Cloud Computing Dos & Don’ts

July 29th, 2010 by Joel Wonicker-Cook

How do you know what the do’s and don’t aren’t of something if you don’t know what that something is?  Let me give you a brief non-geek speak definition: Cloud computing is Internet-based computing.  The “cloud” is a metaphor for the Internet, which is a networking solution in which everything from computing power to infrastructure, applications, business processes, to personal collaboration is delivered as a service whenever and wherever you need it.  Simply put, cloud computing is a mechanism for the delivery of services.

Often times when discussing cloud computing, you will hear the term virtualization. While virtualization of your own system is cloud computing, it is a private cloud. For the purpose of this article, we are discussing the public, or Internet cloud. If interested in learning more about virtualization, r the private cloud, watch our video here.

Here are our rules to live by for cloud computing:

Only Fools Rush In – Do consider all options and impacts
It’s easy to get excited about this new found hemisphere and will want to do away with their existing data center and transfer all of their computing into the cloud. You must take the time to think about which capabilities should be placed into the cloud and in what order. Be sure to consider all potential impacts on your organization before pulling the trigger.

It can get dark in there – Don’t go it alone
Many and most organizations don’t have the resources, size or sophistication to build their own clouds.  That’s where outsourced IT can play a vital role, they are the experts.  Just like your company’s accountant or even your plumber.  Discuss it with your peers, are they in the cloud and how did they get there.  Consult IT professionals, research the web, IT forums and blogs for advice and ideas.

Keeping up with the Jones’s – Do consider financial impact
What will it cost you and what will you save? Think about the costs of your current data center and operations, consider the size and nature of your organization.   Be sure to conduct a thorough financial analysis before switching to the cloud.  The cloud can be green, will that offer you a tax break or energy savings?

Hold it right there – Don’t neglect regulations and compliancy
This shouldn’t be a hindrance, regulations are there to protect you and your clients’ information.  So just like with most other operations and procedures the government also regulates cloud computing. Make sure to have a firm understanding of compliance and governance in relation to the cloud.

Rome wasn’t built in a day – Do consider your architecture
Planning is key. Think about your organization’s service level agreement and performance requirements – just because you may be transferring data and processes to the cloud, doesn’t mean you can disregard architecture.

Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Mo – Don’t forget about business processes
The building block, or starting point, of your cloud strategy should be deciding which business processes you want to automate with your cloud initiatives. You must decide how the business processes will be managed in your cloud strategy before you deploy.

Batten down the hatches – Do focus on security
It can get stormy in the cloud and you want to make sure that security is the centerpiece of your cloud strategy.  Your organization could be at serious risk if you don’t consider all security threats and preventions.

Everything but the kitchen sink – Don’t put everything into the cloud
You don’t want to be a hoarder of data now that you have this new found space.  If a valid economic or business reason does not exist to move an application or function into the cloud, then don’t. It is that simple.  Do your research and establish clear guidelines to determine if an application, etc. belongs in your data center.  Or, if it will be a public cloud or a private cloud. Think of data as office supplies, you don’t order what you don’t need and you don’t put them in the office refrigerator or your lunch in the storage closet.

Testing, 1,2,3 – Do start with a pilot
Like we say at Vertical IT when implanting a process that is new to your organization: Crawl, walk, run. Try using a public cloud for testing a new application before it goes into production, you will experience what it feels like to give up this level of control. You’ll know what to expect and allow your organization to adjust to the altitude.

Please don’t leave me – Don’t forget about management
Just because something is in the cloud, doesn’t mean you don’t have to manage it. You are in charge of the security of your information and the quality of your service delivery.  Keep track of all applications and processes in the cloud.  You still own it.

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How Well Do You Know Your Backup System?

July 29th, 2010 by Stewart Collins Senior Systems Engineer

Many individuals think that a backup system is simply comprised of storing your data on external hard drives or optical disks, and storing them some place safe. In reality, a successful backup system, or storage backup program, requires regular evaluation and testing, ensuring that it is working properly and that your data can be retrieved if necessary; a process that should take no more than 30 minutes to perform. However, despite the simplicity of ensuring the safety of your stored data, according to a survey of 200 IT directors, sponsored by Imation Corp, only 32 percent of companies perform regularly scheduled testing and evaluation of their storage backup systems at least quarterly and another 35 percent do so only once a year or less.

