Archive for May, 2008

Data Recovery On Servers

Monday, May 5th, 2008

The importance of Successful server recovery for business survival cannot be overemphasized because servers are important for business operations. Servers are continuously supporting operations by serving files, applications, transaction data and other kinds of support information and tools without which businesses and individuals would find it harder to survive.

Server downtime effects differ depending on the nature of the business. Server downtimes can have costly effects in banks, airports, medical and security businesses. For example, in banks if current account information is not available, even for a short time during business hours, it can cause serious problems. With thousands of transactions every minute, reconstructing lost current account details is better imagined. The servers serving current account transactions have to be handled with utmost caution and must have immediate online access to backup data to continue operation if there is a problem.

Data backups are not without negative aspects because they can get corrupted or contain data that is not up to date. If this is the case the task of data reconstruction or data recovery from the damaged media becomes essential. Data reconstruction applies usually to not too much data. When data is much data recovery from affected data becomes essential.

Data could be loss and through deletion might be recovered than data lost owing to a serious physical damage to the media. Expertise and experience are usually needed to recover data lost. Data recovery software could be used to recover data in some cases. The alternative may be to change damaged components or analyze data streams to rebuild damaged files.

Podcasting Servers

Monday, May 5th, 2008

Podcasting servers basically act as storage for your podcasting files. They are large containers for your podcast files equipped with large hard drives as well as dual power supplies. Te podcasting server waits for the requests for your podcast files in an environment, which is climate-controlled. The server sends out the files once they are requested by a client. The server provides a web page to the client computing tool using a system, while the client computing tool doles out a podcast file into the server through the system. And then the server would input the information to the podcast file together with the other information from the web page. After which, the client computing tool would be running the program along with the added information coming from the server.

Servers that are in these individual locales usually provide unlimited file storage and the amount of storage which is used would depend on the capability of the server which is used by the customer. Fees are basically structured on the kind and amount of servers employed. Additional storage services can also be offered to customers by these locales, some of which could even do regular and periodic maintenance. Normally, they try to make sure that their system would not be down for more than 10 or 30 minutes each time. Also, they are extremely customer focused, and are able to work quickly so that they would be available once duty calls.

There are a lot of servers that offer links to various MP3 files, which allow full access to programming, while there are some, which allow just one viewer for the program “feed” as opposed to the actual program.

Dedicated Hosting Servers

Monday, May 5th, 2008

Dedicated hosting servers are specialized computer servers or storage units that are stationed somewhere away from or at your office. They are extremely helpful in that they can hold and operate datat that you need for a given website or application, without slowing anything else down. One can understand the significance of the cyber technology that has become a crucial part of our daily lives. There has been a major increase in the number of Websites. Jobs that were dependant on the physical presence of the customer or the client in an office or service center can now be done over the Internet. Dedicated servers offer faster processing and more disk space and RAM than shared hosting. A dedicated server not only allows an individual or user to customize and individualize settings for their unique requirements, it also augments all kinds of Web-based works with faster delivery and maximum performance.

There are many Web hosting providers who have quality operating system servers to ensure the proficiency of your business and the necessary programs to run it. The most trustworthy are those who provide a Linux operating system. For the past few years there has been a gradual shift from Microsoft Windows operating systems to Linux. This is because Linux has a certain number of advantages compared to Windows. For one, Linux is far less likely to be infected by a virus. Getting a Linux operating system can be of immense benefit to the concerned individual who wants to set up his or her own business on the Web.

Understanding Virtual Private Servers

Monday, May 5th, 2008

Virtual private servers have been used for quite some time, but lately they have gained popularity and more and more people have a need for something other than shared and dedicated web-hosting services. A virtual private server is a single physical server that is split into multiple virtual servers. What this means is that the single physical server is portioned in such a way that the one server appears to be multiple servers. While this portioning of a single server has been effective for quite some time, newer software such as Xen, FreeVPS, and others have revived the popularity.

Virtual private servers are practical for those that need something a bit different than either shared or dedicated hosting. The attractiveness of Virtual private servers or VPS is that they allow root level access to each of the clients, yet they do not require physically dedicated servers. Businesses and individuals that really need a customized server and web hosting plan often go for the virtual private server because it gives them more privacy and customization than a shared server, but usually is not as expensive as a dedicated server is. Many find that a virtual private server is just able to fulfill their needs more accurately and efficiently than any other type of hosting service.

Virtual private servers are used in a variety of situations. Many times they are used for duplicate or copy websites. This allows changes to be made to the copy site before making the changes to the main site, to ensure that the website will be as accurate and as unflawed as possible. Testing the copy site allows the individuals running the website to ensure that it is as professional and up-to-date as possible at all times. Virtual private servers are also used quite often to create honeypots, which refers to the ability to allow a specific machine to run software that knowingly has security or other flaws. Honeypots are considered to be easier to deploy in a timely fashion, which allows one to gain more insight into the world of computer safety without compromising the safety of ones main server.

