Symantec Backup Exec 2010: Reliable Backup and Recovery Designed for Your Growing Business
Overview
Symantec Backup Exec™ 2010 delivers market leading backup and recovery protection from server to desktop. Easily protect more data while you reduce storage costs and improve backup performance through integrated deduplication and archiving technology. Reduce business downtime with unmatched technology that recovers critical Microsoft applications and VMware or Microsoft Hyper-V virtual environments in seconds. Meet your recovery point objectives with continuous data protection to ensure reliable recovery of an entire application and efficiently restore a granular email or individual file/folder.
Symantec Backup Exec also delivers centralized management to easily extend your backup infrastructure across a distributed environment and remote offices so your server and desktop data protection is easily managed from a central office as your business grows. Efficiently manage both Windows and non-Windows systems through a single console including UNIX, Linux, MAC, and NetWare, including remote media server support for Linux servers. Overall, Backup Exec 2010 is designed to readily optimize any Windows data protection strategy – helping you protect more data while utilizing less storage – overall saving you time and money.
Key Benefits
Delivers market-leading Windows data protection with
more than 1.5 million customers globally
• Reduce storage costs while optimizing network utilization through integrated deduplication and archiving technology.
• First-to-market granular recovery for Exchange, SQL and Active Directory environments running in a VMware and Microsoft Hyper-V environment.
• Microsoft certified backup and recovery for the latest Windows environment, including Windows 2008 R2, Exchange 2010 SP1, and Windows 7.
• Comprehensive disk and tape storage for the latest physical and virtual server systems though one console including VMware and Microsoft Hyper-V virtual systems.
• Reduce storage requirements and recovery times with patent-pending granular data recovery of leading Microsoft applications, including Exchange, SharePoint and Active Directory.
• Protect non-Windows servers and maximize performance of supported NDMP filers and SAN environments through scalable remote agents and options.
• Easily update and manage a growing Backup Exec infrastructure throughout a Windows datacenter, distributed throughout the network or at remote offices from one console.
• Eliminate the backup window and ensure recovery point objectives are easily met for Exchange, File Servers and desktop data with Continuous Data Protection.
Comprehensive Backup and Recovery
Symantec Backup Exec 2010 offers a comprehensive backup and recovery solution in one product suite, which reduces the complexity of protecting your company’s most valuable asset—its data. Whether that data resides on a Windows file server; on a desktop; virtual server; or on a critical application server like Exchange, SQL, or SharePoint, Symantec Backup Exec 2010 provides full protection and recovery for both data and systems. Designed to meet the growing needs of today’s businesses, Symantec Backup Exec 2010 delivers comprehensive disk or tape data protection and recovery for Windows environments. Backup Exec provides integrated deduplication and archiving, plus, continuous data protection—eliminating backup windows altogether, speeding up data recovery, and enabling end users to recover their own files without IT intervention. Symantec Backup Exec 2010 also delivers patent-pending Granular Recovery Technology allowing businesses to recover data in seconds, including business-critical information such as individual email messages, folders, and documents, from a single backup. An optional centralized administration console provides scalable management of distributed backup servers. New infrastructure management is also available for simplified inventory, deployment and upgrades of Backup Exec licenses and software patches though a single console.
Overall, sophisticated database and groupware agents and storage options easily expand data protection to protect to critical applications and provide added flexibility for virtually any storage environments.
New Product Highlights
• NEW integrated deduplication option (using Symantec NetBackup PureDisk technology) reduces backup times and storage costs.
• NEW unified archiving (powered by Symantec Enterprise Vault) efficiently consolidates growing Exchange and File server data volumes and automates efficient data lifecycle management practices.
• NEW virtual server application support including with first-to-market Exchange, SQL and Active Directory backup and recovery for virtual environments and enhanced VMware vSphere 4.1 and Microsoft Hyper-V R2.
• Windows 7, Exchange 2010 SP1, SharePoint 2010, SQL 2008 R2, MAC OSX 10.6 and Windows Server 2008 R2 support provides comprehensive protection for the latest Windows and MAC environments.
• Enhanced Agent for Enterprise Vault automates backup and recovery of both Enterprise Vault 8 and 9 with theability to easily recover an Enterprise Vault site or individual indexes.
• NEW Lotus Domino 8.5.x support with simplified backup and recovery of the Domino Attachment and Object Service (DAOS) store and associated NLO files.
• Enhanced Virtual Tape Library (VTL) support and licensing, easily protect a VTL storage environment as a unique device and view valid VTL functions with new licensing per VTL environment.
• Enhanced installation and backup wizards reduce the time and complexity of setting up your backup environment.
• NEW Backup recommendation tool identifies potential gaps in your Windows backup strategy and provides recommendations on the agent(s) required to ensure complete data protection.
Proven and Reliable
Symantec Backup Exec is based on over two decades of proven, Microsoft certified engineering. The innovative architecture fully incorporates Microsoft design standards, helping to ensure 100 percent compatibility with the latest Microsoft Windows Server. Backup Exec also provides added security with flexible 128-bit or 265-bit AES encryption across the network or off to storage devices so critical data is secure whether in transit or at rest. Symantec Backup Exec 2010 delivers an easy to mange interface and calendar view to quickly track and monitor backup and recovery jobs. In addition, Backup Exec simplifies installation and backups with its Pre-Install Environment Checker, which highlights any potential issues before the software is installed. With its Job Test Run, Symantec Backup Exec 2010 will identify potential problems that cause job failures, and then notify the administrator so that corrective action can be taken. Realize further benefits with automatic discovery of new resources, which enables administrators to create a job for detecting new, unprotected resources that are at risk and in need of backup. All of these tools reduce the time and resources needed to install and run Backup Exec, while improving overall backup performance.
