Bob's Blog

VMware vCenter Chargeback™

2010-05-11T13:57:00.000-04:00

Model, Measure and Assign Costs Associated with Virtual Machines

Get accurate cost measurement, analysis and reporting with VMware vCenter Chargeback, part of the VMware family of management products. Create cost transparency and accountability so business owners and IT can understand the actual cost of the virtual infrastructure required to support business services.

VMware vCenter Chargeback is fully integrated with VMware vCenter Server and gives you the ability to map IT costs to business units, cost centers, or external customers — enabling a better understanding of how much resources cost and what can be done to optimize resource utilization to reduce overall spend on IT infrastructure.

Accurately Measure and Analyze Costs of Virtual Machines
Make better resource utilization and allocation decisions by ensuring accurate measurement of the true costs of virtualized workloads. Identify opportunities to reduce deployment of low-priority or under-utilized workloads that don't justify their costs. Help the business make informed decisions about service levels with better visibility in to their associated costs.

Drive Transparency Between IT and the Business

Allow the business to understand the cost of deploying and maintaining business services.
Eliminate the perception that virtual machines are "free"
Drive better decision making and planning for infrastructure budget requirements

Simplify Cost Accounting for a Shared Virtual Infrastructure

Accurately account for resource ownership across business units
Automatically assign costs for usage of server, storage, and network resources
Schedule and distribute reports on a periodic basis to communicate usage and costs to business owners

Use Comprehensive Datacenter Cost Modeling

Track costs for power, cooling, real estate, software licenses, and maintenance associated with virtual infrastructure deployments
Distribute costs for shared business services across organizational units
Integrate with existing IT Financial Management or Asset Management systems for complete cost visibility across physical and virtual resources

AOKNetworking's Newest Team Member

2010-04-27T13:25:00.001-04:00

Curtis Hill
Network Engineer

Speciality: SonicWALL, Cisco, Windows System, Linux & Blackberry Enterprise

VMware vCenter AppSpeed

2010-04-27T13:24:00.000-04:00

Manage the Performance of Virtualized Multi-Tier Applications

Guarantee performance SLAs to the business and perform "Assured Migrations" as you measure performance both before and after virtualizing an application. VMware vCenter AppSpeed inspects traffic flowing over the vSwitch, discovers and maps the environment, monitors performance against SLAs and enables root cause analysis.

Ensure Performance Levels for Virtualized Multi-Tier Applications
Analyze the performance of applications in your environment and find ways to improve it. AppSpeed measures the latency experienced by the application end users and correlates that latency to the different tiers of the underlying physical and virtual infrastructure. Gain powerful capabilities to discover and map each tier of the infrastructure, identify application performance bottlenecks and enable root cause analysis. Model how applications would perform in virtualized environments and eliminate uncertainty about virtualizing business-critical applications.

Get a Real-Time View of Actual End-User Application Performance
Discover the relationship between VMs and applications shortly after installation. Group VMs into logical units with dependency mapping and gain an end-to-end view of application performance. Out-of-the-box views and dashboards identify the worst performing applications, applications with declining performance and applications experiencing high network error rates.

Identify trends and gain insight into root cause analysis through AppSpeed's timeseries data.
Create performance thresholds based on automatically calculated performance baselines.

Dramatically Reduce Troubleshooting Time and Finger Pointing
Determine whether network, infrastructure or application issues are at the root of performance concerns, then use a comprehensive set of tools for triaging and troubleshooting. View latency from the broad applications level all the way to the finest level of detail (transaction or database query). Break latency issues down to contributing components (infrastructure, network and application). Work with your networking and application owner counterparts to quickly resolve performance issues and eliminate endless triage, blame, and finger pointing.

100% Non-Intrusive Performance Management
Unlike other performance management tools on the market, AppSpeed does not require agents, code insertion into applications or the creation of synthetic transactions. AppSpeed is able to monitor application latency non-intrusively by inspecting packets flowing over a host's vSwitches.

Reduce Barriers to Virtualizing Business-Critical Applications
Eliminate performance concerns about virtualizing enterprise applications and realize dramatic OPEX and CAPEX savings. Show concerned application owners application performance measurements before and after migration to a virtualized environment and easily demonstrate that performance is not negatively impacted by virtualization.

Virtualizing Enterprise Applications

2010-04-20T13:07:00.001-04:00

Upgrade to the Best Platform for Business-Critical Applications

Give Your Applications a More Dynamic Infrastructure
Application architectures are rapidly evolving towards highly distributed, loosely coupled applications. Multitier applications, now the norm, will become more even important with the move to SOA, Web 2.0 applications and other emerging application frameworks.

The conventional x86 computing model, with applications tightly coupled to physical servers, is too static and fragmented to efficiently support these complex and dynamic applications. In fact, in these environments more than 70% of IT budgets are used just to manage existing applications and IT services. Less than 30% is allocated to innovation and competitive advantage.

Deliver Applications Dynamically in a Cost-Efficient Private Cloud
As the first cloud operating system, VMware vSphere transforms IT infrastructures into a private cloud delivering IT infrastructure as an easily accessible service. Free existing and future application loads from the constraints of a static, dedicated infrastructure, by utilizing a collection of internal clouds that federate on-demand to external clouds.

Exceed the Performance of Applications on Physical Servers
More than 95% of applications, including large databases, enterprise business suites, and email, will match and even exceed the performance achieved on physical servers when run on VMware vSphere. Each virtual machine can scale to 8 vCPU, 256 GB of memory and support IO intensive applications. Your applications achieve far greater scalability per physical host by scaling out on multiple virtual machines-often the only way to leverage the capacity of the latest multicore servers.

Minimize Infrastructure Costs
Achieve 5X to 10X consolidation ratios for demanding applications such as Exchange and SAP. Eliminate the need to provision dedicated testing, staging, training, and DR servers. In production, give applications exactly the capacity they need, when they need it and eliminate the need to overprovision.

Accelerate Application Delivery
Create pre-configured vApps that can be provisioned on demand, test multi-tier applications quickly and efficiently and automate release cycles with VMware vCenter Stage Manager. Deploy standard, pre-configured application stacks at the click of a button, ensuring consistency across production applications and minimizing manual configuration overhead and configuration errors.

Guarantee Application Quality of Service
Ensure end-user QoS by automatically providing the right levels of application availability and scalability with the vSphere Application Services. Dynamically dial up or down application availability and scalability levels as business requirements evolve so you can meet QoS requirements in the most cost-effective way.

Business Continuity

2010-04-13T13:14:00.000-04:00

Improve Business Continuity with Virtualization

While disasters and unplanned downtime get the big headlines, planned downtime for hardware maintenance and backups is the cause of most service interruptions. VMware's server, desktop and application virtualization products let you eliminate planned downtime, ensure data protection, deliver high availability and be better prepared for disaster recovery. Virtualize your datacenter and make it easier to deploy:

Data protection, including non-disruptive automated backup and restore processes

High availability through reduced planned and unplanned downtime

Protect your Business-Critical IT Infrastructure

Get Full Data Protection for your IT Infrastructure
Simplify backup and recovery of your data and systems with virtualization. Easily recover important data within your recovery time objectives using your existing backup tools and methodologies. Benefit from a simpler data protection plan, encompassing all systems and applications and leveraging the benefits of a virtualized datacenter.

Eliminate Planned and Unplanned Downtime

Make sure your applications have the highest level of availability with built-in service-levels that are easier and more cost effective than traditional solutions. The live migration of virtual machines eliminates the need for planned downtime, allowing IT to perform maintenance on physical servers anytime, without user or service disruption.

Build Reliable and Efficient Disaster Recovery Plans

Eliminate the cost and unpredictability of traditional disaster recovery solutions by taking advantage of the inherent flexibility of a 100% virtualized datacenter. Utilize this foundation to build highly effective disaster recovery plans and test your plan in a non-disruptive manner-eliminating the issue of failure due to hardware differences between the primary and backup datacenters.