There is a well-known variant of virtual hosting that is called clustered hosting; this is a technology that involves a cluster of physical machines that are each running virtual hosts. Whether you choose clustering or virtual private servers, this can be the solution to your web hosting needs. If you have the need to gain more control and customization than you can get with shared hosting, one should definitely look into VPS hosting options. VPS is great for many, including those that want more control as well as web hosting resellers.

What Is The Difference Between Collocated Servers And Dedicated Servers?

Monday, May 5th, 2008

When it comes to hosting a website, many individuals are torn between whether to use collocated servers or dedicated servers. In fact, many individuals do not know the difference between the two. There are several differences to be found between collocated servers and dedicated servers and the different functions of each may make an option more or less attractive to the website developer. There are many companies that will offer their customers the use of either a dedicated or collocated server and there are several advantages and disadvantages to each type of service. Ultimately, the decision rests with the website developer and their needs for the website.

The main difference between a collocated server and a dedicated server is the ownership of the server. With a dedicated one, the user is provided with exclusive use of a server that is owned by another entity, generally the hosting provider. A collocated one is owned by the user and is housed in a rental space along with the servers of many other companies and individuals. In other words, with a dedicated server you rent it and with a collocated server, you rent the space to house it. Each option is more cost effective than purchasing and housing the server on your own, but there are major differences in what you can and cannot do with the equipment.

With a dedicated server, the individual has exclusive access to it and can place any software, content, or applications on it that they wish. Websites that use dedicated servers also have a higher reliability and can handle a great deal more traffic than sites that are hosted on shared servers. With a dedicated server, any issues that arise with it are the responsibility of the company that the individual is renting it from, which could be a good or bad thing. One of the biggest disadvantages to a dedicated server is that the individual only owns the data on the server, not the server itself, so if they are dissatisfied with the service they are being provided, they have little recourse until their contract expires.

One of the biggest advantages of a collocated server is that the individual owns and has full access to the server at any time. The applications can be run from a remote location while the server is housed in a secure facility with an uninterruptible power supply, internet connectivity, and increased security features. Allowing the server to be collocated frees up valuable space in the home or business that would be needed to house the server and allows the individual to split the cost of utilities between all the individuals with servers housed in the area. The biggest disadvantage to collocated servers is that all issues, maintenance, and needed repairs to the server must be handled on your own.

The Significance of Web Servers to Online Businesses

Monday, May 5th, 2008

Web servers are basically considered to be a vital core of the whole structure of the Internet. It is very important to have a good enough understanding of the basics of web servers, regardless of the web hosting company you choose. This would especially be true when you are panning to launch or if you already run an online business.

Each web host provider is equipped with special computers called servers that connect online and provide or serve the web pages and websites once they are requested by online browsers and users.

And so, once an individual wants to view a particular website or web page through clicking a link, this request would be sent to the designated computer or server where that particular web page or website is stored.

A lot of web servers are run and managed by web hosting service providers, however any personal computer that is hooked on to or has access to the Internet could also function in a similar way. A big difference would be that the owner of that certain website, instead of the web hosting service provider, would have to be the one who needs to perform the various technical tasks which are associated to the whole process of getting the website connected online and to make sure that is regularly maintained and ran properly.

In order to ensure that your server would be able to deliver the best results, try to choose a good and efficient web hosting service provider, which is equipped with multiple high-speed Internet connections, as well as back-up supplies, which are reliable to be used in the event of power outages.

Free Email Servers

Monday, May 5th, 2008

In your search for available email servers that you can put to good use, perhaps you have entertained the notion of why not just obtain one for free (if you can) instead of paying for it? Ah yes, the most important question: where can you get free email servers that offer the best of what these mail servers have to offer in order to carry out your own purpose?

Internet – the best source always

Online inquiry will enable you to obtain varied resources where you can obtain mail servers for free that are suited for professional and individual applications. Depending on the type of search engine you use, your sources for email servers can range from those that feature ingenious setups of spam protection, mail tracking, and instant mail delivery direct to the recipient’s mailbox. Some even offer as much as 10GB of available mail space. Other types of mail servers also support pop-up blockers, fast uploading of files, anti-virus protection, and a firewall, not to mention message filtering and additional tools for effectively managing your accounts.

While there are also those types of servers that provide a more personalized service to customers (some providers have this available for free or as part of their extended services, while, understandably, some provide this for a price) like external consolidation of all your email accounts, step by step validation of sender’s personal information so as to find out if the mails are really included on the list of mails you want to receive, control of mails being sent by you or other people using the same server, and lots more.

As the primary user, it is your task to choose wisely which mail server you are going to use and install. You can go for those servers that offer 100 up to 250MB of available mailbox space or go as high as 1GB if you wish, complete with all the trimmings of an excellent and high performance mail server, such as blockers, firewall, anti spam and virus protection, and more. But what matters most here is that that you can get the exact features you need to handle both personal and business communications with total ease and efficiency.