Support Services
No matter the size of your company, a service interruption can mean significant loss to your business. Symantec recommends Essential Support Services as the service level of protection for most businesses.
• Reassurance of knowing your Backup Exec products are up to date with the latest updates and version releases
• Cost savings that come with selecting a value-priced service plan
• 24×7 expert problem resolutions through Symantec’s global support and delivery team
Available Products, Agents and Options
Symantec Backup Exec 2010 provides scalable easy-to manage backup and recovery protection for Windows based environments. Symantec Backup Exec agents and options easily expand any Backup Exec environment to support critical applications, databases, and storage configurations:
Core Licenses
• Symantec Backup Exec 2010
• Symantec Backup Exec 2010 for Windows Small Business Server (view Small Business Server data sheet)
Symantec Backup Exec Suites
• NEW Symantec Backup Exec 2010 Deduplication Suite
• NEW Symantec Backup Exec 2010 Deduplication and Archiving Suite
• NEW Symantec Backup Exec 2010 VMware Suite
• NEW Symantec Backup Exec 2010 Hyper-V Suite
Symantec Backup Exec Agents
• Enhanced Agent for VMware Virtual Infrastructures
• Enhanced Agent for Microsoft Hyper-V
• Enhanced Agent for Enterprise Vault™
• Enhanced Agent for Lotus Domino Server
• Enhanced Agent for Microsoft Exchange Server
• Agent for Active Directory
• Agent for DB2 on Windows Servers
• Agent for Microsoft SQL Server
• Agent for Microsoft SharePoint
• Agent for Oracle on Windows and Linux Servers
• Agent for SAP Applications
• Agent for Windows Systems
• Remote Agent for Linux or UNIX Servers
• Remote Media Agent for Linux Servers
• Remote Agent for Macintosh Servers
• Remote Agent for NetWare Servers
Symantec Backup Exec Options
• NEW Deduplication Option
• NEW Exchange Mailbox Archiving Option
• NEW File System Archiving Option
• NEW Virtual Tape Library Unlimited Drive Option
• Advanced Disk-Based Backup Option
• Central Admin Server Option
• Desktop and Laptop Option
• Library Expansion Option
• NDMP Option
• SAN Shared Storage Option
• Open File for Netware Option
Coretek Services is a Michigan based Systems Integration and IT consulting company that works with virtualization infrastructure, and is also a Symantec Gold Partner specializing in Symantec Enterprise Vault (SEV), Symantec Backup Exec (SBE), and Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP). Please contact us today for any virtualization requirements, or Symantec Product requirements.
Source: Symantec.com
Symantec Enterprise Vault Archiving Framework Overview
Over 5,000 global customers use Enterprise Vault as an archiving framework to reduce risk and increase operational efficiency
Business is drowning in data. As part of the normal daily operation large numbers of emails and documents are generated; buyers may negotiate purchasing contracts over email, financial analysts may share data via Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server, and product managers may publish pricing and competitive information via file shares. All of these activities are fundamental to the smooth operation of the business and all generate business records, which, at some point, may be required for regulatory, litigation, or knowledge purposes.
Today’s complex storage and server infrastructures are not designed to cope with the efficient long-term retention of large volumes of data. The backup/recovery process becomes impossible within a reasonable timeframe. Keeping up with and exploiting the latest software capabilities raises the huge challenge of migrating legacy data. With IT budgets and resources stretched to the limit, the temptation to purge historical data is strong. But the increasing legal and regulatory demands mean this is not an option.
Flexibility and adaptability
Delivering value today, meeting your future needs
Without a flexible approach to storage the operational risks are overwhelming. Without an adaptable platform for information exploitation the risk of non-compliance could be catastrophic. Imposing complex document retention solutions on your users will result in overload. Enterprise Vault is designed to deliver long-term, archival storage of multiple types of data. The information and data lifecycles are managed and relevant content can be found on demand. A complete solution is delivered without disruption to the user, avoiding the need to change business processes and retrain staff. The heart of this solution is the Enterprise Vault archiving framework. Designed to offer secure, scalable information retention that is nonintrusive for the user, the framework is a natural evolution of Symantec’s market-leading archiving solution deployed around the world.
The archiving framework
Every organization is different. You need a solution that meets your business and operational needs, taking into account your current and potential future requirements. The archiving framework delivers the exact solution you require today, giving you the platform to meet current and future information retention requirements and exploit advances in storage and server technology. The framework consists of services grouped into a number of modules. By providing such a modular solution Symantec maximizes the value of your investment.
Components of archiving
The solution of the archiving problem can be broken down into a number of areas; each of these is represented by a layer in the archiving framework.
Enterprise Vault Repository
Central to every organization is the creation and ongoing management of the archive and its contents. This capability is delivered by the Enterprise Vault Repository. This is designed to deliver the capability to securely retain archived data in such a way that it can be fully exploited, and disposed of when it is no longer required. The Repository is designed to:
• Store archived content on the most appropriate platform
• Compress and single-instance for storage reduction
• Index content for rapid and targeted retrieval
• Render an HTML copy of all archived content, thereby
securing future accessibility
• Utilize user authentication security controls
• Define and implement retention and deletion policies
Content sources
Enterprise Vault is designed to store content from multiple data sources. Movement of content from the application to the Repository is carried out transparently via policy control. This ensures that fundamental records can be retained without affecting normal daily operations.