Virtualization for Small & Medium Businesses

2010-04-06T13:11:00.000-04:00

Enabling Always On IT for SMBs

Small businesses face many of the same IT challenges as larger businesses, trying to accommodate increasing demand for new IT capabilities and services. Small businesses often place even greater emphasis on cost savings and on protecting business critical systems and data, since shrinking IT staff and budgets and a "do more with less" mantra make it extremely difficult to simultaneously maintain day-to-day business operations (keeping the lights on) and invest in new strategic projects that can yield longer-term efficiencies to help the business grow.

VMware vSphere for small business is the most cost effective way to enable Always On IT - the high availability, reliability, and manageability of enterprise-class operations optimized for small and midsized businesses

Always On IT

Virtualization technology simplifies IT so that companies can more effectively utilize their storage, network, and computing resources to control costs and respond faster. The virtual infrastructure approach to IT management creates virtual services out of the physical IT infrastructure, enabling administrators to allocate these resources quickly to the highest priority applications and the business needs that require them the most.

With virtualization, hardware management is completely separated from software management, and hardware equipment can be treated as a single pool of processing, storage, and networking power to be reallocated on the fly to various software services. In a virtual infrastructure, users see resources as if they were dedicated to them - while administrators gain the ability to efficiently manage and optimize resources to serve the needs of the business.

VMware equips SMBs with technology solutions that allow them to cost effectively optimize the use of their existing IT assets and resources as well as protect the systems, data, and applications that run the business, ensuring Always On IT. With analysts predicting the adoption of virtualization among SMBs to double in the next 24 months, these benefits are making this compelling technology a mainstream mandate for SMBs.

Benefits

Slash capital costs through consolidating servers and containing additional hardware spend. VMware virtualization delivers improved utilization of their servers, resulting in fewer resources to manage, power, store, and buy - enabling SMBs to increase utilization rates for x86 servers from 5-15 percent up to 60-80 percent.

Enhance staff productivity. VMware vSphere solutions are easy to deploy, use, and manage. They provide IT professionals with the freedom to be released from menial tasks, enabling them to take a more strategic role in the enterprise.

Improve business continuity. VMware solutions offer complete data protection, truly continuous application availability and automated disaster recovery across physical sites. VMware virtualization helps SMBs protect critical data and applications that keep the business running with zero-downtime hardware maintenance, eliminating the need for maintenance windows.

Improve business responsiveness through improved efficiency, flexibility, and responsiveness. Managing a virtual infrastructure allows IT professionals to quickly connect and manage resources to meet ever-changing business needs. VMware virtualization can result in faster provisioning of new applications in minutes, not weeks, and can accelerate change request response times from hours or days to just minutes.

Improve application quality and deployment. With VMware virtualization, SMBs can test more applications by optimizing pre-production staging environments, resulting in less downtime for the applications that run and drive the business.

Strengthen security. VMware virtualization enables automated patch management of server hosts and virtual machines and an integrated firewall that maintains security policies across the mobile, flexible environment and decreases operational costs of managing them.

Server Consolidation

2010-03-30T13:23:00.001-04:00

Reduce IT Costs While Maintaining Control and Offering Choice

Don't let server sprawl and platform dependencies prevent your organization from achieving its goals. Cut capital and operating costs while increasing IT service delivery without being locked into limited choices of operating systems, applications, and hardware.

Reduce hardware and operating costs by as much as 50% and energy costs by 80%, saving more than $3,000 per year for every server workload virtualized
Reduce the time it takes to provision new servers by up to 70%
Decrease downtime and improve reliability with business continuity and built-in data disaster recovery

Deliver IT services on-demand now and in the future, independent of hardware, OS, application or infrastructure providers

Reduce Costs by Consolidating Hardware & Increasing Server Utilization
By consolidating your server hardware, your organization can:

Increase utilization of existing hardware from 5-15% up to 80%
Reduce hardware requirements by a 10:1 ratio or better
Our Professional Services team can help you assess your IT environment to identify consolidation candidates and to calculate the potential savings from using virtualization.

Manage Your Virtual Infrastructure from a Single Point of Control
While most vendors offer only single-point solutions for server virtualization, VMware gives you the power to manage an entire virtual infrastructure from a single point of control. Using the production-proven VMware vSphere, your organization can:

Accelerate provisioning time by 50-70%
Manage virtual machines from a central location
Monitor the performance of virtual machines and their hosts
These and other benefits have enabled more than 85% of our customers to use VMware virtual machines in production environments for a wide range of applications.

Automate your Virtual Infrastructure for Peak Performance
Deliver levels of performance, scalability and availability that are not possible with a physical infrastructure. Using VMware vCenter Server in combination with our VMware VMotion and VMware DRS (Distributed Resource Scheduler) products, your organization will be able to:

Avoid planned downtime with live migration of virtual machines
Enable dynamic policy-based allocation of IT resources with automated load balancing
Eliminate many repetitive configuration and maintenance tasks
VMware Professional Services and our partners can help your organization leverage these unique capabilities as part of an ongoing strategy.

Did you Know?

2010-03-30T13:22:00.000-04:00

Beyond our Proactive Care & Virtualization Services, AOKNetowrking provides:

Strategic Planning
AOK is well aware of the scalability of the systems and we can work with you to make the most or enhance your current operations.

Server Setup & Maintenance
One, two, twenty? AOK has the capacity and expertise to construct and support even the most complicated network environments.

Continuous Data Storage
No one can afford to lose valuable data and it's our job to keep your assets completely secure with off-site backup.

Hardware & Software
We stand behind the products we recommend and provide valuable savings with our high-volume buying power.

Remote Access
We can create a virtual connection so you can work from anywhere on almost anything

Hacking
We test your system both internally and externally to identify and repair vulnerabilities.

VMware Disaster Recovery

2010-03-23T13:20:00.001-04:00

Build a Rapid, Reliable & Cost-Effective Disaster Recovery Solution

Traditional disaster recovery solutions are often costly and complex-and can't meet your recovery objectives even after doubling hardware (and cost) for protected applications. Testing them can be a nightmare because the steps are tedious and the documentation is hard to keep up to date. Likewise, keeping two sets of hardware in sync is nearly impossible. VMware vSphere lets you recover to any machine, not just specific duplicate hardware, reducing hardware costs and maintenance budget and lowering the complexity of maintaining a backup site. Even if you haven't virtualized all production servers, virtualize target servers for your data recovery to allow greater simplicity, reliability, and cost savings.

Recover from disasters rapidly
Ensure reliable disaster recovery
Reduce the cost of disaster recovery
Automate disaster recovery

Recover Rapidly from Disasters
Traditional disaster recovery plans require many manual, complex steps to allocate recovery resources, perform bare metal recovery, recover data and validate that systems are ready for use. How optimized is your disaster recovery plan? Answer 40 simple questions about your backup and recovery, high availability and disaster recovery setup and plans and our DR Assessment will suggest ways to improve backup, recovery and availability of your business critical applications. You'll get a personalized assessment, peer-to-peer comparisons and an optimization roadmap. After getting your assessment, you can download our white paper on Building a Comprehensive Disaster Recovery Plan.

Then see how VMware virtualization simplifies IT environments. -hHardware configuration, firmware, operating system install, application install- all become data stored in just a few files on disk. Protect these files using your backup or replication software and you've protected the entire system. These files can then be recovered to any hardware without requiring any changes because virtual machines are hardware-independent.

Ensure Reliable Recovery
Traditional recovery plans are often difficult to test, difficult to keep up to date, and depend on exact execution of complex, manual processes. In a virtualized environment, testing is simpler because you can execute non-disruptive tests using existing resources. Hardware independence eliminates the complexity of maintaining the recovery site by eliminating failures due to hardware differences.

