Features

Features

• How can managed services be marketed?

  To boost business, managed services providers must carry out specific marketing campaigns. Find out the best way to market yourself as a managed services provider.  Continue Reading

• What should be included in a managed services agreement?

  A well-written managed services agreement should provide a common understanding of the services to be performed by the managed services provider for the client. Learn why the managed services agreement is often the first step taken by MSPs, the ...  Continue Reading

• What are the 3 core deliverables of basic MSP offerings?

  Developing an efficient managed services offering is essential to building loyal clientele. Learn about the three core deliverables that comprise a managed services offering.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery software and compliance considerations

  Disaster recovery software is necessary in any organization, but is especially important for public companies that need to comply with industry regulations. Testing and monitoring your client's DR plan is becoming simpler, however, as disaster ...  Continue Reading

• How to write an IT service-level agreement

  A service-level agreement (SLA) is a document that clearly lays out your responsibilities as a client's managed services provider. Learn how to write an SLA to protect your managed services business by avoiding confusion with customers that can lead...  Continue Reading

• Getting your WAN requirements right for network disaster recovery

  WAN technologies and issues, including bandwidth and connectivity, play an important role in network disaster recovery. Learn about some of these roles and how to best apply them to a disaster recovery plan.  Continue Reading

• What operating systems are used at the customer organization?

  Your customer's OS preference might not be the same as yours. Learn how to work within your customer's OS and provide an authentication solution that works best within their network architecture.  Continue Reading

• Using blade servers for virtualization, clustering

  While blade servers are similar to standard servers in many ways, companies are increasingly turning to blade servers for advanced functions such as virtualization and clustering.  Continue Reading

• Tackle WAN connectivity issues before planning network DR

  WAN connectivity is a vulnerable, but critical, issue to consider in network disaster recovery. Learn about some of these issues and how to apply them to successful network disaster recovery planning.  Continue Reading

• Top 5 data migration tools

  Today's unprecedented rate of data growth means there's big opportunity for integrators around data migration services. Learn which tools are the best in five different categories.  Continue Reading

• Pros and cons of blade server technology

  While certain businesses will derive great benefits from the compact size of blade server technology, consolidating computing resources and keeping costs low, this technology isn't necessarily the right choice for everyone. Learn the pros and cons ...  Continue Reading

• Validated firewalls

  Firewalls need to be checked and validated to ensure proper function before they are put into production. This section of the chapter excerpt will deal with validating and maintaining firewalls.  Continue Reading

• System administration

  After configuring and setting up the firewall, the next important step is to make sure that the processes are running properly. This section of the chapter excerpt will focus on effective system administration.  Continue Reading

• Packet flow from all networks

  After configuring the firewall, other tools are necessary to scan the traffic through the networks. This section of the chapter excerpt will focus on how to analyze the packet flow through and from all networks.  Continue Reading

• Mobile computing service opportunities

  The growing trend of mobile computing is creating numerous opportunities for resellers and service providers. Find out how you can grow your business by offering mobile computing services.  Continue Reading

• Securing Windows Server 2008: Installing and turning on BitLocker

  Aaron Tiensivu covers steps for installing and turning on BitLocker in Windows Server 2008 in this chapter excerpt.  Continue Reading

• What are the disadvantages of high-performance NAS technology?

  High-performance NAS is not appropriate for every client. IT solution providers must understand the disadvantages of the technology and know when to recommend an alternative to the client.  Continue Reading

• Vendors: How to get your company listed in our Partner Program Directories

  Learn how technology manufacturers can get their company listed in our Partner Program Directories.  Continue Reading

• Downloading OSSEC HIDS

  This section of the chapter excerpt reviews and provides step-by-step approaches downloading OSSEC HIDS.  Continue Reading

• Installing the Windows agent

  This section of the chapter excerpt covers the steps to undertake when installing the windows agent of the OSSEC HIDS.  Continue Reading

• The benefits of storage virtualization

  Storage virtualization can satisfy your customers' storage needs and also provide great business opportunities for you as a service provider. Learn about the benefits of storage virtualization in this installment of our Hot Spot Tutorial.  Continue Reading

• What are federated databases?