Open storage layer
The Repository provides for retention of the archive on the initial storage platform. Depending on the size of the organization and the nature of the content, there may be a need to use other types of storage, or indeed consolidate and partition archives for maximum efficiency. Your storage infrastructure may contain SAN and NAS technology and increasingly may embrace newer technologies such as EMC Centera and Network Appliance NearStore. The timescale for retention of content may be a few years, or a few decades. Today’s storage media may be regarded as legacy in the future. Storage lifecycle management
therefore is paramount to the long-term usefulness of archived content. To facilitate true lifecycle management the Open Storage Layer allows policy-based migration of archived data across storage media through time. This allows you to take advantage of the storage media best suited to the content’s age and usage profile, and reduce the total cost of storing the archive.
Performance and scalability infrastructure
The Enterprise Vault Repository is architected to provide the optimal performance for single or distributed server solutions. As the deployment environment becomes more complex, so it becomes important to have the ability to deploy components of Enterprise Vault in a distributed manner. Symantec and its partners have tested Enterprise Vault to beyond 100,000 users. A building block approach allows different servers to be used for archiving, indexing, journaling, and many other activities.
Universal access layer
Due to the wide range of data sources that can be archived, and the many ways in which end users work, it is important to provide an adaptable user interface. One of the key premises of Enterprise Vault is that end users should not have to change the way they work as a result of the implementation of archiving. Email clients should still be able to access current and historical email; file system content should still be accessible, and when working offline, archived email should still be available. To this end, Enterprise Vault has available a wide variety of client options:
• Transparent shortcuts in Microsoft Outlook®
• Universal shortcuts for non-Outlook clients
• Full access from Microsoft Outlook Web Access
• Transparent placeholders for archived file system content
• Hierarchical “Explorer” view across all archived sources
• Offline access for mobile and remote users
• Simple and extended full text search capabilities from
Outlook and Web interfaces The implementation of archiving and keeping of business records need not be intrusive for end users. They use familiar tools and continue to work as before.
Archive exploitation
Reducing the overall cost of storage should be only part of the TCO addressed by an archiving solution. Content is being kept because at some point in the future you will need to access it; otherwise, why would you keep it? Typically business records need to be accessed as part of a regulatory action, or as part of a litigation action. In both of these circumstances it is paramount that the information can be found very quickly and that only relevant information is disclosed. The ability to search the archive is only one part of the requirement. Locating the right set of content in response to litigation (perhaps as part of a contractual dispute) will require multiple searches. Search sets will require review by people with different levels of experience. An audit will be required of how decisions were made on what material to disclose. There is a process to this and it requires workflow. Enterprise Vault business accelerators deliver this workflow and drive the discovery or compliance process. Initially there are two business accelerators available within the framework:
• Discovery of content in response to litigation or a similar
event (Discovery Accelerator)
• Regulatory supervision in line with finance regulations
(Compliance Accelerator)
Framework benefits
• Built upon proven solutions from the market leader
• Supports many different content sources, not just email
• Nonintrusive for the end user
• Flexible deployment options
• Complete exploitation of archived content
• Addresses operational efficiency and compliance
• Enables information and storage lifecycle management
• Adaptable for future needs
• Reduces cost, reduces risk
Both Accelerators use the inherent search capability of Enterprise Vault to gather records that may be relevant to a case. The records are then assigned to a reviewer who is responsible for deciding whether the records are relevant to the case in hand. If in doubt, the decision can be cascaded to more experienced reviewers. The end result is a set of business records of absolute relevance, which may then be packaged for disclosure. Throughout the process an audit trail is retained.
Archiving for compliance, records management and
operational efficiency
Reducing risk and increasing efficiency
Enterprise Vault provides a framework of solutions that will increase your operational efficiency and decrease your business risk. Compliance is not just about email retention. Reducing cost is not just about storage optimization. Symantec helps you move beyond simply archiving email. We work with you to deliver a solution that allows email and other critical content sources to be archived and exploited on demand. This approach brings operational benefit to the data sources and preserves records for future use. Today your organization is looking for an application to underpin your compliance initiatives and reduce the future TCO of your storage and information infrastructure. Enterprise Vault is the proven solution.
Coretek Services is a Michigan based Systems Integration and IT consulting company that works with virtualization infrastructure, and is also a Symantec Gold Partner specializing in Symantec Enterprise Vault (SEV), Symantec Backup Exec (SBE), and Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP). Please contact us today for any virtualization requirements, or Symantec Product requirements.
Source: Symantec.com
Running IE v6 on Windows 7 with Symantec Workspace Virtualization
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
If you are looking for a way to run IE v6 on Windows 7 desktops, take a look at Symantec’s Endpoint Virtualization technologies. The software includes two different modules that are free of charge, including Workspace Virtualization administration and the Browser Selector tools. They are fairly simple to setup and flexible enough to isolate individual applications from the host Windows 7 OS.
Symantec Endpoint Virtualization
http://www.symantec.com/connect/endpoint-virtualization
Entry level pricing starts at $45 per node
Source: WebInformant.blogspot.com By: David Strom
Coming This Fall: Windows Azure Cloud Appliances
Addressing one of the key objectives of cloud computing, Microsoft today said its Windows Azure platform will be available as an appliance that can run on customer and partner premises.