How Platespin Server Consolidation Works

Monday, May 5th, 2008

It is no secret that servers can take up a lot of floor space, and power. As a result, they can sometimes seem inconvenient. One way to save space and power is to consolidate servers. Server consolidation is very important in order to ease some of the frustrations of overdue consolidation processes. Server consolidation projects can also be accelerated via automation and virtualization. Platespin server consolidation helps to accelerate consolidation projects, and reduce errors. This is done without actually having to have contact with the physical machines.

Platespin allows managers to measure and evaluate resource utilization in order to speed up capacity planning for consolidation projects. This is accomplished by remotely gathering information about the server. This information can be the server operating system, memory, CPU speed, the network, and memory. Platespin server consolidation works on Windows NT, 2000, and 2003 systems. The system works without the help of agents. Therefore, the need to manually deploy software is eliminated. The risk of missing certain agent dependencies is also eliminated in this case. Platespin is also very simple and lightweight, so it can start to collect data in almost one minute.

Platespin completely automates the physical to virtual migration of data. This allows the servers to be consolidated quickly and with more ease. There is a drag and drop interface that allows the user to convert machines running Windows or Linux into one fully functional virtual machine that is hosted on several types of servers. These servers include VMware GSX Server, Microsoft Virtual Server 2005, or simply a Platespin Flexible Image file.

Network configurations, CPU cycles disk space, and memory allocations can all be converted rather quickly. This ease allows users to right-size target servers as the conversion process is occurring. As a direct result, data centers are made able to increase the number of servers that are able to be consolidated. This further optimizes resource utilization rates.

Server consolidation may seem complicated, but the right program can make it quite simple. Platespin automates many processes and allows many different factors to be converted quickly. This means that the total time for consolidating servers is reduced.

Importance Of Security Assessment During Company Merger Or Acquisition

Monday, May 5th, 2008

What are the general components to review in the event there is a merger, acquisition from IT Point of view? A thorough technical security assessment and audit should be conducted on-site to provide assurance on the following:

Confirmation if there are already existence of trojans, worms, viruses, spywares in the office servers and PCs. In the event there are very damaging viruses or trojans, these threats can infect your network and possible spreading via e-mail, ftp and network sharing drives. Further, they can also be transported via portable hard disk, USB Thumb drives, DVDs, CDs carried by office personnel.

Confirmation if there is a firewall. Firewalls provide more flexibility and capacity expansion in the network design. If there is a business requirement to have Internet facing servers, a firewall will allow creation of separate network segment to house these servers and at the same time provides network security.

Assurances there are no weak points in the network e.g. modem connecting to the servers and PCs. This can be the backdoor for intruders to penetrate the office network.

Other security controls such as confirmation if wireless network is encrypted, unnecessary services running in the servers, authorized personnel have access to critical data (Not everyone!), non business software which may have viruses.

Existence of a Security Policy

The responsible IT personal can then provide more information on the state of IT security in the offices. Further, a more detailed proposal if additional/reconfiguration servers, applications and equipment such as UPS, Gen-Set, Fire Suppression System to better support the business.

A more detailed study to review if the existing servers, storage systems are capable to support the current business requirement and future expansion.

This is my view of a Security Assessment based on my experience of setting up IT strategies of merging companies. Of course there will be a lot more information to review once the on-site audit/assessment is carried out. An IT Auditor/Security Consultant can then provide a more precise recommendation on the most feasible plan for the merger.

Learn About Your Free Web Proxy

Monday, May 5th, 2008

It is known that a proxy server is a server that retrieves the web information for you. These proxy servers work by providing their own identity instead of your own and that means fewer risks for spam or other e-junk. Through a proxy server you can browse the net without any worries because these sites provide their own identity to the visited sites. While browsing through web pages, information about you and your computer is required. That is why proxy servers are recommended because the requesting data comes first to the proxy and only afterwards the information is required from you directly.

In many cases these proxy servers are used for increasing the network capacities and also its speed. This is done with the help of the saved information in the proxy servers’ database. It is also known that if a person searches something on the internet that required information will be stored in a special database called cache. When new users open the same page or ask for the same information, the proxy server looks first in his cache and only afterwards over the internet. In many cases the searched information was already opened and the proxy servers do not do anything but restore the information from the cache.

It is good to know that the most common used proxy servers are the anonymous ones. These servers hide your ID and any kind of information only in your interest. These anonymous servers also help in cases when some internet providers band users or regions or even countries. They can request the needed information with the help of these servers that help you browse without having to share your IP or ID.

Even if many persons consider web surfing a normal subject it is good to know that web surfing is not as harmless at it seems. Many threats occur while you browse the net. These threats often refer to internet privacy. The problem is that many sites require general information about you and your personal computer and you are automatically recorded for analyzing purpose. The sites that require this kind of information probably intend to get your e-mail or other information about your PC and operating system. This information is enough for small hacking programs that will block your PC and make you reboot.