Features

Features

• 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

• Archiving vendors

  Our Partner Program Directory is built to aid you in selecting an archiving vendor partner. Use the easy-to-read checklists to compare the benefits of various vendors or to review your competition's partner programs.  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

• Trend Micro Partner Program Checklist

  Peruse the benefits antivirus and content security vendor Trend Micro offers its reseller partners in this standardized partner program checklist.  Continue Reading

• Effective strategies for data management consultants on CDI-MDM projects

  This section of the chapter excerpt introduces concerns and requirements of the enterprise data strategy, important in understanding the architecture concerns of data management.  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 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

• 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

• 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

• BMC Software Partner Program Checklist

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• 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

• RSA/EMC Partner Program Checklist

  Learn the benefits of becoming an RSA/EMC reseller partner with our Partner Program Checklist.  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

• What type of security assessment does the client want?

  Security site assessments can vary based on what is required of the consultant or service provider. Learn about the different types of security assessments: black-, white- and gray-box.  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 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

• 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

• What are vertical markets and why are they important to the channel?

  VARs and resellers often specialize in one or more vertical markets to help target new clients and increase account penetration. Read how to make the most of vertical market opportunities.  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

• How does virtualization affect disaster recovery?

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

• Are there drawbacks to online backup?

  Online backup may present service opportunities, but can also be problematic. Learn about some of the potential drawbacks to online backup.  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

• 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 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

• 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

• Customers' favorite security hardware and software

  With hundreds of information security products available, choosing the right one can be daunting. Here are the top products chosen by "Information Security" magazine readers -- your customers.  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

• NETGEAR Partner Program

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

• Juniper Networks Partner Program Checklist

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

• 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

• 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

• How to survive a recession in the IT industry

  The downturn in the U.S. economy may not have affected your business yet, but prudent service providers will heed this advice to protect themselves.  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

• Service-oriented computing and SOA explained

  Explaining service-oriented architecture (SOA) can be challenging . Sometimes even industry experts get confused about the terminology. This excerpt from "Principles of Service Design" describes a distinct approach to designing solution logic and ...  Continue Reading

• Service-oriented computing: Goals and benefits

  This excerpt from "SOA: Principles of Service Design" lays out seven goals of service-oriented computing and talks about how businesses can benefit from this technology.  Continue Reading

• SOA and service inventory approaches in action

  This excerpt from "SOA: Principles of Service Design" defines the terms "service composition" and "service inventory," explains what they do and why they are important.  Continue Reading

• What you need to know about service-oriented design

  This excerpt from "SOA: Principles of Service Design" defines the service-oriented design process and talks about how to use it effectively.  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

• 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

• 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

• Designing an effective SOA, services inventory strategy

  This excerpt from "SOA: Principles of Service Design" defines service inventory blueprints and the ultimate goal of the SOA transition effort.  Continue Reading

• An introduction to service-oriented computing

  This excerpt from "SOA: Principles of Service Design" introduces service-oriented computing's new generation of computing platforms and all the elements therein.  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 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

• 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

• Web services and SOA in enterprise IT environments

  This excerpt from "SOA: Principles of Service Design" explains how service oriented-computing can leverage the potential of Web services.  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

• Understanding service-oriented technology today

  This excerpt from "SOA: Priniciples of Service Design" revisits fundamental service design elements and depicts how they work in relation to one another.  Continue Reading

• SOA design principles and characteristics explained

  This excerpt from "SOA: Principles of Service Design" defines SOA terms "design principle" and "design paradigm" and explains why they are important to understand.  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

• Tips for a vendor-neutral SOA platform and service implementation

  This excerpt from "SOA: Principles of Service Design" defines the the phrase "increased vendor diversification options" and discusses how and when they're beneficial.  Continue Reading

• Service-Oriented Architecture

  This excerpt from "SOA: Principles of Service Design" explains the purpose of SOA and defines associated terms: service orientation, services and services-oriented solution logic.  Continue Reading

• What is the purpose of the network being designed?

  Before beginning any network infrastructure design project for a client, the first question to ask is what the purpose of the network is. Knowing the answer to this question is vital as you scope out the project.  Continue Reading

• What is the client's IT budget for the network design project?

  While all clients have expectations for their network design projects, not all have allocated the money needed to accomplish their objectives. Learn why asking about IT budget will help you and your customers get more clarity about what can and ...  Continue Reading

• How to stay profitable in the reseller business

  For many small and medium-sized reseller businesses, expanding your line of business takes time and money, and it's important to know both your up-front capital expenses and ongoing costs so that you can calculate your return on investment (ROI). ...  Continue Reading

• How to prepare for network penetration testing services

  Value-added resellers venturing into services may consider offering network penetration testing. Here are five steps to take before you begin hacking your customer's network to ensure a successful pen test.  Continue Reading

• What operating systems are being used?

  Learn why you need to ask which operating systems are in play with blade server virtualization projects.  Continue Reading

• What upstream/downstream services are in use?

  Learn why you should ask your customers about their upstream and downstream services for blade server virtualization projects.  Continue Reading

• How do you connect storage to a virtual blade server?

  Learn how to connect storage to a client's virtual blade servers.  Continue Reading

• What are your system availability goals?

  Learn why you should ask your clients about their system availability goals before launching blade server virtualization projects. This is especially important when considering disaster recovery and fault tolerance issues.  Continue Reading

• How to install a wireless LAN for businesses

  Installing a WLAN for business clients requires careful planning, as explained in this second installment of our Hot Spot Tutorial on WLAN installation services.  Continue Reading

• Introduction to network centralization and decentralization

  Network centralization is an attempt to improve efficiency by taking advantage of potential economies of scale. Decentralization is an attempt to improve speed and flexibility by reorganizing networks to increase local control and execution of a ...  Continue Reading

• Network penetration tools

  Network penetration tools can be used for good -- or evil. Learn how to improve the security of your clients' networks with the same tools used to do them harm.  Continue Reading

• Guiding principles of network centralization and decentralization

  You don't have to guess whether it makes sense to opt for network centralization or network decentralization for your clients. Using these best practices, such as listening to the needs of your clients and tapping your professional experience, ...  Continue Reading

• Conclusions about network centralization and decentralization

  Network centralization and network decentralization are about making changes. When making such pervasive changes, experts recommend that you consider these guiding principles: know what specific problem you are solving; understand your motivation ...  Continue Reading