The company revealed plans to offer the Windows Azure Appliance at its Worldwide Partner Conference, which began today in Washington, D.C. The appliance, which Microsoft has talked up conceptually for several months, will be offered later this year by key partners — initially Dell, Fujitsu and Hewlett-Packard Co. The appliance will enable private clouds based on huge turnkey systems equipped with the Windows Azure platform, server, storage and network infrastructure. eBay said it too will use the appliance.
“The Windows Azure appliance fundamentally takes the Windows Azure service and extends it,” said Bob Muglia, president of Microsoft’s Server and Tools business, speaking in the opening keynote of WPC. “It extends it to our service providers, allowing you to have exactly the same capabilities within your data center, providing that capability to your customers, and it can be extended to our larger customers that want to provide IT services within their own organizations.”
Details of the new appliance were vague, including cost, configuration and how they will be rolled out to customers. Muglia did say the new appliance is based on Windows Azure and SQL Azure with hardware specified by Microsoft, allowing service providers to either offer their own hosted Azure-based services or provision the appliances initially to large data center customers on-premise. The availability of such private cloud implementations addresses issues of control and compliance that have made cloud computing unfeasible to many corporate and government customers.
“The benefits are associated with control, compliance and keeping the data locally, data sovereignty. These are important benefits that allow for much more extensive solutions being built around this cloud environment,” Muglia said.
For eBay, the appliance will ease deployment without moving its huge auction and PayPal payment processing service off premises. “If I want to deploy an application today for eBay.com within my data centers I need to secure the hardware, provision a network, hook up the load balancer and make it part of the infrastructure,” said James Barrese, eBay’s VP of Technology, speaking at a press conference following the keynote.
Dell, Fujitsu and HP will all offer the appliances later this year, based on pre-defined hardware specifications by Microsoft. The hardware vendors said they see opportunities for both offering hosting services to customers as well as selling systems to very large enterprises such as government agencies and large corporations.
Though the companies are not discussing the configurations, the initial implementations will house just shy of 1,000 servers, Muglia said. One partner that appeared totally surprised by the launch of the appliance was Harry Zarek, CEO of Compugen in Toronto. When confronted on camera by Jon Roskill, the new Corporate VP for Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Group said, “We have been a Microsoft partner for 20 years, having gone through the traditional product resale and service support. We had a fear that this business was going to trickle through our hands and move into the data center. We had a big question what we would be left with. This is the missing link, this is the piece we need to give us the destination over the next few years, in the cloud, and we have an important role to play.”
Muglia said the cloud has forced Microsoft to reinvent itself and will require its partners to do the same. It’s a change that is inevitable, it is a change that allows us all to deliver new value, it’s a change that thankfully is not happening overnight, and it is a change we will embrace together,” he said.
Source: Redmondmag.com, By: Jeffrey Schwartz
TAKE FIVE: Why I Like Citrix
Here’s a situation where the nice guy finishes as President and CEO.
For the past few weeks, I’ve been working on a profile of Citrix. I’ve really enjoyed the research — because I felt like there was a good story lurking under the covers — and the writing, which has been made easier by the great interviews I had with Citrix CTO Simon Crosby, and Citrix President and CEO Mark Templeton. Here’s what I discovered.
Take 1
Mark Templeton. I can’t help it, I just like the guy. He was running late for our phone interview, so I had some time to chat with Julie Geer, the helpful PR person who had lined up the interview, and she was telling me how much everybody likes Mark — I know, I know, it’s not as though she’s going to say what a dirtball he is, even if he was, which he isn’t. When Templeton gets on the line, he apologizes left and right about keeping me waiting. My reaction: Wow, he’s totally unpretentious for a guy in his position. There was no “slick” in him. On a more professional level, you’ve got to admire somebody who has been president and CEO of a high-tech company for 11 years and has not only hung onto his job, but has navigated Citrix through a lot of turbulent waters. Mark Templeton = good guy.
Take 2
Simon Crosby. When I think of Simon, I harken back to Eric Clapton (E.C.) talking about Stevie Ray Vaughan. E.C. said Stevie Ray was like an “open channel,” meaning that he never had to stop and regroup before taking off on another fabulous sonic blast. Simon is a great interview because he can talk on and on — in detail — about whatever he’s asked to discuss. The only downside to that is trying to figure out what to use and what to edit out, which is a small price to pay for all that good content.
Take 3
The Microsoft deal. When you take the time to look at this long-standing agreement (it goes back at least to the late ’90s), you can see how good it is for both companies, which are complementary as opposed to being competitive. As long as Citrix can remain the company that best exemplifies what Microsoft is looking for in an OEM partner — which Microsoft says is the case — they can continue to earn big bucks by delivering Windows apps to that huge market. Adding to the luster for Citrix: Microsoft makes no bones about saying VMware is a competitor.
Take 4
XenDesktop. The buck stops at XenDesktop, which is the real deal for Citrix as a competitor to VMware, and which is now available as part of a suite with XenApp, which has been making Citrix a lot of money for a long time. Yes, VMware has excelled in the server virtualization market — which seems not to bother Citrix because the company still has big plans for XenServer as the hypervisor of choice for XenDesktop, XenApp and NetScaler — but Citrix is at least VMware’s equal in the VDI/desktop virtualization space, which has huge potential. XenDesktop’s use of HDX adaptive technology (which includes the ICA protocol) looks to have an advantage over PCoIP, which VMware uses with its View VDI product. Bottom line: the future looks legitimately bright.