Reduce the Cost of Disaster Recovery
Reliable disaster recovery solutions traditionally require duplicating your entire production infrastructure-and with it your costs. With VMware vSphere, you can provide rapid and reliable recovery without requiring identical hardware. With hardware independence, you can repurpose existing servers for disaster recovery rather than needing to buy duplicate servers for rapid recovery. Server consolidation also lets you slash the cost of server infrastructure needed both for production and disaster recovery.

Automate Disaster Recovery
Eliminate the need to perform numerous manual steps, difficult or impossible to automate and prone to human error. Virtualization opens the door to disaster recovery automation by turning physical servers into data and recovery procedures into software. Automate your disaster recovery process with VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager and ensure rapid and cost-effective execution of disaster recovery plans. Easily test your disaster recovery plan to ensure the highest levels of reliability and availability of your entire IT infrastructure.

VMware vSphere

2010-03-23T13:19:00.001-04:00

VMware vSphere is the next evolutionary step in IT computing; enabling customers to bring the power of cloud computing to their IT infrastructures.

Building on the power of VMware Infrastructure, VMware vSphere dramatically reduces capital and operating costs, and increases control over IT infrastructures while preserving the flexibility to choose any OS, application and hardware.

Maximize application throughput and operational efficiency
Increase control through service level automation
Empower IT departments with choice

Two-monitor virtualisation better than one.

2010-03-16T13:26:00.001-04:00

Pano Logic has followed last year's UK launch of its tiny 'zero' virtualisation cube device with a new dongle to enable it to display output from two monitors at once.

In the world of virtualised devices it's much harder to get two video steams to one monitor than it sounds, more so in Pano's case because it has no processor, memory or software at all. The Pano Device gets its 'zero' client status from this utter simplicity. It is no more than a connectivity box for a keyboard, a monitor and sound.

The new Pano Dual Monitor comes in the form of a USB dongle which plugs into the back of the Pano Device, and which allows the two screens to be displayed correctly without the need for any additional software.

The only other requirement to get such a setup working is for customers to upgrade to a new version of Pano's server software, System 2.8, which does the heavy graphics lifting to divide the data streams into two.

"There was a fair amount of work on the back end," admits Pano's president and CEO, John Kish. "The part nobody thought we could do is to keep the processing away from the endpoint." The demand for dual video came from healthcare, education and government, he said.

Kish criticised thin virtualisation clients from rivals such as Wyse (which Kish once headed) and HP, saying they still had too much hardware in the client. The point of virtualisation was to remove every piece of processing from the client to fully remove management completely to the data centre.

Existing customers would get the server upgrade automatically, he said.

Best of Tests

2010-03-10T13:24:00.000-05:00

(Network World) We tested more than 100 products in 2009 in a wide variety of categories, but 15 of those products were head and shoulders above the rest and earn our Best of the Tests Award. Here are the categories and winners:

1. Operating Systems
Vendor: MicrosoftProduct: Windows Server 2008 R2
We tested a raft of operating systems in 2009, including SUSE Linux, Ubuntu, and Apple Snow Leopard. But the operating system that stood out was Microsoft's Windows Server 2008 R2. This product delivers advancements in speed, security and management. Windows Server 2008 R2 boasts new server administrative roles for better security, an improved Server Manager program, revamped Internet Information Server (IIS) Web management functionality, better Active Directory controls, and redesigned Windows Terminal Services. Also, Windows Server 2008 is also significantly faster than Windows Server 2003. And while Windows Server 2008 R2 certainly stands on its own, the fact that it's integrated so nicely with Windows 7 is an additional bonus for IT execs.

2. Management software
Vendor: Research in Motion
Product: BlackBerry Server 5.0
There's no keeping end users from their BlackBerries, but there is a way for IT to manage those devices -- Research in Motion's BlackBerry Enterprise Server 5.0. We found BES to be an easy-to-use, Web-based tool that provides centralized administration, high availability and the ability to set rules and policies on a granular level. With BlackBerry Enterprise Server, an administrator can publish and push updates and applications to one user or groups of users. The administrator can also identify unauthorized applications and prevent users from downloading, using or updating prohibited programs or applications. When a BlackBerry device is activated, the new security policy supersedes any previously installed programs or policies. Can your iPhone do that?

3. Server Hardware
Vendor: IBM
Product: BladeCenter Server HS22
Two eight-core Intel 5570 Nehalem processors, two 10Gigabit Ethernet network interface cards, 50GB SSD drives, 150GB 15k hard drives and 48GB of RAM. Not to mention energy efficiency and strong management features. And all for around $10,000. What's not to like? In our tests, the Nehalem-based blade delivered a 10x increase in performance when compared with Intel's Core-based Xeon processor. In terms of total overall power consumption, the Nehalem processors consumed 17% more power than the Xeon-based system, which is a pretty good bargain when you're gaining a 10x boost in performance. Bottom line: The combination of Nehalem processors, 10G Ethernet, and lots of RAM make the HS22 a great choice for data center virtualization.
IBM BladeCenter delivers speeds, power savings

4. Security
Vendor: McAfee
Product: Web Gateway
McAfee's Web Gateway bested the competition in every one of our performance tests. We attacked each vendor's product with 100 malware instances. Web Gateway turned aside 99. We fed each gateway 1,000 e-mails - 500 phish and 500 non-phish. Web Gateway came in first with a 90% success rate. And in our latency tests, Web Gateway exhibited the lowest latency - 28 ms. Web Gateway sports an easy-to-use, intuitive browser-based interface that's especially responsive. Reports are quick and informative, and the Web Gateway dashboard is completely customizable. And the McAfee Web Gateway installation was the slickest. A USB memory stick containing a configuration program accompanies the device. Insert the memory stick in a Windows machine, run the program, save your configuration, move the memory stick to the Web Gateway before boot time and - voila! - the Web Gateway uses the IP address and other configuration data you've specified. This is the second time around for McAfee's Web Gateway. The product was a Best of the Tests winner back in 2006 as well

Runnerup: Vendor: Trend Micro
Product: Interscan Web Security
Trend Micro's combination of Interscan Web Security Virtual Appliance 5.0 and Interscan Messaging Security Virtual Appliance 7.0 is our runnerup. The Trend Micro software delivered a 96% success rate in blocking malware and an 84% success rate in blocking phishes. Trend Micro's tool gave us consolidated threat reporting and corporate policy management across our network. We easily varied security policies by network segment, company division and company department, at our option. We particularly liked Trend Micro's unified view of network security across an entire enterprise.
Also, you install the software on your own computers, thus giving you fine control over the speed and capacity of your gateway. Installation is a snap.

5. Server Virtualization:
Vendor: VMware
Product: VMware vSphere 4.0
VMware created the market for x86 server virtualization in 2001 and has been the leader ever since, although Microsoft's Hyper-V and Citrix XenServer are strong competitors. In 2009, VMware raised the bar with the introduction of vSphere, a cloud-focused product that is faster than its predecessor, ESX 3.51, easier to manage, and designed for provisioning fleets of virtual machine farms. The basic components of what VMware calls the vSphere 'cloud operating system' are an improved hypervisor and VMware's VirtualCenter management application, along with options like vMotion (live VM inter-server migration), vSphere Zones (network security aggregation), distributed resource allocation, and even a distributed network switch. These improvements allow vSphere 4.0 to manage and automate provisioning of internally-controlled VM farms and infrastructure with hosting platforms located outside an organizations traditional computing 'perimeter'.