Reliability is of the utmost importance when choosing a backup system. Here are steps for small to mid-size businesses to take when testing the reliability of a tape backup system:

  • Select a representative set of test files and save them to a tape or hard drive. Make sure that this sample set was copied correctly, because it will eventually be deleted during the test. Include a graphic file, in addition to text files; to be sure they copy into your backup system correctly.
  • Backup the files using your normal tape or disc backup procedure.
  • Recover the files you backed up in step two to an alternate location. If any data is missing or damaged, the tape backup system is flawed. Recover files from the tape or hard drive mentioned in step one. Repeat the process with a different tape cartridge, if it fails again, check the tape system for problems, or call a professional for help.

Here are some other tips for deploying a proper backup system:

  • Keep backups off site. As Florida residents, we know that natural disasters can cause some major damage. In order to properly protect your data against a disaster such as a hurricane or fire, copies of data should be taken off-site regularly. The best Backup Systems are fully automated and use the Internet to automatically maintain an off-site backup of your data without the need for any user involvement. The next best option is to rotate RHDs (removable hard drives) at least once a week.
  • Make sure your system recovers data from all forms of data loss. It is easy to assume that any backup system will secure your data, no matter the cause, but as with almost all computer processes, detail is key.
  • Backup your entire system. Make sure that you backup everything, even the files not in use. Good backup systems save the computer’s entire “system state” (system files, boot files, registry, etc.).

For more information on deploying, testing and evaluating the right backup system for your business, feel free to contact us at 813-259-1300, option 2.  Or you may email us at info@verticalit.com.

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Be Prepared: The Motto of a True Scout, and a Well-Prepared IT Pro

July 26th, 2010 by Tim Coker Director of Technology

“Where to begin?” is usually the first question I hear. Preparation for disasters of all sizes and frequency is the key to ensuring continuous operations for your organization.

Start with the fundamentals. Too often, IT professionals and organizations think about the BIG one, otherwise known as – the hurricane. We are nearing the two-month mark of hurricane season and starting to see threatening storms brew just south of us. However, mitigating everyday risks is equally, if not more vital to your day-to-day operations. There are many other types of risks of data loss to consider, such as: file deletion, Internet connection loss, server failure or the dreaded fire-flood-theft trifecta.

Here are some of the fundamentals and steps for creating a risk tolerance matrix to present to executive management:

  • Devise a plan that includes a method to identify and decrease risk. Develop a process to first identify the risk, such as Internet or hard drive failure, etc.
  • Assess the probability of the disaster, its impact on the organization and determine its priority through easy computation.

Here are two examples:

Example 1: Loss of Internet connection – probability: 5, impact: 5, priority: 25

Example 2: Hurricane – probability: 2, impact: 10, priority: 20

Most of you would probably agree that loosing Internet connection is very likely occurrence and disrupts the entire organization. Further, you have probably already offset this risk by implementing a second connection along with a firewall with automatic fail-over.
 
Begin looking at all your points of possible failure and whether they are local and related to servers, network, Internet connectivity or fire, flood, theft or hurricanes. When this first step is complete, identify the probability and impact of each. From this, the priority and action plan will become clear. Address the highest priority first. Initially, the order of this list may surprise you, but this approach is a very methodical way to address disaster preparedness issues. This list then becomes your risk tolerance matrix to review with your executive team.

Organizations often focus on the catastrophic events that are in the news. Beware, as more frequently the small things are the ones that can derail your business plans.

If you need assistance in creating your risk tolerance matrix, our consulting team has experience in assisting clients, IT professionals, and business executives in making sense of it all by creating a plan to address their overall disaster preparedness planning strategy. Learn more by contacting us here.

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Hurricane Season is Here: Is Your Business Prepared?

July 13th, 2010 by Joel Wonicker-Cook

Now that hurricane season is underway, you are probably concerned about your family, employees and business. While we all learned to be prepared from previous storms, and saw the devastating impact on the Gulf Coast from Katrina, we want to provide you with information to help you prepare your business for the worst and to facilitate recovery from the possible impact of a storm.