Take 5
The Citrix image. Citrix has been taking it on the chin from bloggers, reporters and pundits of all kinds for quite a while now, mostly around two topics: the possible demise of XenServer as a result of its perceived poor performance in the server virtualization market, and the possibility of Microsoft abrogating its cooperative agreement with Citrix and then blowing the company out of the virtualization market. To which I reply: Citrix has announced that the next full version of XenServer will be available by mid-year, and Microsoft loves dealing with Citrix, as I noted in my third take. All of which goes to prove: indeed, image is not everything.
Source: Redmondmag.com
Virtual Servers, Real Growth
If you follow tech industry trends, you’ve probably heard of cloud computing, an increasingly popular approach of delivering technology resources over the Internet rather than from on-site computer systems.
Chances are, you’re less familiar with virtualization — the obscure software that makes it all possible.
The concept is simple: rather than having computers run a single business application — and sit idle most of the time — virtualization software divides a system into several “virtual” machines, all running software in parallel.
The technology not only squeezes more work out of each computer, but makes large systems much more flexible, letting data-center techies easily deploy computing horsepower where it’s needed at a moment’s notice.
The approach cuts costs, reducing the amount of hardware, space and energy needed to power up large data centers. Maintaining these flexible systems is easier, too, because managing software and hardware centrally requires less tech support.
The benefits of virtualization have made cloud computing an economical alternative to traditional data centers.
“Without virtualization, there is no cloud,” said Charles King, principal analyst of Pund-IT.
That’s transforming the technology industry and boosting the fortunes of virtualization pioneers such as VMware (NYSE:VMW – News), Citrix Systems (NMS:CTXS), two of the best-performing stocks in IBD’s specialty enterprise software group. As of Friday, the group ranked No. 24 among IBD’s 197 Industry Groups, up from No. 121 three months ago.
1. Business
Specialty enterprise software represents a small but fast-growing segment of the overall software enterprise market, which according to market research firm Gartner is set to hit $229 billion this year.
As with most software, the segment is a high-margin business. With high upfront development costs but negligible manufacturing and distribution expenses, specialty software companies strive for mass-market appeal. Once developers recoup their initial development costs, additional sales represent pure profit.
Software developers also make money helping customers install and run their software, another high-margin business.
But competition is fierce. Unlike capital-intensive businesses, software companies require no factory, heavy equipment, storefront or inventory to launch. Low barriers to entry mean a constant stream of new competitors looking to out-innovate incumbents.
In addition to the virtualization firms, notable names in the group include CA Technologies (NMS:CA) and Compuware (NMS:CPWR).
All offer infrastructure software to manage data centers.
“Big-iron” mainframe computers began using virtualization in the 1970s, around the time when CA and Compuware were founded.
In the late 1990s, VMware brought the technology to low-cost systems running ordinary Intel (NMS:INTC) chips. VMware has since emerged as the dominant player in virtualization.
Citrix has added a twist to the concept, virtualizing desktop computers. Rather than installing workers’ operating system and applications on hundreds of PCs spread across the globe, companies can use the technology to run PCs from a bank of central servers. Workers, who access their virtual PCs over the Internet, don’t know the difference.
Microsoft (NMS:MSFT) has jumped in with its own virtualization product, HyperV, which it bundles free into Windows Server software packages. Oracle (NMS:ORCL) and Red Hat (NYSE:RHT – News) have launched virtualization products as well.
Meanwhile, CA and Compuware are racing to move beyond their mainframe roots to support virtualization and cloud-computing-enabled data centers. In February, CA said it would buy 3Tera to build services and deploy applications aimed at the cloud-computing market.
And Compuware bought privately held Gomez, Inc. last fall to manage cloud application performance.
Name Of The Game: Innovate. With a fast-moving market and steady influx of new competitors, keeping customers happy with good service and money-saving breakthroughs is vital.
2. Market
Nearly everyone who runs a corporate computer system is a potential buyer of virtualization software. Companies ramping up their information-technology purchases use the software to manage their sprawling infrastructure; others with limited budgets use it to squeeze more out of their existing systems.
Sales of server-virtualization software are set to grow 14% this year to $1.28 billion, according to a report by Lazard Capital Markets. Sales of software to manage virtual environments will grow 44% in 2010 to $1.88 billion.
Desktop virtualization revenue will rise 184% this year to $847.8 million. Citrix has the edge in this budding market with its XenDesktop product.
VMware is dominant among large enterprises, controlling about 85% of the server virtualization market. Microsoft is favored by small and midsize companies.
Virtualization is seen as “a strategic asset” for enabling cloud computing, and continues to gain momentum, says Lazard analyst Joel Fishbein.
VMware has the early-mover advantage in this market with its vSphere platform and has stayed ahead by adding new features such as data security and disaster recovery, analysts say.
But Citrix is partnering closely with Microsoft to take on VMware in virtualization.
3. Climate
Competition is heating up as companies scramble to adopt virtualization. Before 2009, just 30% of companies used virtualization, says analyst Fishbein. This year, that will double to 60%. Most of the gain is coming from small and midsize customers.
In addition, virtual servers are soon expected to more than double as a percentage of the overall server workload, from 18% today to 48% by 2012.
VMware says it can stay a step ahead of the pack by building new features into its products, says Dan Chu, VMware’s vice president of cloud infrastructure and services.
“We have a large technology lead with what we enable for our customers,” Chu said. “We are several years ahead of what the others are doing.”