  Federated databases are a possible solution to your customers' database search issues. This IT Channel Explained will explain what a federated database is and how it works and give you the info you need to determine whether it's a good fit for your ...  Continue Reading

• Have you created a map of the to-be architecture?

  Before implementing the remote platform management service, it is imperative to create a map of the architecture to-be, which includes creation of a network documentation that will foster better understanding of the security framework and needs. ...  Continue Reading

• How can solution providers differentiate themselves from competition?

  Solution providers need to attract new business by standing apart from competitors with new and unique solutions to important business problems. This often includes a knowledge of important new technologies like virtualization or green initiatives.  Continue Reading

• System Recovery and Diagnostic Tricks: Vista Recovery: Advanced Boot Options, WinRE and WinPE

  Vista's Advanced Boot Options, the Windows Recovery Environment Platform, WinRE and WinPE are all covered in this chapter excerpt from "Tricks of the Microsoft Windows Vista Masters." Learn about these options before choosing CompletePC backup.  Continue Reading

• System Recovery and Diagnostic Tricks: Memory Diagnostics tool

  Vista's Memory Diagnostics tool and the Resource Exhaustion Detection and Recovery (RADAR) tool are constantly running in your client's system background. Learn how to use these tools in this chapter excerpt from "Tricks of the Microsoft Windows ...  Continue Reading

• Network IDS/IPS vendors

  Before deciding on a network intrusion detection or intrusion prevention system (IDS/IPS), check out this Partner Program Directory. Use these checklists to compare partner programs of network IDS/IPS vendors.  Continue Reading

• Top five data storage compression methods

  Data storage compression can eliminate the many redundancies of stored data and cut storage costs. Learn the top five methods of lossless and transparent storage compression.  Continue Reading

• Introduction to the BlackBerry

  Read about the features of the BlackBerry that ease and enable forensic analysis for investigators.  Continue Reading

• iPod Forensics

  Read about how to conduct forensic investigations with data retrieved from an iPod.  Continue Reading

• The mobile device management problem (and opportunity)

  Mobile devices are proliferating in enterprises, and IT managers are faced with trying to manage a problem that's out of control. This first installment of our Hot Spot Tutorial on mobile device management analyzes the implications of smart phones, ...  Continue Reading

• Best techniques for cooling blade servers

  Blade servers present a much more complex cooling dilemma to data center engineers than standard servers do. The typical approach to cooling racks is exactly the wrong method for cooling blade servers. Find out what works and how your customers can ...  Continue Reading

• The benefits of metadata and implementing a metadata management strategy

  This section of the chapter excerpt will introduce and explore the basics of metadata.  Continue Reading

• Managing Data in the Data Hub

  This section of the chapter excerpt deals with acquiring, rationalizing, cleansing, transforming, and loading data into the Data Hub.  Continue Reading

• Strategies for cooling a server room: Flooring, cabling, budget

  There's no one best way to handle cooling a server room. Your customer's existing facilities, installed hardware and budget will be the biggest factors in how you help keep server room cooling costs down.  Continue Reading

• Overview of Business Rules Engines

  This section of the chapter excerpt provides an overview of business rules engines.  Continue Reading

• Security assessment tools for risk analysis

  Before offering security risk analysis services, solution providers need to stock their toolboxes with commonly used assessment tools. These tools are described here, as well as advice for choosing more specialized tools and translating raw data ...  Continue Reading

• Best practices for providing managed backup services

  If you're interested in providing managed backup services, make sure you've got the right message and can execute both backup and retrieval well. Learn best practices for providing managed backup services, including sales pitches, customer ...  Continue Reading

• Cisco Unified Communications Manager review quiz

  This section provides review questions on the material covered in the previous sections of the chapter excerpt.  Continue Reading

• Channel Explained: 10 Gigabit Ethernet

  Businesses are demanding more from their networks, and technology is responding. With the availability of 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10 GigE) and compatible products, should you be upgrading your clients' infrastructures? In this Channel Explained you'll ...  Continue Reading

• What are the challenges of a network performance management project?