All business owners and managers should develop a basic understanding of hurricane preparedness. You are responsible for planning to protect facilities and employees. Even though we have already entered hurricane season, it is not too late to prepare your business. Below are some suggested pre-hurricane season planning activities. If you have not began planning this year, try these tips now and keep them handy for prepping next year.

1. Determine which members of your staff will need to carry out hurricane preparations and who you can reasonably expect to be available. Some employees may need to assist their own families or relatives in evacuating from threatened areas. You will probably need all of your building maintenance staff to prepare your facility for a hurricane. Regularly update your list of employee phone numbers and insure each department head has a copy.

2. Develop a simple written plan, which incorporates a set of hurricane task assignments for your staff. Get input regarding the tasks to be accomplished from all of the various work centers at your facility.

a. Outline the specific tasks that must be performed to protect your facility during a hurricane watch and a hurricane warning, how they will be accomplished, and who will perform them.

b. It is probably desirable to develop teams for many tasks – a team to board up, a team to secure exterior equipment, and so forth. Staff members who will be performing unfamiliar tasks may need some instruction in these tasks and the use of any equipment that may be required to accomplish those tasks.

3. Outline your hurricane response plan and task assignments at a training session. Training to familiarize the staff should be conducted at the beginning of every hurricane season – and during the season if there is high staff turnover. Update team assignments on a regular basis.

4. Review your property and business disruption insurance with your agent. Having a clear expectation of your coverage will allow you to make informed decisions regarding equipment replacement.

5. Develop a clear Hurricane Watch/Warning Countdown. If you establish a clear timeline for office closure, you’ll minimize employee anxiety and disruption before the storm.

6. Ensure that you have a copy of your computer system’s backup offsite, whether it’s via tape rotation, offsite hard drives or Internet-based system. Should you have a catastrophic failure of your building, having a set of your valuable data offsite is essential.

7. Discuss computer network and phone system replacement timelines with your IT department or outside provider. Knowing how to quickly replace any damaged systems can be the difference in a quick or protracted recovery. Remember that supply chain and transportation disruptions may occur, hampering your recovery efforts.

As a former Boy Scout, the best advice I can give is: be prepared. Many businesses have no plans, which can result in significant employee anxiety before the storm and chaos in recovering from the storm. Create a written plan and form a hurricane prep team. It is essential to communicate that plan to the entire workforce.

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The VIT Difference

July 8th, 2010 by admin

Check out the video below of Vertical IT’s Care4IT Account Manager, Erin Diliberto, explaining what makes VIT stand apart from its competition and how her extensive experience in IT helps her to better serve her VIT clients.

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How to Stay Secure While Using Wi-Fi

July 8th, 2010 by Tim Coker Director of Technology

No more wires, no more tangled cords, feel free to move about your home, the captain has turned on the WiFi Sign! But when setting up an Internet connection, many people tend to rush through this process, which is understandable. However, this mad dash to connectivity often includes security oversights that lead to numerous problems.  So the first step to setting up a wireless connection should be to just take your time.

This doesn’t mean the entire process has to be a tedious one. You just need to have an understanding of the steps needed to complete it, securely.  Anyone who has ever had their computer – or worse – their entire network attacked by a virus, will tell you that taking the time to properly set up a secure wireless Internet connection is well worth the time and energy.

Here are a few tips for setting up a secure wireless connection at home:

Change default administrator username and password. Hackers are very knowledgeable of the default log in settings that are in place when you install a new access point or router, allowing you the wireless connection. Be sure to change this information immediately to something only you and the other Wi-Fi users on your network would know.

Change the default SSID. The SSID is the name of the wireless local area network that all access points and routers use. Many manufacturers ship all of their products with the same SSID set/name. For example, Linksys is usually named “Linksys” Although this does not allow people to break into your network, it does signal a less than savvy wireless user, or poorly configured network, making it more likely to be attacked.