Citrix CEO Mark Templeton says his firm’s broadening strategy — offering a variety of products with multiple licensing options and distribution channels — will grow sales.
“What’s going on is a massive shift in how computing gets delivered,” Templeton said. “In an environment that’s changing so dramatically, the highest-risk thing you can do is not act.”
4. Technology
The first virtualization boom stemmed from a shift over the last decade away from big expensive mainframes and minicomputers to massive banks of cheap Intel-powered machines. Virtualization gave these low-cost systems some of the high-end features of their pricier counterparts.
Virtualization software makers are betting on a second wave of growth fueled by the industrywide shift to cloud computing.
Technology managers use virtualization to run cloud computing in their own data centers. And large tech vendors such as Microsoft use the technology for cloud-computing services they sell to customers.
Dividing computers into isolated virtual machines gives cloud service providers the benefits of shared computing resources without the security downsides.
VMware has the early lead in virtualization. But the technology is quickly becoming a commodity as Microsoft and others bundle it into their broader platforms.
“VMware is known as a virtualization company, and Microsoft is a platform company,” said David Greschler, who heads up Microsoft’s virtualization efforts. “Their strategy is to sell virtualization, but our strategy is to make virtualization available as part of a larger platform at no extra cost.”
At the same time, a shift toward a world of cloud-computing services hosted by the likes of Microsoft, Amazon.com (NMS:AMZN) and Google (NMS:GOOG) could lead to fewer companies purchasing virtualization software themselves.
Source: Investor’s Business Daily
Are You Doing All You Can to Protect Your Windows Environment?
If your midsize business is like most, the current economic climate has stretched your IT staff and resources beyond the limit. At the same time, the risks to your business operations are increasing. According to the recently released Symantec Internet Security Threat Report, malicious code activity is growing at a record pace.
Under these conditions, it’s a real challenge to keep the Microsoft Windows environment you depend on secure, available, and well managed. The following steps can help you better safeguard this environment.
Cover all of your endpoints
Why is it so important to protect every one of your endpoint systems and servers? Just consider the impact of the Conficker worm, which targets users of Windows XP and Windows Vista. Symantec estimates that millions of computers have been infected with this threat since January. Conficker has been credited with creating nothing less than “a secure infrastructure for cybercrime.”
As a result of such threats, companies are scrambling to implement controls that better protect their endpoint systems and the communications travelling between them. But in many cases they’re not doing enough. Symantec’s recent 2009 Storage and Security in SMBs survey found that while small and midsize businesses are familiar with cyber risks and have clearly defined goals for security and storage, a surprisingly high number have yet to take even the most basic steps toward protecting their businesses, such as implementing antivirus or backing up their data.
Reduce complexity
As your IT environment becomes increasingly complex, ask yourself if you have the right tools to manage it. Continually evolving risks, as well as remote systems and mobile users, pose daily challenges.
The solutions you deploy need to be comprehensive but at the same time easy to use. They should reduce complexity, help you maintain a consistent and compliant environment, and reduce IT costs by streamlining and automating tasks. Chances are you’re also supporting more users with fewer resources these days. A secure remote management solution can make it easier for your administrators to automatically troubleshoot and correct technical problems, and to decrease problem resolution time with mobile workers.
Ensure that information is there when you need it
Ensuring that your business-critical data and systems are easily recoverable is essential for keeping your business productive and profitable. Without proper protection, it could take days and require significant expenditures to recover important business information or computer systems from an infrastructure failure, natural disaster, or simple human error. That’s why solutions that enforce and automate backup and recovery processes are needed to keep you protected.
Developing a strategy for restoring data and systems is key. So too is continuous data protection for Microsoft Exchange; after all, your email system is as vital as your phones for communicating.
Get comprehensive protection
The following best-in-class solutions can help protect your Windows environment by keeping data and systems secure, well-managed, and available:
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Source: Symantec
Microsoft Starts Windows Embedded Update Service
Microsoft initiated a free Windows Embedded update service for device developers, which started on Monday.
The new Windows Embedded Developer Update (WEDU) service is currently available and can be accessed by downloading the software here. The software can be installed and run on Windows Vista Service Pack 2, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2.
The WEDU service, which reduces the time developers have to spend searching for updates, currently provides updates only for Windows Embedded Standard 7 developers. Microsoft plans to add support for Windows Embedded Compact 7 “within the calendar year,” according to the company’s announcement. Windows Embedded is Microsoft’s family of componentized operating systems used to support thin clients and various devices.
Project managers can use WEDU (pronounced “we do”) to ensure that their teams have the most current development environments. Users of WEDU need to have administrative access privileges to manage the service.
To use WEDU, administrators specify the products that should receive updates by registering them through the service. The next step is to specify the locations of the distribution shares where the updates should be activated, according to an MSDN library article. WEDU will search for daily updates in the background. Administrators can also perform manual scans for new updates.
The service comes with a few caveats. While updates can be automated, the WEDU tool doesn’t let the user remove the updates. Windows Control Panel has to be used in those instances to remove “certain updates for developer tools,” according to the MSDN article. The article adds that “updates to distribution shares and repository databases cannot be removed.”
Microsoft provides advice on maintaining distribution shares and creating distribution shares in its blogs. The former blog recommends importing all Microsoft-released packages and updates and not removing packages from distribution shares. Distribution shares should be backed up before importing any updates.
