Balancing.
High-Availability Colocation
Progent's Data Center professionals can help you identify fault-tolerant data centers that match the particular requirements of your company. Fault tolerant colocation sites are especially attractive to small and mid-size organizations due to of their affordability and convenience compared to taking a do-it-yourself strategy. Attempting to design an on-site data center with even a minimum level of fault tolerance is too costly for the majority of small businesses. Progent can help you get all the benefits of 24x7 colocation centers by offering a complete range of engineering and maintenance services. To learn more, go to Fault Tolerant Colocation Expertise.
24x7 Branch Office Connectivity
Progent's interoffice network infrastructure consultants can help organizations create non-stop branch office connectivity solutions by means of redundant system architectures featuring automatic failover. Progent's Cisco-premier CCIE engineers can plan and deploy high-availability Inter-office networks based on zero-downtime EIGRP routers or fault tolerant OSPF deployment of Cisco routers. Progent can show you how redundant connectivity and transparent fail-over can provide economical non-stop interoffice connectivity. To read more, visit 24x7 Inter-office Connectivity.
High Availability Internet Connections
Progent's Cisco-authorized IT professionals can help you build an economical, high availability Internet connection solution that can deliver non-stop Internet access through a wide range of high availability Internet network technologies including fault tolerant BGP, transparent fail-over, and multiple ISPs. Progent can provide CCIE consultants to show you how to utilize the most advanced techniques for fault tolerant Internet access to create a cost-effective, completely redundant Internet network with automatic failover and other capabilities to create non-stop Internet connections. To read more, go to Non-stop Internet Access Solutions.
Backup and Recovery Solutions Consulting Experts
Progent can provide economical remote access to engineers with expertise in a wide array of utilities and services that deliver solutions for backing up Windows, Mac, and Linux servers and desktops plus laptops and smartphones. Progent offers expertise for all major backup platforms such as Acronis Backup and Recovery, Symantec Backup Exec, BackupAssist, HP Data Protector, Double-Take, MozyPro, Retrospect for Macintosh, Time Machine, vSphere Data Protection, and Solaris FLARs. Progent's consultants can assist you to design, enhance, or maintain backup/restore solutions for a variety of topologies including on-premises, remote, cloud, or a mix. For details, visit Backup and Recovery Technology Consulting.
Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager (SCDPM) Data Recovery Consulting
Progent's certified System Center Data Protection Manager consultants can help your company to develop an effective workplace recovery plan, design a cost-effective high-availability IT infrastructure, deploy a Microsoft SCDPM-powered backup and restore solution, thoroughly test your DPM system, train your administrative personnel or regular consultants how to maintain Microsoft SCDPM, or provide extensive IT outsourcing services including off-site housing of virtual or physical SCDPM servers in Progent's secure data center facility. To read more, visit System Center Data Protection Manager Expertise.
Barracuda Backup Cloud and Offsite Backup and Disaster Recovery
Barracuda Backup is an affordable, subscription-based backup/restore service for small and medium-size businesses. A Barracuda Backup solution can include a purpose-built physical appliance manufactured by Barracuda or a virtual appliance with similar features but which uses your existing storage hardware. Barracuda Backup protects vital business data produced locally, at one or multiple remote locations, or in the cloud. For disaster protection, you can replicate data to the Barracuda Cloud, to Amazon Web Services (AWS), or to any site with a Barracuda appliance. Progent is a Barracuda partner and Progent's Barracuda Backup consultants can provide a wide array of consulting support services to help your business to plan, integrate, manage and troubleshoot a backup and disaster recovery system based on Barracuda technology. For details, see Barracuda Backup and disaster recovery consultants.
ProSight Altaro VM Backup Software for Data Protection and Disaster Recovery
Hornetsecurity's Altaro VM Backup software offers small organizations a reliable and budget-friendly solution for backing up and restoring Hyper-V and VMware-powered VMs. Altaro VM Backup can be used for local, offsite, distributed, and cloud architectures and also enables cost-effective backup to Azure storage. Altaro VM Backup supports high-end capabilities such as Immutable Cloud Storage for an extra layer of recoverability from ransomware. Progent is a certified Altaro partner and offers a broad range of remote or onsite services to help you to plan, deploy, manage and troubleshoot a comprehensive backup and disaster recovery solution powered by Altaro VM Backup. With ProSight DPS Altaro VM Backup, Progent offers a managed backup/restore service powered by on Altaro VM Backup technology. To find out 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 crucial data protection services like Exchange Online backups or long-term point-in-time recovery for OneDrive for Business or SharePoint Online. Hornetsecurity's 365 Total Backup delivers a full-featured BDR solution for programmable backup and rapid recovery of all your organization's M365 mailboxes, Microsoft Teams Chats, SharePoint documents, OneDrive files, and content on Windows endpoints. 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 Data Protection Services 365 Total Backup delivers a low-cost backup-as-a-service alternative that defends M365 components against data loss resulting from user or software mistakes, malevolent corruption, and cyber assaults such as ransomware. For details, go to ProSight Data Protection Services 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 (BDR). Available at a fixed monthly rate, ProSight Data Protection Services ECHO automates and monitors your backup processes and enable rapid recovery of critical files, applications and VMs that have become lost or damaged as a result of component failures, software bugs, natural disasters, human mistakes, or malware 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 be compliant with government and industry regulatory standards such as HIPAA, FIRPA, and PCI and, whenever needed, can help you to recover your critical information. Learn more about ProSight DPS ECHO managed cloud backup.