6. Desktop virtualization
Vendor: Parallels
Product: Parallels Desktop for the Mac
Want to run Windows on your Mac? Check out Parallels Desktop for the Mac. In our testing, Parallels was strong in features and usability, and its 64-bit guest virtual machine support provides flexibility for developers. We could run Mac OS X Leopard client or server as a guest. We were able to import VMware or Virtual Box files (guest VM snapshots, or rapidly mountable VM guest operating systems) easily. Parallels Transporter let us convert other formats of VMs into the Parallels format. Windows XP (this test took place before Windows 7 was released) installed easily for us, with no interaction except for entering the username and product key. Parallels has preformatted settings for XP. Another useful Parallels feature was the ability to mount a Windows VM guest's NTFS file system into the Apple MacOS 10.5 Finder application. We could access all the files directly like an external hard disk. We could easily drag and drop files and folders between Mac and XP VMs. It's even possible to have the Apple Spotlight application index the VM Windows guest drive, a feature that wasn't available in the other hypervisor products we tested.

Runnerup: Pano Logic
Product: Pano Cube
Pano Logic's Pano Cube is a very small 'designer'-looking cube containing three USB jacks, VGA and audio/mic jacks. It has no CPU or memory/storage inside, permitting it to be used strictly as a KVM+ access device. The Pano Manager provisions desktops through ESX/vCenter and also enables policy controls about what IO can go through the Pano Cube. It's possible to restrict printers, and so on for any particular session. The Pano Gateway in turn, sets up connection brokerage relationships for VPN and proxy access from branch to 'home'. Pano Device setup was very simple. Pano Manager allows for persistent and non-persistent VMs to be used. VMs can be organized into collections, which can host a number of VMs in which the Pano Cubes connect as a single logical unit The Cube Clients, we found, are extremely fast. They logon in just seconds, and were able to reproduce multimedia very well - even when we loaded the hosted VMware server down (a local host with 8GB of RAM) with all 10 Cubes sent to us. The Pano Manager and Cube require VMware, but it's a decent investment. And Pano Cube's simplicity is bliss.

7. Category: software
Vendor: Microsoft
Product: SharePoint Server 2010
Our policy is to not test beta versions of products. There are lots of reasons for this, but mostly it comes down to the notion that we're trying to give readers information to help them make buying decisions. And that means we test the actual product that customers would buy. But there's an exception to every policy - and it's SharePoint Server 2010, which we tested in beta, and which came out on top in this year's software category. Interest in this product was so high that we felt we had to write a review as soon as we could get our hands on the product. And we weren't disappointed. We tested beta versions of SharePoint Server, and two related apps, Visual Studio and Office 2010, in a virtualized environment and found that SharePoint Server 2010 is faster and more intuitive than the previous version. SharePoint 2010 allows IT departments to run applications such as enterprise search, content management, collaboration and business intelligence on a single platform. Together with improved Internet site capabilities, SharePoint 2010 means companies can avoid the licensing and training costs associated with separate apps. SharePoint 2010 also offers improved developer and administration capabilities, which will likely speed application creation while easing server management.

8. E-mail
Company: Microsoft
Product: Exchange
Yes, 2009 was quite a year for Microsoft, with major releases of Windows, Windows Server and Exchange, Microsoft's e-mail platform. So, is Exchange 2010 an overgrown, bloated hog of an undocumented application, requiring enormous resources and costing a fortune? Or has Microsoft finally gotten it right, building the speed and reliability we need into a mailbox server that goes beyond simple e-mail and raises the bar for collaboration tools? The answer to both question is "yes." It all depends on how you use it. The core of Exchange is finally where we want it: reliable, fast, and resource-stingy. Exchange 2010 is also heavily Web-focused, supporting the inevitable march towards a clientless e-mail, calendar and address book experience. Of course, Exchange 2010 also has the expected bloat. Obscure inter-server communications pathways, connections to VoIP PBXs, obscure digital rights management, and an edge server that is best described as "not entirely useless," all are part of the Exchange experience, too. Still, Exchange is here to stay and if 2010 is the direction we're going, then the good far outweighs the bad. Two steps forward and one step back still adds up to one step forward!

Runnerup Zimbra
Product: Collaboration Suite
Want the benefits of Exchange, without actually running Exchange? We tested six alternatives, most of which closed in pretty well on the essence of what a collaboration server should be. We preferred Zimbra for its broad cross-platform support and powerful mail server. Sure, inside, it's a complicated maze of interlocking scripts held together by strings of commands that only a few select people truly understand. But when it works, which it did very well in our testing, Zimbra does what you want on the platform of your choice, and the price is slightly less than Microsoft Exchange. Plus, VMware seems to believe in it, since they announced they're buying Zimbra from Yahoo.

9. Storage
Vendor: Compellent
Product: Storage Center 4.0
The best of our SAN systems test was the Compellent Storage Center 4.0. The product offers a compelling mix of high performance, great ease of use and wide feature set, at a price that isn't over the top. It has all the features you'd expect in a SAN system, such as synchronous and asynchronous replication, snapshots and thin provisioning, as well as some features that other systems don't have - particularly the data progression feature, which automatically migrates the most-used data on the system to the fastest storage. This feature makes the best use of the fastest storage on the system, whether 15k drives or SSDs, with little or no effort on the part of the administrator. Mature, easy to use and operating at the block level, it is more usable than the recently released and widely publicized LUN-level automated storage tiering from one of the big names in SAN technology. The biggest differentiator for Compellent may be its ease of use. While most SAN systems offer similar functionalities, a system that can set up remote replication over the Internet to another SAN in six mouse clicks is noteworthy. Add to that a good value and high performance, with support for SSDs, 8Gbps Fibre Channel and 10Gbps iSCSI and you have a winner.

10. Wireless
Vendor: CACE Technologies
Product: AirPcap Ex
Our extensive WLAN testing in 2009 results in several products which received a perfect score of 5.0. But the best of the best is the AirPcap Ex tool from CACE Technologies. This comprehensive yet simple packet-capture tool is perfect for those all-too-common situations faced by practitioners and operations professionals alike when it's necessary to dig into the dialog between client and access point to really understand why performance is so unexpected, why security is now so tight that no one can in fact connect, or why erratic client behavior is just that. It's based on the very popular WireShark tool, and integration is seamless. It's available at a bargain price, and developer tools are available.

11. Networking
Vendor: Cisco
Product: ASR router
With enterprises looking to consolidate data centers and devices, Cisco's new ASR 1000 series router offers a compelling message: Do more with less.
In our exclusive test, the ASR not only moved traffic at 20Gbps but also did so while running QoS, security and monitoring functions on 120 million flows from hundreds of concurrent routing sessions. The ASR also proved a capable performer when handling multicast and IPSec VPN traffic. And with a 40-core processor, the ASR has enough headroom to run firewalls, load balancers and other services without requiring additional hardware. That's not to say the ASR isn't still a work in progress. Its data-plane capacity still needs to grow, and Cisco hasn't yet rolled out all the services that ASRs eventually will support. But this is a strong effort, well worth considering for the many enterprises looking to replace tiers of aging Cisco 7200 routers with a single more powerful system.

Runnerup: 3Com
Product: H3C switch
3Com says it has an alternative for network managers considering high-end switches from Cisco and others. And our exclusive test of this core switch backs up 3Com's claim. The chassis-based, 288-port device delivered line-rate throughput in all performance tests, supported more Open Shortest Path First routing sessions than we've ever set up and consumed remarkably little power all the while. While the device doesn't have all the features of some competitors (for example, the switch doesn't yet support hitless upgrades), its strong performance and low power consumption make it a viable option for large and midsized organizations in the market for core and aggregation switches.

Pano Remote

2010-03-02T14:25:00.001-05:00

Provide simple secure remote access

· Save on laptop purchases
· Save on duplicate software packages

Make it easy for employees to be more productive!

Calling Pano Logic's Pano Remote product "simple" would be an understatement. Pano Remote lets you access your virtual desktop from any internet connected PC, by just plugging in the Remote USB key. Pano Remote was developed as an add-on product to the Pano System. This ingenious tool allows end- users to access their virtual machine from just about anywhere - anywhere an internet connection can be found. No more lugging your laptop home every night. Or if you are away from home, find the closest Internet connected PC, plug in your Pano Remote USB key and voila! - you are securely connected to your office virtual machine, with everything open and ready to use, just as you left it.