  Ultimately the solution provider is responsible for effective and efficient deployments, and verifying that the client's network performance management project meets their expectations. A solution provider should take the time to master a particular...  Continue Reading

• What are the criteria for successful network performance management?

  Network performance management must meet the client's goals, and every client is different. Solution providers must understand the client's definition of success and apply those criteria to the current project.  Continue Reading

• Cisco Unified Communications Manager summary

  This section summarizes and reviews the topics covered in this chapter excerpt of Cisco Unified Communications Manager.  Continue Reading

• Cisco Unified Communications Manager licensing

  This section of the chapter excerpt focuses on the certification and licensing opportunities of Cisco Unified Communications Manager.  Continue Reading

• Cisco Unified Communications Manager - Hardware, Software and Clustering

  This chapter excerpt covers the compatible hardware and software for Cisco Unified Communications Manager, as well as its clustering capabilities.  Continue Reading

• Top five email archiving tools

  Find out which email archiving tools are worth hanging your service provider hat on -- and how to make the best use of them.  Continue Reading

• Cisco Unified Communications Manager Architecture - Introduction

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• Cisco Unified Communications Manager Overview

  This chapter excerpt provides a general overview and explains some of the new features of Cisco Unified Communications Manager.  Continue Reading

• Summary of Check Point's NGX R65

  This last section of the chapter excerpt will summarize the material covered in the previous chapters.  Continue Reading

• Network firewall vendors

  Before deciding on a network firewall vendor, check out this Partner Program Directory. Use these checklists to compare partner programs of network firewall vendors.  Continue Reading

• Five questions to ask in a data deduplication project

  When scoping out a customer's data deduplication project, there are five key questions to explore with your customers to determine the best approach to take. Learn what questions you should ask and why they're important.  Continue Reading

• Marketing development funds: How to get a bigger piece of the MDF pie

  Hard work and smarts can bring you bigger market development funds from vendor partners. Find out what strategies are likely to bring you the biggest slice of the marketing development funds pie.  Continue Reading

• Understanding the impact of high-availability applications on the network

  Applications and their data must be available in order to be useful. Value-added resellers and solution providers must ensure application availability any time new software is added or updated, or any time that changes are made to the client's ...  Continue Reading

• What is the scope of the assessment?

  Before beginning a security assessment on IT systems, service providers should discuss the scope of the assessment. Learn why it is important to decide the scope of an assessment before its execution.  Continue Reading

• Has a kick-off meeting been held for the security site assessment?

  As the execution of a security site assessment begins, service providers should hold a formal kick-off meeting with their clients. Learn what aspects of the assessment should be discussed at this meeting.  Continue Reading

• What are the tangible deliverables of the security assessment?

  Learn what standard deliverables are for a security site assessment and how to tailor them to the expected audience.  Continue Reading

• What is the proper methodology for security site assessments?

  Over the years, security assessment methodology has changed. Learn the best practices and methodology for conducting a successful security site assessment.  Continue Reading

• Advantages and disadvantages of Hyper-V

  Microsoft's Hyper-V is at the release candidate stage, and some companies already have it in production use. Find out the advantages and disadvantages of the virtualization tool so you can help customers at a server virtualization decision point.  Continue Reading

• How to overcome managed security service provider challenges

  Managed security service providers (MSSPs) face a myriad of technical challenges in the infrastructure they develop, the tools they employ and the processes adopted to drive services. There are also numerous business challenges that make it ...  Continue Reading

• What's the role of tape backup in disaster recovery?

  Tape was once the most important component of disaster recovery. Learn how this role has changed and what role tape backup plays in disaster recovery today.  Continue Reading

• How does virtualization affect disaster recovery?