ProSight MSP360 Backup Services
Progent's data protection experts can help you to design, implement and troubleshoot a backup plan based on MSP360 technology. MSP360 offers file or image backup/restore for VMs and physical machines, supports all leading public clouds, and allows businesses to build a data protection ecosystem with a low RTO and a defined Recovery Point Objective. With ProSight MSP360 Backup, Progent can provide end-to-end monitoring and remote management of your backup environment to prevent data loss caused by user mistakes, system errors, malicious users, and external attacks like ransomware. To find out more, visit ProSight MSP360 Backup services.
Consulting Services Double-Take Software for Data Backup/Restore
Double-Take offers a selection of products designed to deliver small and midsize businesses a variety of cost-effective solutions for backing up and restoring vital workloads such as Exchange Server, SQL Server, RIM Blackberry, and Microsoft Office SharePoint. Progent's disaster recovery planning consultants have in-depth experience incorporating Double-Take products into small company IT networks to achieve a high level of fault tolerance and business continuity capability at a budget-friendly cost. To find out more, visit Consulting for Double-Take Solutions for Backup.
Why Pick Progent for Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity Planning?
Since Progent is a Microsoft Certified AI Cloud Partner and offers professional application expertise for a broad variety of small business software programs, Progent can help customers to arrive at comprehensive information technology solutions that maximize the productivity of your network. As a Registered Partner for Cisco, Progent can provide the support of certified engineers and specialists with expertise in architecting, configuring and supporting networking environments built on Cisco technology. The breadth of Progent's IT know-how and Progent's appreciation for the requirements of small and midsize businesses make Progent the ideal partner for building and maintaining a cost-effective, high-availability information system.
How to Contact Progent's Consultants for Support for Non-stop Computer Networks
If you wish to contact Progent about engineering expertise for fault tolerant infrastructure, phone
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Patch management Engineers
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Immediate SQL Server 2012 AlwaysOn Failover Cluster Integration Services
Microsoft Certified PowerPivot for SharePoint Computer Consulting
Progent offers the support of Microsoft-certified consultants as well as experienced software developers, DBAs, project managers, network infrastructure architects, disaster recovery specialists, and security professionals to assist you to assess the likely advantages of Microsoft SQL Server 2012 for your business, install pilot systems at your site or at Progent's lab, plan and carry out a smooth migration to SQL Server 2012 from earlier releases of SQL Server or from legacy RDBMS platforms, and configure a cost-effective and safe network infrastructure that helps you realize the full business benefit of Microsoft SQL Server 2012.
MCSE Expert Certified Small and Midsize Office Network Consulting
Small and Midsize Business On Site service
Progent is a leading innovator in cost-effectively providing world-class IT support to small companies. Progent's achievement in addressing the IT service requirements of the chronically underserved small business market is the combined result of major technical and operational breakthroughs that have removed a great deal of the conventional expenses out of managing IT support, added unprecedented professional skill into the support system, and significantly streamlined the solution cycle.
Troubleshooting Tracking Service Costs
Online Technical Support Tracking Service Costs
Progent uses an enterprise-class support reporting system that stores and formats complete documentation for all billed services. Unlike many independent consultants or small support firms who offer scant documentation or details of tasks performed, each service delivered by Progent is tracked by full documentation. Every Progent consultant has access to the service reports transmitted by each consultant to every client. The discipline of detailing and archiving support records allows more efficient service and eliminates a slew of typical problems such as when a service client is virtually held hostage to a consultant who won't let go of the keys to the kingdom.
Consultancy Virtual Server
Best Server Virtualization Remote Troubleshooting
By using virtual server technology, businesses are able to operate multiple virtual machines on a single actual server. Virtualization technology enables companies to gain all the benefits of server isolation, but without the expense associated with buying extra server equipment. Virtualization is the enabling technology for building private clouds, which offer important advantages such as reducing the costs of capital equipment, datacenter facilities, and management while enhancing information security, network availability, and disaster recovery. Other key server management options are network monitoring software, Windows Server Update Services, and remote system management cards. Progent's certified server management experts can help you with all aspects of server virtualization and management to allow your business to cut expenses and conserve time.
Citrix for Hyper-V Technology Professional
Citrix Hyper-V Management Professionals
Progent's Citrix experts can help you to assess the business benefits of the available versions of Essentials for Hyper-V, assist you to integrate Citrix management tools with your Hyper-V environment, and demonstrate to you how to use Citrix Essentials for Hyper-V to enhance the performance, availability, flexibility, and recoverability of your virtual environment while reducing the cost of resources and operations and simplifying administrative tasks.
Windows Server 2022 Configuration
Windows 2019 IT Consultants
The sophistication and integration requirements of Microsoft Windows Servers requires an IT consulting team with hands-on expertise and broad familiarity with planning and building cohesive, end-to-end business technology solutions. The background of Progent's Microsoft-certified consultants, which averages over 10 years working with Microsoft technology, ensures you success deploying Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2003 to align closely with your business goals. Progent's consulting support can assist you with designing, deploying, administering, and supporting Windows Server systems that maximize the business value of your IT system. Progent's consultants can help you with Microsoft Windows 2008 Server, Microsoft Windows 2003 Server, Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, or Windows NT Server as well as Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista and other desktop clients.
Professional ProSight IT asset management
Urgent Services domain expiration management
Progent's ProSight IT Asset Management is an IT infrastructure documentation management service that allows you to capture, update, find and protect data about your network infrastructure, procedures, applications, and services. You can quickly find passwords or IP addresses and be warned about impending expirations of SSLs or domains. By updating and organizing your IT infrastructure documentation, you can save as much as 50% of the time thrown away trying to find critical information about your IT network. ProSight IT Asset Management includes a centralized repository for storing and sharing all documents required for managing your network infrastructure such as standard operating procedures and self-service instructions. ProSight IT Asset Management also offers a high level of automation for gathering and relating IT data. Whether you're planning enhancements, performing regular maintenance, or responding to an emergency, ProSight IT Asset Management gets you the data you require when you need it.
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