Because Pano Remote only uses the client as an access vehicle, should the client vehicle be infected there is no risk of cross contamination. Pano Remote uses RDP and a secure SSL tunnel, maintaining a secure environment while eliminating the need for VPN, another reason this product goes beyond simple. See the architectural diagram below.
External Network Internal Network Feedback for Pano Remote has been overwhelmingly positive. Institutions have been impressed with how quickly end-users have integrated Pano Remote into their daily routine, and the resulting productivity.

Zero or Not?

2010-02-23T13:23:00.000-05:00

The term zero client is often misapplied to thin client endpoints in vendor marketing ploys. True zero client endpoints have no local processing, software, storage, or even any configurations or settings. They are completely stateless and management-free.

Zero clients mean zero endpoint management - absolutely zero.

Some thin client vendors have even tried to make their end points look "zero" by keeping the client operating system image on the hard disk of a separate "streaming" appliance, requiring that users wait while it is downloaded to the endpoint's hard disk o rflash storage before use. Unfortunately, this only makes the entire VDI architecture from these vendors even more complex and fragile.

To see if vendor claims of "zero-ness" are valid, apply these tests:

1. Does the endpoint include a CPU of any kind? Any RAM? Any storage devices or moving parts at all?

2. Are you forced to configure the endpoint in any way before use?

3. Do you need to reconfigure the endpoints before you are able to swap them between users?

4. Does the endpoint need to download an operating system image or any software before you can
use it?

5. Are you not able to use the native Windows drivers that XP or the manufacturer supply to connect to a new peripheral?

6. Does the endpoint require you to learn and adopt any embedded management interface or tools?

If you answered yes to any of these questions then despite the vendor's claims,
the client isn't a true zero client.

AOKNetworking's Newest Team Member

2010-02-23T13:22:00.002-05:00

Ashley Riedel
Account Executive

Specialty:
Sales, Marketing, Client Relations

Little Known Fact:
Ashley is a soon to be UCF Alumni with a business degree in marketing. She enjoys attending sporting events, golfing, meeting new people and enjoying life.

Microsoft CEO unveils Windows Phone 7 Series Software

2010-02-16T13:40:00.000-05:00

IDG News Service - Microsoft unveiled the next version of its operating system for mobile phones, Windows Phone 7 Series, featuring a move away from applications and towards functions. "It's all about the phone and how consumers react to the device," said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, opening a news conference held outside the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday.

Windows Phone 7 Series also marks a move by Microsoft to take greater control of the user interface of its phone software.
"We wanted to take greater accountability for the end user experience," Ballmer said. "We want more consistency in the hardware platform and in the user experience," he said, while nevertheless saying Microsoft wanted to leave room for hardware partners to innovate.

Microsoft also wanted the software to differentiate future phones from its past offerings, both phone and PC.

"Phones looked like PCs, but a phone is not a PC, it's smaller, more personal," said Joe Belfiore, vice president for Windows Phone.

To make the interface more personal, Microsoft is counting on a checkerboard of customizable "live tiles" that can update automatically with information from the phone or the Internet.

Some of the tiles will update automatically to show frequent contacts or local information, while others can be customized manually. The tiles will be grouped into themed "hubs," for example a page of contacts called "people" or a page of photos called "pictures".

Other hubs include "office," which features functions for note-taking and synchronizing documents with a PC; "games," which integrates with the company's Xbox live online community for its game consoles; and "music+video," which synchronizes songs and videos with its desktop Zune jukebox and music store software.

There won't be too much personalization though: some aspects of every Windows Phone will be the same.

Every Windows Phone 7 Series device will have three buttons on the front: 'Start,' which gives you quick access to those tiles, 'Search,' because that's how you are going to find phone numbers and restaurants, and 'Back,'" said Belfiore. Belfiore showed how the software will recognize addresses in incoming e-mails or calendar entries, converting them into hotlinks to Microsoft's Bing Maps property.

The interface has an on-screen QWERTY keyboard and will support four-point multitouch interfaces in the same way as Windows 7 for PCs. Another feature borrowed from PCs is the Web browser: it's based on the same code as the desktop version of Internet Explorer, Belfiore said.
The graphics Belfiore showed are spacious, using a thin typeface with big one-word titles for the themes of each screen -- day, local, music and so on. The text is displayed using a more precise version of Cleartype that Belfiore called sub-pixel positioning.

Some of the page transitions in the user interface slide like the cards in Palm's Web OS.
The first version of Windows Phone 7 Series will not include Adobe Flash -- although Ballmer said he had "no objection" to Flash support. That marks the software apart from Apple's iPhone, which does not -- and will not -- support Flash.

Developers will have to wait until Microsoft's Mix conference in Las Vegas next month to learn whether Windows Phone 7 Series will support Microsoft's Silverlight in place of the missing Flash, said Microsoft spokesman Casey McGee after the launch presentation.

Some of the page transitions in the user interface slide like the cards in Palm's Web OS.
The first version of Windows Phone 7 Series will not include Adobe Flash -- although Ballmer said he had "no objection" to Flash support. That marks the software apart from Apple's iPhone, which does not -- and will not -- support Flash.

Developers will have to wait until Microsoft's Mix conference in Las Vegas next month to learn whether Windows Phone 7 Series will support Microsoft's Silverlight in place of the missing Flash, said Microsoft spokesman Casey McGee after the launch presentation.

Microsoft plans to release a software development kit (SDK) to enable network operators and third parties to add new services and applications to the phones. AT&T, in the U.S., and Orange, in France, will be among the first operator partners to develop services specially for the phone.

Microsoft plans to release a software development kit (SDK) to enable network operators and third parties to add new services and applications to the phones. AT&T, in the U.S., and Orange, in France, will be among the first operator partners to develop services specially for the phone.
Although the new software emphasizes functions rather than applications, and Microsoft intends to keep tight control of the user interface, it will be possible to download third-party applications and games certified by Microsoft through a "marketplace" hub. "There will be opportunities for partners to add value and build in functionality," said McGee.

Developers will have to wait to learn whether the applications they created for the previous version of Microsoft's mobile operating system, Windows Mobile 6.5, can be ported to the new platform, McGee said.

Microsoft's own mobile software developers are focusing very much on the new platform. "Windows Phone 7 Series is the priority for Microsoft's communications business," McGee said. Nevertheless, he said, the company will continue to deliver support for Windows Mobile 6.5 for three to five years from its October 2009 launch. He expects vendors to continue to launch devices based on Windows Mobile 6.5 for some time to come.
Microsoft expects the first phones running the software to be available by the end of the year, and says that network operators including Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Verizon and Vodafone, and vendors including Samsung, LG, Sony-Ericsson and long-time partner HTC have committed to offering devices running Windows Phone 7 Series.

Microsoft expects the first phones running the software to be available by the end of the year, and says that network operators including Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Verizon and Vodafone, and vendors including Samsung, LG, Sony-Ericsson and long-time partner HTC have committed to offering devices running Windows Phone 7 Series.

ref: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9156938/Update_Microsoft_CEO_unveils_Windows_Phone_7_Series_software?taxonomyId=89&pageNumber=2

2010-02-09T13:33:00.001-05:00

Did you know that AOK's Proactive Care Solution includes AVG protection for all of your machines?

Aren't we all looking for a worry free internet experience. Allow me to highlight some of the great features that come with your AVG protection.

Identity Protection - up-to-the-minute banking and shopping protection
AVG Identity Protection enhances your current anti-virus software by shielding your passwords, credit card numbers, and all other private information from prying eyes.

Webshield - safe social networking, chatting and downloading
Webshield allows you to download and exchange files without risk of virus infection, including files downloaded using ICQ, MSN and Yahoo! instant messengers.