  Learn about the important role that virtualization plays in disaster recovery.  Continue Reading

• Technology requirements for managed security service providers

  Managed security service providers require sophisticated IT infrastructure to accommodate multiple clients. This demands a significant up-front investment in hardware, and often requires the custom development of business tools, which can lengthen ...  Continue Reading

• Thin provisioning explained and defined

  Implementing thin provisioning at customer sites can save big money by improving storage utilization rates. To deliver those savings to customers, storage VARs need to understand the benefits and limitations of thin provisioning, its impact on VARs ...  Continue Reading

• Understanding managed security services: An intro for VARs

  Security is a critical business function that can strain the resources of even dedicated security staff. Corporations are meeting these challenges by outsourcing security tasks to managed security service providers (MSSPs) that specialize in ...  Continue Reading

• Best practices for storage capacity planning

  Storage capacity planning isn't just about predicting your customers' storage growth. While getting a handle on past growth to help predict future growth is important, you should also help customers work toward curbing their storage growth by ...  Continue Reading

• Predicting data storage growth

  If your customers have deep pockets, predicting data storage growth is a relatively easy chore using storage resource management (SRM) tools. But for smaller companies with equally small budgets, you'll need to be more creative. Learn the techniques...  Continue Reading

• Secondary-market resellers thrive in the tech industry

  Many businesses are jumping off the new-equipment merry-go-round and turning to the secondary market, keeping their infrastructure alive for up to a decade. Find out how resellers in the secondary market have emerged to meet end-user tech needs, ...  Continue Reading

• TCP/IP offload engine (TOE) cards

  TCP/IP offload engines have found a niche within iSCSI SANs as a method of shifting processing work off the host CPU. While TOE cards aren't a panacea for reducing your customers' network traffic, they do have potential beyond iSCSI. Find out how ...  Continue Reading

• The benefits of storage capacity planning

  Storage capacity planning services can save your customers money and bring other benefits by balancing their storage utilization and growth rates with their tolerance for upgrade interruptions and storage architecture.  Continue Reading

• The best networking products as chosen by customers

  Choosing networking products for your line card can be a challenge. We recommend you begin by considering the hardware and software businesses like best. Here you'll find the top three networking products as chosen by SearchNetworking.com readers in...  Continue Reading

• The benefits of application virtualization

  Application virtualization can bring benefits to your customers such as ease of maintenance and greater portability. It comes after server virtualization and can be the right solution when desktop virtualization is overkill.  Continue Reading

• How to build a managed service provider business

  With hardware and software sales increasingly commoditized, the motivation for building a managed service provider business has never been greater, but getting from Point A to Point B isn't so easy. We explain what the risks are and how to make a ...  Continue Reading

• How to become a managed service provider

  The managed service provider (MSP) business holds promise for value-added resellers (VARs) looking to expand their business or migrate away from reselling. Value-added resellers can find techniques and tips on how to become a managed service ...  Continue Reading

• The benefits of desktop virtualization

  Desktop virtualization is quickly picking up steam as a viable alternative to traditional distributed desktop architectures. Find out its key benefits and the different methods of implementation.  Continue Reading

• Juniper Networks Partner Program Checklist

  Learn about Juniper Networks' partner program in this standardized checklist.  Continue Reading

• NETGEAR Partner Program

  Learn about NETGEAR's partner program in this standardized checklist.  Continue Reading

• What are the questions a reseller should ask in evaluating vendor partner programs?

  Evaluating vendor partner programs is easier when you ask the right questions. Learn the five questions you should ask about your business when evaluating vendor partner programs.  Continue Reading

• What are the standard margins and volume requirements in vendor partner programs?

  Margins and volume requirements vary across the different vendor partner programs. Learn how to determine whether the margins and volume requirements offered in a vendor partner program are reasonable.  Continue Reading

• Managed services contracts

  Value-added resellers venturing into managed services need to consider the details of the managed services contract they provide to customers. Learn what goes into a managed services contract in this edition of Channel Explained.  Continue Reading

• Do you have a policy for decommissioning end-of-life storage hardware?