- Source: Redmondmag.com By Kurt Mackie
Microsoft Unified Communications Open Interoperability Program
| Microsoft Unified Communications Open Interoperability ProgramFind out more about the Microsoft Unified Communications Open Interoperability Program for enterprise telephony infrastructure, including finding qualified SIP-PSTN gateways, IP-PBXs and SIP Trunking Services.OverviewThe qualification program for SIP/PSTN Gateways, IP-PBXs and SIP Trunking Services ensures that customers have seamless experiences with setup, support, and use of qualified telephony infrastructure and services with Microsoft’s unified communications software and Microsoft Office Communications Online (BPOS-Dedicated).
Only products that meet rigorous and extensive testing requirements and conform to the specifications and test plans will receive qualification. While the specifications are based on industry standards, this program also defines:
The scope of the qualification is for environments where either Office Communications Server or Exchange Server Voice Mail utilizes a SIP/PSTN Gateway, IP-PBX or SIP Trunking Service for communication with the PSTN. Additionally, qualification is available for Microsoft Office Communications Online Service environments utilizing Office Communications Server with Exchange Online Unified Messaging. The testing focus of the program is designed to ensure that vendors providing interoperability with Microsoft unified communications solutions do so in a consistent and supportable manner, including SIP and signaling support used with the Mediation Server role of Office Communications Server and the Voice Mail role of Exchange Server. |
Direct SIP: Gateways and IP-PBXs Qualified for Office Communications Server
Listed below are gateway and IP-PBX products and necessary firmware combinations that have been independently qualified. It is recommended that you visit the vendor’s Web site for the latest information regarding PSTN/PBX, protocol, capacity, country support and documentation including a Quick Start Guide, release notes and known issues.
— “Qualified” +S —”Qualified with SRTP & TLS”
| Vendor | Configuration | Tested Product | Communications Server Version | |
| 2007 R2 | 2007 | |||
| Aastra | IP-PBX | MX-ONE V.4.0 | +S | |
| Aculab | Basic Hybrid | ApplianX Gateway for Office Communications Server 2007, V1.0.0 | ||
| Altigen | IP-PBX | MAXCS, 6.5.0.1000 | ||
| AudioCodes | Basic Gateway | Mediant 1000, 5.60A.013.005 | +S | |
| AudioCodes | Basic Gateway | Mediant 1000, 5.20A.043 | ||
| AudioCodes | Basic Gateway | Mediant 2000, 5.60A.013.005 | +S | |
| AudioCodes | Basic Gateway | Mediant 2000, 5.20A.043 | ||
| AudioCodes | Basic Hybrid | Mediant 1000 Hybrid, 5.60A.013.005 | +S | |
| AudioCodes | Basic Hybrid | Mediant 1000 Hybrid, 5.20A.043 | ||
| AudioCodes | Basic Hybrid | Mediant 2000 Hybrid, 5.60A.013.005 | +S | |
| AudioCodes | Basic Hybrid | Mediant 2000 Hybrid, 5.20A.043 | ||
| Avaya | IP-PBX | Avaya Aura Session Manager 5.2 with Avaya Aura Communication Manager 5.2.1 SP1 | ||
| Avaya | Basic Hybrid | Secure Router 4134, 10.2.1 | ||
| Avaya | Basic Hybrid | Secure Router 4134, 10.1.0 | ||
| Avaya | Basic Gateway | Secure Router 2330, 10.2.1 | ||
| Cisco | Basic Gateway** | 2851 Integrated Services Router, IOS 12.4(15)T | ||
| Cisco | Basic Gateway** | 2851 Integrated Services Router, IOS 12.4(24)T | ||
| Cisco | Basic Gateway** | 3845 Integrated Services Router, IOS 12.4(15)T | ||
| Cisco | Basic Gateway** | 3845 Integrated Services Router, IOS 12.4(24)T | ||
| Cisco | IP-PBX | Unified Communication Manager 7.1.3 | ||
| Dialogic | Basic Gateway | DMG2000, 6.0.128 | +S | |
| Dialogic | Basic Gateway | DMG2000, 5.1.142 | ||
| Dialogic | Basic Hybrid | DMG4000, 1.5.102 | ||
| Dialogic | Basic Hybrid | DMG4000, Dialogic Diva SIPcontrol 2.1.0.33 | +S | |
| Ferrari electronic AG | Basic Gateway | OfficeMaster Gate, 3.1 | ||
| Ferrari electronic AG | Basic Gateway | OfficeMaster Gate, 3.2 | +S | |
| Ferrari electronic AG | Basic Hybrid | OfficeMaster Hybrid Gate, 3.2 | +S | |
| Huawei Technologies | IP-PBX | SoftCo, V100R002 | ||
| Innovaphone | IP-PBX | IP6000, V7.00 ocs-certified 09-7034301 | ||
| Media5 | Basic Gateway | Mediatrix 3000 Series, DGW 2.0 | ||
| Mitel | IP-PBX | 3300, 9.0.0.41 | ||
| NEC | Basic Gateway | SV70 OCS-GW-A, MG-16SIPC | ||
| NET | Basic Gateway | VX1200, 4.7v88 | +S | |
| NET | Basic Gateway | VX1200, 4.4.2.v31 | ||
| Nortel | IP-PBX | CS 1000, 5.50.12 | +S | |
| Nuera Communications | Basic Gateway | GX-1K, 5.60A.013.005 | +S | |
| Nuera Communications | Basic Gateway | GX-1K, 5.20A.043 | ||
| Nuera Communications | Basic Gateway | GX-2K, 5.60A.013.005 | +S | |
| Nuera Communications | Basic Gateway | GX-2K, 5.20A.043 | ||
| Quintum | Basic Gateway | Tenor DX, P107-06-00-OCSR2-03 | ||
| Quintum | Basic Gateway | Tenor DX, P105-19-10-MS-01 | ||
| Quintum | Basic Hybrid | Tenor Hybrid Gateway 60, P107-06-00-OCSR2-03 | ||
| Seltatel | IP-PBX | SAMoffice 4, 2.8.0 | ||
| Tango Networks | Basic Gateway | Abrazo (qualified with Audiocodes Mediant 2000 5.20A.043), 3.3 | ||
| Teldat | Basic Gateway | Vyda-2M 10.7.55 | +S | |
| VegaStream | Basic Gateway | Vega400, 8.282S029 | ||
** See partner’s site for known issues and support notes
Other Supported Products
Other supported products are listed by request of the Vendor as the same qualified firmware may be supported across several different products. While these have not been specifically tested, the Vendor does fully support this configuration for the listed Qualification Level. Please contact the Vendor for more information on these products.