Anti-Spam - safe, uncluttered e-mail
Our AVG Anti-Spam feature adopts a regularly updated database for detecting all forms of spam.

Anti-Virus & Anti-Spyware - safe computer
Our Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware technology protects you from falling victim to or unwittingly spreading a virus, worm, or Trojan horse. It also prevents the unauthorized access of information from both spyware and adware.

Enhanced Firewall - block hackers
Our Enhanced Firewall ensures you against unwanted visitors trying to access your computer.

Certifications

2010-02-09T13:31:00.001-05:00

AOK's Newest VTSPs
George Kostopoulos & Nelson Rodriguez

Ever wonder about the certifications of your IT company?

AOK Man

2010-02-02T13:28:00.002-05:00

Check out AOK Man on our website!
www.aoknetworking.com

Network Security

2010-02-02T13:27:00.000-05:00

Endpoint Immunity

* Zero software (applications, O/S, data) at the endpoint
* USB access at the endpoint can be controlled/access denied
* Keyboard and mouse input are encrypted
* Secure remote access to virtual machines. with output options controlled

One of the primary goals is to move all software off the desktop and to the server. In accomplishing this goal, the ultimate secure endpoint was created, impervious to all malware and viruses. While this does not change the vulnerability of the software and data in the data center, at least it is in place where IT has more control. And in the event a virtual desktop machine is corrupted, IT can simply discard it and provision a new one, in just minutes.

The Pano System is compatible with the most USB devices, however the IT Staff can prevent the use of an external device at the endpoint, further protecting access to centrally located applications and data. Meanwhile all keyboard and mouse input from the user session, are protected with the industry standard AES128 encryption.

For remote access, a companion product to the Pano System has been developed called Pan Remote. Pano Remote can be used by employees at any PC anywhere on the Internet. It is a convenient tool that end-users quickly integrate into their daily routine. Since it is only using the client as an access vehicle and uses SSL tunnel to gain entry to the virtual machines back in the Company's server room, it is completely secure. If the vehicle being used should be infected - there is no risk of cross contamination.

Pano Green

2010-02-02T13:26:00.001-05:00

Uses only 3% of the energy of a PC

* Same as a traditional PC turned off
* 80% savings over a traditional PC
* Less heat created means lower A/C costs
* Zero clients -> no moving parts -> longer upgrade cycle -> less waste
* RoHs compliant

Whether driven by the need to help the environment or reduce company costs (or both), you may be surprised at the impact of the Pano System on the energy bill. The Pano System will provide more than an 80% energy savings over a traditional PC, even when including the additional energy used by the server.

Another energy related factor is whether to tell employees to turn off their PC's at night, or leave them on. A recent article (USA Today, 03/25/09) stated that $2.8 billion was spent by companies on electricity for PCs left on overnight - $2.8 billion down the drain with no value in return. However, if employees shut down their PCs at night, their data may not be available for scheduled back-ups, which is not conducive for business continuity. Second, they can spend 10-20 minutes per day shutting down and starting back up the following day, conservatively costing a full work week per year.

The Pano System is always on and always available. No energy wasted and no time lost shutting down or booting up.

Tips & Tricks

2010-01-26T14:29:00.001-05:00

Want to know a few tips & tricks for using your computer? Well I have gathered a few handy tricks with the Mouse & Keyboard. Enjoy!

The Mouse

* Most people have 3-4 browser tabs open at one time. If you want to close a tab you have to click on it, then click the little x that appears on the tab. That is two clicks total and you also have to view the tab that is about to be closed.

All you need to do is middle click any tab in Firefox or Internet Explorer and it closes. No need to see the tab or click the x. Try it sometime.

* Say you have a link that you would like to open. Traditionally you would either double click the link, or right click and select an option to open.

When you middle click the link it opens immediately in a new tab.

* What if you have a folder in Internet Explorer or Firefox that has a collection of links you use all of the time. Do you open these links one by one?

Instantly open every link in a folder, each in its own tab, by middle-clicking that folder. It doesn't matter where the folder is located bookmarks, or a pull down menu.

* Want a faster way to scroll through a document or web page?

Click and hold the middle mouse button. This will activate a handy page scroll option.

What About the Keyboard?

* Would you like a quick way to switch between open program?

ALT+TAB Switch between the open items

* How about a fast way to minimize all of your current open windows?

Windows Logo+M Minimize all of the windows

* When in a window and you would like to move through cells or options rapidly you can..

TAB Move forward through the options

* Conversly if you would like to move backward through cells or options you can...

SHIFT+TAB Move backward through the options

* Want a new tab in a browser

CTRL + T will open a new tab in Firefox & Internet Explorer

Desktop Virtualization

2010-01-19T13:08:00.003-05:00

Traditional Desktop Management Challenge

Management is time consuming and inefficient
· Different Systems, users, images, applications
· Distributed PC Management
· Provisioning large numbers of users

Security & Compliance Risks
· Difficult to maintain regulatory compliance
· Low Control on data saved on PCs
· Unpredictable user activity

High Operating Costs
· High Support, Administration Costs
· 90% of Cost is Operational Management
· PCs are more than 80% under-utilized and waste power

Poor User Experience
· Inflexible access
· User is tied to physical hardware, and risk of downtime or loss
· No continuous availability of personalized desktop

What is Desktop Virtualization

What is the Value
·
Save Money and Reduce Costs
· Virtualization is a strategy to drive IT efficiency
·· Allocate resources per user only as needed
·· Save green by going green

·Centralized Management
·· Faster provisioning of services and infrastructure
·· Eliminate break/fix at the endpoint
·· Dynamically scale respond rapidly to changing business needs
·
Safer and More Secure
·· No IP or virus threat at the endpoint
·· Keep data in controlled data center environment

2010-01-12T13:48:00.008-05:00

With talks of Microsoft ending support for Windows XP now seems like a great time to get to know the newest platform, Windows 7, and what it has to offer.

I would like to start with what is new in Windows 7.

Snap
Size and arrange windows by simply dragging their borders to the edges of your screen. Instantly expand to full screen and back, or arrange two windows side by side.

Peek
Look right through open windows to see the icons, gadgets, and anything else on your desktop, all with a simple move of your cursor.

Shake
Want to focus on one window? Shake it, and all the other open windows on your desktop will be hidden. Shake again, and they're all back.

Pin
Pin programs to the taskbar. Pin files to Jump Lists. Just like tacking notes on a bulletin board, you can use pin to keep the things you need close at hand.

Jump Lists
Got a file, photo, or website you use a lot? Open it in two clicks. Jump Lists keep the most recent things you've used handy for faster access than ever.

Windows Taskbar
Open files and get around your PC faster. You can even pin programs you use often to the taskbar so you can launch them in just one click.

Windows Search
Instantly locate and open any file on your PC, from documents to e-mail messages to songs, right from the start menu just by typing a word or two.

Reference:http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/what-is-windows-7.aspx

Hacking Wi-Fi made easy Again......

2009-08-28T06:13:00.002-04:00

The second generation of Wi-Fi security systems has now been broken as badly as its notoriously insecure predecessor: Japanese researchers say they can crack WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access), the successor to the old-school WEP, inside of a minute's time spent eavesdropping on a wireless network.

Details on the mechanics of the attack are set to be announced next month at a computer conference, but it's tentatively described as taking to "a new level" the previous method by which WPA had been roughly compromised, adapting previously theoretical holes in the WPA system and turning them into practical attack techniques.

The previous method of attacking WPA devices took up to 15 minutes to be successful, and didn't always work. The new method is said to work on far more devices and, obviously, much more quickly. However, as with the old attack, the new one only works on WPA devices that use the TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol) algorithm, which is a setting in your router and device setup.

WPA devices that use the newer AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) algorithm, plus devices that use WPA2 -- the third generation of wireless security standards -- are still safe for now.