  Security policy should provide guidance for the organization on how to decommission storage hardware containing unprotected information. Learn why such guidance is vital to any data storage security project.  Continue Reading

• Remote office/branch office (ROBO) storage services

  ROBO storage services make use of technologies in use at SMBs and large companies to address customers' remote office/branch office disaster recovery and backup needs.  Continue Reading

• Networking hardware vendors

  Selecting a networking hardware vendor can be confusing if you don't know the ins and outs of potential vendors' partner programs. Use our organized Partner Program Directory to assess the standardized checklists for each router and switch vendor's...  Continue Reading

• Data security: Alternatives to data leak prevention

  Data leak prevention technology has its drawbacks. Fortunately, these weaknesses can be addressed with more established technologies such as encryption and data rights management.  Continue Reading

• XPath, command and directory traversal injection attacks

  Learn about XPath, command and directory traversal injection attacks and how they might affect your customer's network.  Continue Reading

• XXE, LDAP and buffer overflow injection attacks

  Learn about XXE, LDAP and buffer overflow injection attacks.  Continue Reading

• What routing protocols will you use in a network design project?

  OSPF and EIGRP are popular routing protocols and both can play a role in network design projects. Learn the differences between OSPF and EIGRP routing protocols and why each one brings benefits to your network design.  Continue Reading

• What are the physical network considerations?

  The physical network, including the network cables, is an important part of any network design project. Learn best practices for making sure the physical network is properly configured and the WANs and LANs are able to support the business needs of ...  Continue Reading

• Partner Program Directories

  Our partner program directory series organizes vendors' partner programs by their products. Each uniform checklist covers the partner program's traits and privileges allotted to the different tiers, when applicable. Learn about each company's ...  Continue Reading

• How to set up a network to optimize performance and reliability

  A reliable network begins with a sound setup. Learn five tips for optimizing your customers' networks for performance and reliability.  Continue Reading

• Goals of SOA: Integration and interoperability

  This excerpt from "SOA: Principles of Service Design" defines the term "interoperability" and describes how service orientation can benefit the process of sharing data.  Continue Reading

• Service-oriented architecture design best practices

  This excerpt from "SOA: Principles of Service Design" defines the term "best practice" and how it applies to service design. It also provides an overview for all the terms discussed in the chapter.  Continue Reading

• Entity services and business entities explained

  This excerpt from "SOA: Principles of Service Design" explains the entity service model and how it can be leveraged to automate multiple business processes.  Continue Reading

• SOA design standards in action

  This excerpt from "SOA: Principles of Service Design" defines the term "design standard" and explains how these conventions customize predetermined design solutions for specific enterprises.  Continue Reading

• How SOA can improve business-technology management and alignment

  This excerpt from "SOA: Principles of Service Design" explains how service-oriented computing works to align business needs in the face of a constantly changing business environment.  Continue Reading

• Why a SOA methodology should include service-oriented analysis

  This excerpt from "SOA: Principles of Service Design" discusses the importance of service-oriented analysis and service modeling.  Continue Reading

• Increasing SOA ROI and maximizing automated solutions

  This excerpt from "SOA: Principles of Service Design" explains how service-oriented computing can benefit a company's ROI over time.  Continue Reading

• SOA and Web services

  This excerpt from "SOA: Principles of Service Design" explains how to use service-oriented computing to leverage technology advancements and why this skill is important.  Continue Reading

• Tips for federated IT with SOA, standardized services

  This excerpt from "SOA: Principles of Service Design" defines a federated IT environment and how SOA contributes to the standardization of IT resources.  Continue Reading

• SOA design terminology defined

  This excerpt from "SOA: Principles of Service Design" defines the basic design terminology establish a common vocabulary. Learn what design characteristics are and why they are important.  Continue Reading

• Exploring SOA patterns and design pattern language

  This excerpt from "Principles of Service Design" defines the terms "design pattern" and "design pattern language" and explains how these two concepts can provide solutions for common design problems.  Continue Reading