| Gateways or IP-PBXs | Other Supported Products | |
| AudioCodes Mediant 1000 | MediaPack 11x, Mediant | |
| Cisco 2851 Integrated Services Router | 2800 Series | |
| Cisco 3851 Integrated Services Router | 3800 Series | |
| Dialogic DMG2000 | DMG1000 and DMG2000 Series | |
| Dialogic DMG4000 | Dialogic 4000 Media Gateway Series and Dialogic Diva SIPcontrol | |
| Mediatrix 3000 Series | Mediatrix 4100 Series, Mediatrix 4400 Series | |
| NET VX1200 | VX Series, VX900, VX1800 | |
| Quintum Tenor DX | Tenor AS, AF, AX, BX, DX and CMS Series | |
| Teldat Vyda-2M | Vyda Series and Atlas Series | |
| VegaStream Vega400 | Vega50 Europa Vega 5000 |
SIP Trunking Services Qualified for Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2
SIP Trunking enables connectivity to the Public Switched Telephony Network (PSTN) directly over SIP. SIP Trunking services are offerings from IP Telephony Service Provider partners that offer PSTN origination, termination and emergency services using the SIP protocol. An enterprise can use SIP Trunking to connect their on-premise voice network implemented by Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 or to provision PSTN termination capability for Office Communications Online (BPOS-Dedicated).
Listed below are SIP Trunking Services that have been independently qualified to meet the UCOIP requirements along with those services who meet the additive requirements for Office Communications Online (BPOS-Dedicated).
| Carrier | Service Name | Office Communications Online (BPOS-D) Ver 10.1 |
| AT&T | AT&T IP Flexible Reach Service | |
| BT Global Services | BT Onevoice | |
| Global Crossing | SIP Trunking Services | |
| IntelePeer | IntelePeer SIP Trunking | |
| Interoute | InterouteOne | |
| IP Directions | OCS Telephony Services | |
| Jajah | JAJAH SIP Trunking | |
| Orange Business Services | SIP Trunking | |
| Sotel | SoTel IP Services | |
| Sprint | Sprint Global MPLS, SIP Trunking | |
| Swisscom | Swisscom VoIP Gate | |
| Telenor | Telenor Samordnet kommunikasjon (Unified Communication) |
|
| ThinkTel | OCS Connect | |
| Verizon Business | IP Trunking Services |
Supported IP-PBXs for Microsoft Office Communications Server
The following IP-PBXs are supported by Microsoft but have not gone through the formal OIP qualification process nor was the testing requested by the vendor. Sufficient internal testing has been performed by Microsoft such that specific configurations are supported by Microsoft (where applicable with known limitations). These configurations utilize the commercially available production SIP trunk interface of the IP-PBX vendor but may not be supported by the IP-PBX vendor. In addition, IP-PBX vendor-provided complete documentation for installation and set-up, release notes, or documented support processes may not be available. Wherever possible, Microsoft will endeavor to provide documentation for installation and set-up.
| IP-PBX Vendor | Tested Product | Supported Configuration | Software Versions Tested | 2007 R2 | 2007 |
| Avaya | Communications Manager SIP Enablement Services | Direct SIP | 4.0 | ||
Known Limitations:
|
|||||
| Cisco | Cisco Unified Communications Manager | Direct SIP | 4.2(3)_SR3a | ||
| 4.2(3)_SR4b | |||||
| 5.1(1b) | |||||
| 5.1(3e) | |||||
| 6.1(1b) | |||||
| 6.1(3a) | |||||
Known Limitations:
|
|||||
| Siemens Enterprise Communications |
OpenScape | Direct SIP | 3.1R3 | ||
Known Limitations:
|
|||||
Dual Forking Qualified for Microsoft Office Communications Server
Listed below are IP-PBX and firmware combinations that have been independently qualified. Please contact the vendor for more information on these products.
| IP-PBX Vendor | Tested Product | Qualification Level | Software Version Tested | Other Supported Products | 2007 |
| Nortel | CS 1000 | Dual Forking***Dual Forking with RCC*** |
Call Server X2105.00WSignaling Server 5.00.31Multimedia Communications Manager 3.0.1.77 | CS 1000 Series | |
*** If you are deploying Dual Forking, you must also install the following updates for Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007:
Source: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/office/ocs/bb735838.aspx