However, this does mean that it won't be long before this attack technique trickles out into software that malicious hackers can use to invade WPA networks. With access to your wireless network, a hacker can potentially eavesdrop on any traffic sent, access shared folders on computers attached to the network, and of course send and receive data (like illegal file sharing or even child pornography) which could then be blamed on you.

To protect yourself, upgrade the security settings on your devices to WPA2 if they all support the standard. Alternately, you can upgrade any WPA device from TKIP security to AES. Check in your router administration console and on your computer for and where how to do this.

AOKNetworking can help you with your security needs. Have you been hacked? Do you even know?

Top 10 Facts about Spyware and Malware

2009-08-13T19:00:00.002-04:00

Top 10 Facts about Spyware and Malware

"There is no one software available that can remove all spyware or malware". Spyware seems to be the topic of the day. Here are some important facts that you need to know about spyware removal and how to protect yourself using AOKNetworking's Proactive Care!

Fact 1: Spyware and Malware can easily be installed on a system without the user's knowledge. In some cases one infection can propagate many more infections by downloading and installing malicious software stealthily in the background.

Fact 2: There is no software available that can remove all spyware or malware because of the techniques that are used to release new variants and new strains of infections into the wild

Fact 3: Spyware and malware infections can make pieces of your identity just a few mouse clicks away for criminals because of the ability of the software to gather and report personal information about you.

Fact 4: Spyware and Malware can slow down your internet connection speed dramatically

Fact 5: Spyware and Malware take away precious system resources in your computer, making boot times longer and over all performance sluggish.

Fact 6: A spy Audit survey in 2004 suggests that over 90% of computers are infected with some type of spyware!

Fact 7: Spyware and Malware can infect your system without your knowledge when you install certain software on your computer. Screen savers, online games, PC performance enhancers and even some spyware removal programs can "bundle" spyware and malware into their software.

Fact 8: Many computer users resort to "reformatting" their computer to rid their system of spyware, resulting in complete data loss and hours of valuable time lost to working on their computers.

Fact 9: Some variants of spyware and malware can install backdoors to allow hackers complete control over a system. This often results in someone from the outside using your computer to send out spam and viruses.

Fact 10: Businesses and individuals can spend thousands of dollars in a year on tech support, losing hours, days and even sometimes weeks and STILL have the same problems from the start!

Why not let AOKNetworking take the responsibility of managing the network for you to prevent this in the first place. Call us today and we can discuss how Proactive Care can help you!

AOK hard at work! This is a test of the VLOG

2009-07-07T21:47:00.002-04:00

First run at VLOG

Why Managed Services? Why AOKNetworking?

2009-06-25T17:23:00.000-04:00

What are managed services and how do they compare to outsourcing?

Outsourcing is taking an internal function and contracting an outside source to perform that work. Managed services are a collaborative effort between you and your service provider with emphasis on proactive monitoring and management of an IT operating environment. People within a company sometimes consider outsourcing as a threat to their jobs. Managed services are different in that they place the emphasis on the reallocation of resources to strategic core business initiatives.

These days, everyone is strapped for cash. But, you have to keep up with the fast pace of technology. Managed services handle mundane IT tasks so that you and your technology staff can focus on current and new strategic business endeavors.

What benefits do managed services offer?

Managed services free up IT resources and help to reduce costs without sacrificing quality. Your IT staff can focus on aligning with business goals without worrying about day-to-day operations and reactive support. Another benefit is that managed services are typically offered at a flat monthly fee. So when issues or incidences arise, they can be resolved easily and your fee will remain basically the same. See why many companies are moving over to AOKNetworking's NEW Intelligent Workplace.

With managed services in place, your IT environment is constantly monitored. So, instead of reacting when things break, you can proactively remediate issues. In addition, a good managed services program will be able to react to the problems that can’t be planned for, so you’re covered no matter what. A good program is flexible and modular — it can scale up or scale back as your business requires.

Additional managed services offerings include adding expertise to your staff where you don’t have it or don’t require a full time person (i.e. Oracle support, VMware or security). Software as a Service (SaaS) is a type of managed service that allows you to add tools you need without upfront capital expenditure and the hardware and skills needed to deploy and manage the tool.

If a company explores managed services what outcomes can it expect?

First, you have to define what managed services are appropriate for you and your company. Usually this entails a combination of identifying what elements of IT are core to your business, and also identifying what commodity items a managed services provider can potentially manage. From there you can determine exactly what you need and when you’ll need it. You’ll be able to predict IT costs, so you’ll have consistent spending. Managed services also offer a proactive analysis of your operating environment, remote monitoring tools, less reactivity for operations, more scheduled maintenance and the ability to measure results via monthly or quarterly reports from the managed services provider. Managed services will allow you to focus on your business and not on IT.

Free Unlimited Support from AOKNetworking!!!!!

2009-06-22T12:16:00.000-04:00

AOKNetworking, LLC utilizes state of the art technology to be able to remotely control your computer without the need of an onsite technician. You simply submit a "Trouble Ticket" either online or by calling our toll-free number. A technical consultant from our company will contact you and quickly and easily connect to your PC, just as if they were sitting in front of your computer. From that moment, you will be able to see everything our consultants are doing. This feature allows us to not only fix any problems you have but we can also train you to perform tasks in popular software titles. And it is ALL INCLUDED in your monthly subscription fee.

If the President is not prepared, are you?

2009-05-29T12:37:00.000-04:00

WASHINGTON – America has for too long failed to adequately protect the security of its computer networks, President Barack Obama said Friday, announcing he will name a new cyber czar to take on the job.

Surrounded by a host of government officials, aides and corporate executives, Obama said this is a "transformational moment" for the country, where computer networks are probed and attacked millions of times a day.

"We're not as prepared as we should be, as a government or as a country," he said, calling cyber threats one of the most serious economic and military dangers the nation faces.

He said he will soon pick the person he wants to head up a new White House office of cyber security, and that person will report to the National Security Council as well as to the National Economic Council, in a nod to the importance of computers to the economy.

While the newly interconnected world offers great promise, Obama said it also presents significant peril as well. The president declared: "Cyberspace is real, and so is the risk that comes with it."

Laying out a broad five-point plan, the president said the U.S. needs to provide the education required to keep pace with technology and attract and retain a cyber-savvy work force. He called for a new education campaign to raise public awareness of the challenges and threats related to cyber security.

He assured the business community, however, that the government will not dictate how private industry should tighten digital defenses.

Government officials have grown increasingly alarmed as U.S. computer networks are constantly assailed by attacks and scams, ranging from nuisance hacking to more nefarious probes and attacks, including suspicions of cyber espionage by other nations, such as China.

Obama noted that his own computer system for the presidential campaign at one point last year was compromised by hackers, but said the security of the names and financial information on contributors was intact.

Call AOK Networking for more information on how we can protect your network and give you confidence that you are secure and stable.

What’s better than fast response to a computer crash?

2009-05-26T07:30:00.000-04:00

What’s better than fast response to a computer crash?

Technical difficulties How about no crash at all?

Most tech companies are still talking about fast response and friendly people…or maybe they list all their certifications, partnerships, and specializations…but having a company that’s great at reacting to problems isn’t nearly as good as having one that prevents them from ever occurring.

In this crowd, we’re not looking for basics on how to be friendlier or get a technical certification. We’re hardcore: how do we get as efficient as possible about keeping our clients’ systems running smoothly?

There’s some great stuff right around the corner. We can already restore servers within minutes of an outage; soon we’ll be able to do the same with any computer on a network.

Think about it: instead of waiting hours for recovery, we get you back up and running on a temporary machine – in minutes – while we take care of whatever went wrong. You’re not in crisis, nor are we. Your business is fully functional with almost no interruption from technical issues.

What’s great is that this level of reliability is becoming more affordable than ever. Even if it’s a little more than you spend today, I guarantee it’s cheaper to avoid downtime – keeping operations going and keeping staff – than to skimp a little and then pay your employees to sit around waiting on your techs when problems inevitably occur.

Fun Computer Facts! Hey it's Friday why not?

2009-05-08T12:11:00.000-04:00

1.An Amd 1400 chip running without a heatsink gets as hot as 370 degrees.

2. Seagate introduced the first hdd for pcs in 1979.It held 5 M.B of data.

3. If u opened up the case of the original Macintosh, u will find 47 signatures
one for each member of Apple's Macintosh divison as of 1982.

4. The first computer company to register for a domain name was digital
equipment corporation.

5. Did u know Apple & Sun came very close to a merger in 1996.

6. The technology contained in a single game boy unit in 2000 exceeds all
the computing power that was used to put the first man on moon in 1969.

7. Hewlett Packard was started at a garage in Palo Alto in 1939.

8.Tetris has sold over 40 million copies worldwide, since it began in 1982.That provided the creator 800 million in revenues.

9.The superflop (LOL!) sega dreamcast, released in 1999, was the first console game machine to sport a 128 Bit architecture.

10.The most expensive game ever developed was "ShenMue" for sega dreamcast.It costs $20 million.

11.The QWERTY keyboard layout is 129 years old.

12.South korea's SK telecom offers an inaudible ring tone to its customers which, it claims, can repel mosquitoes.

13.In 1971, the first speech recognition software named, "Hearsay" was developed in India.

14.Macquariums are aquariams made from old macintosh computers.

15.The servers r in denmark.The software is from Estonia.The domain is registered in Australia & the corporation is in south pacific island.Ths Kazaa the p2p software.

16.Bill gates & Paul Allen started a company called Traf-O-Data to monitor traffic flow.

17.The four largest software makers in the world are:-

(a) Microsoft
(b) Adobe
(c) Sap
(d) Computer Associates.

18.Top Ten Supercomputers of Today:-

Arranged according to the speed:-

1. Bluegene/L DD2 Beta-system(IBM).

2. Columbia (NASA).

3. Earth Simulator (NEC).

4. MareNostrum(Barcelona Supercomputer Center).

5. Thunder (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory).

6. ASCI Q(Los Alamos National Laboratory).

7. System X(Virgina Tech).

8. Blugene/L DD1 Prototype(IBM).

9. eServer pSeries 655 cluster(Naval Oceanographic Office).

10. Tungsten(National Center For Supercomputing Applications).

19. According to university of california 1,693,000 terabytes of information are
produced & stored magnetically per year.

20.Hard drives in the near future are expected to have a track density of
about 100,000 tracks/inch.This means that tracks are spaced 10 millionths
of an inch apart.

21.One terabyte(1000 gigabytes) is equivalent to storing a stack of
documents that is more than 16 times the height of New York's empire
state building.

22. The 4004 was the first microprocessor of intel.

23. The nVidia GeForce 6800 ultra has 222 million transistors which is the
record for the max. no. transistors on a chip.

24. James Gosling created java at sun microsystems.He came up with the
name Java while debating over it at a coffee shop.

25. The first ISP was Compuserve, established in 1969 which is now under
AOL.

26. The Palm O.S fits in less than 100 K,which is less than one percent the size
of Windows 98 or Mac O.S.

27. What does 50 G.B of storage really mean?It means we can stack 3 piles of
single spaced type written pages taller than the Eiffel tower and data to
support this information is about 50 gigabytes.

28. The code name for the 12 engineers who designed the IBM pc was :-
'The dirty dozen'.

29. When the cd was invented, it was decided that a cd should be long
enough to hold beethoven's Ninth Symphony at any tempo which was
precisely 72 minutes.

30.128 bit SSL encryption is so strong that it would take much , much longer than the age of universe to crack a message encrypted using it.Even 20 years from now, if computers are a million times faster. it would still take longer than the age of the universe to crack it.

31.Bill Gates math SAT score was a perfect 800.

32.Bill Gates home was designed using a Mac!

33.Disk drive recording head fly height (gap between the head and disc when the drive is spinning ) is less than 1 microinch while:-

A red blood cell is 300 microinches is diameter.
A particle of tobacco smoke is 250 microinches.
A particle of smog is 100 microinches.
A human hair is 4000 microinches.

34.When Windows 3.1 was launched, 3 million copies were sold in the first two
months.

35.Windows 95 can run on 386DX at 20 Megahertz, with just 4 M.B of RAM.

36.David Bradley wrote the code for [Ctr]+[Alt]+[Delete] key sequence.

Intelligent Workplace on the front lines

2009-05-01T09:24:00.000-04:00

Add Value, Improve Efficiency and Increase Profitability to Your Offering!

ConnectWise and Kaseya significantly simplify the internal tasks necessary to run a business, as well as the customer facing communication needed to maintain client expectations. IT Service Providers can streamline key operational functions such as time tracking, services and project management, RMM and billing and all in a fully automated, web-based solution. Utilizing Kaseya and ConnectWise will dramatically change the way you run your business.

Join this webinar and learn how Bob Knoerzer, President of AOK Networking , uses Kaseya and ConnectWise to drive relevancy to his customers, while increasing efficiency and boosting profitable growth within his business. Register today and discover:

How Bob utilizes Kaseya and ConnectWise together to increase efficiency.

What areas of each solution Bob finds most valuable to his business.

How to provide customers with a more robust, reliable, and consistent services at a more attractive price point.

Upon registration for the session you will receive a confirmation email with instructions on joining the event. For questions please contact Valentina Vazquez .
Tuesday, May 12th
11:00 AM PDT

Webinar Speakers
Chad Gniffke
Sr. Product Marketing Mgr.
Kaseya

Jeannine Edwards
Director, Business Services
ConnectWise

Bob Knoerzer
President
AOK Networking

About AOK Networking

Since 2000, AOK Networking has assumed the responsibility of managing complicated networks for businesses of all sizes throughout the southeast. For small and medium-sized companies, we take on the role of an onsite engineer - available 24 x 7 - so they don't have to continually staff an internal IT department. For larger businesses with IT staff, we step in where their expertise fails. http://www.aoknetworking.com

Would you give if you could?

2009-04-30T17:25:00.000-04:00

AOK - Leukemia Lymphoma Society

On May 18th, I will be joining forty golfers for the 13th Annual Golf Marathon. This event will take place at Redtail Golf Club in Sorrento and will benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. This is not your regular golf tournament! I have taken on the challenge of playing 100 holes of golf (I don't know if my body can make 100 holes in one day) and raising a minimum of $6,500.

One of the main reasons I am trying to raise funds on May 18th, is that my brother died of Leukemia when he was only 11 years old. This has changed and structured my life in so many ways and I miss him. I only hope you can pledge something/anything. With us being able to raise funds, I am hopeful Harrison will not have to go through what my brother Tommy did. I sometimes wonder what life would be like if he was here!

Harrison Joseph I am playing in honor of Harrison Joseph, who was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia on July 24, 2003 at 10 weeks old. Today he is in remission! I have enclosed a picture of Harrison, and I hope you will help me insure that his recovery continues to be successful by making a donation.

Here's how you can help! Over the next few weeks, I will be asking for the support of friends, family members and business associates to help us reach our goal in raising $60,000. With your help, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society raises funds that go primarily towards research and patient assistance. It is LLS's goal that one day in the very near future there will be a cure for all blood cancers.

With your support, we will make a difference in the lives of so many and turn the hope for a cure into a reality.

Thank you in advance for your generosity and support.

To go directly to my site and pay online, please go to:

http://cfl.golf.llsevent.org/bobknoerzer

Warm Regards,

Bob Knoerzer
AOK Networking
12001 Research Parkway, Ste. #212
Orlando, FL 32826