Enable MAC address filtering. Each piece of Wi-Fi equipment has its own physical address, or MAC address. Access points and routers keep track of all the devices that connect to them. You are given the option to type in the MAC address of these products in your home, restricting your network to only connect to these devices. This is an important security measure, but know that hackers and their software programs can easily fake MAC addresses.

Turn on WPA/WEP encryption. All Wi-Fi equipment supports some sort of encryption technology, which scrambles messages sent over the wireless network so humans cannot easily read them. There are several encryption technologies available, but you must choose identical encryption settings for all of your Wi-Fi devices on your network. The two most common encryption types to choose from are Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) and Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP). Make sure that you choose the highest security level available for whichever type of encryption you choose. However, if you have a choice, WPA is generally stronger. Most routers or access points have a built-in encryption mechanism, but manufacturers often deliver the devices with the encryption feature turned off, so make sure that you turn it on. The directions that come with your wireless router should explain how to do that. If they don’t, check the router manufacturer’s Web site.

Disable SSID broadcast and assign static IP addresses to devices. Originally designed for businesses and mobile Wi-Fi hotspots where Wi-Fi clients may roam out of range, routers or access points typically broadcast the network, or SSID name over the air at regular intervals. Disable this feature, since it is unnecessary in the home, and the likelihood of someone else trying to connect to your network will decrease.

Most households gravitate toward using dynamic IP addresses (DHCP), a technology that is easy to set up, but unfortunately, vulnerable to hackers. Turn off DHCP on your router and set up a fixed IP address range instead, then configure each connected device to match. Use a private IP address range to prevent computers to be directly reached from the Internet.

Do not auto-connect to open Wi-Fi networks. i.e. free wireless hotspots or your neighbor’s router. Connecting to these open networks exposes your computer to security risks. Although this feature is usually not enabled, most computers have the setting available and will connect to these open networks without you, the user knowing.

Enable firewalls on each computer and router. Although most routers feature built-in firewall capability, they can also be disabled. Make sure that your firewall is turned on for your router. For extra protection, consider installing firewall software on each computer connected to your router.

Turn off the network when not using for an extended period of time. If you are going away on vacation, or plan to work offline for a prolonged period of time, turning off your network can greatly decrease the chances of your network being attacked.

Using Hotspots Tips

Don’t just worry about a spilt latte on your laptop the next time you stop at your favorite café to catch up on some work. Those using lap tops on free wireless hotspots, or other peoples’ networks, especially, need to take certain precautions that their data and software is safe from attacks. With these tips, you can rest assure that your data is secure when connected to a wireless network:

Turn off the wireless client adapter (connection to Wi-Fi) when not using it. This both prevents attacks and conserves battery life.

Verify connection to the proper SSID network. Make sure that the SSID network that you are connected to represents the provider’s Wi-Fi network.

Ensure that firewall is running on your notebook.

Disable Windows’ file and printer sharing. This feature being enabled allows unauthorized access to your files by anyone else who may be connected to the same network as you.

Keep your operating system up-to-date. By ensuring that your operating system, antivirus, firewall, Web browser and Wi-Fi client applications are up-to-date, you are eliminating many venues of attack caused by application vulnerabilities.

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Tips for Selling Virtualization to Your CEO

July 8th, 2010 by Joel Wonicker-Cook

It’s hard to imagine a technology that is hotter than virtualization. From the IT press to the server room, we techies are gushing about the wonders of this technology as we bandy about esoteric terms from cloud computing to iSCSI on our blogs. Where virtualization falls flat is when it comes time to actually “sell” the technology to the guys in the C-suite, your CEO and CFO.

Unlike technical innovations with a direct impact on end users, a virtual infrastructure looks and feels the same as a non-virtual infrastructure to an end user or non-technical person. The office supplies, for example are something they can touch and feel, but applications residing in a virtual server react in exactly the same manner as a non-virtualized server Furthermore, the server room still has lots of silver-grey boxes with blinking green lights complimenting the dull roar of cooling fans. Your CEO or CFO, who writes a check to build that infrastructure, won’t be able to differentiate between a virtual and traditional environment by a quick glance, therefore may need some convincing to make the switch.

Despite all the industry hype about server virtualization, a lot of businesses are just now familiarizing themselves with the technology and available products. Being able to demonstrate the benefits of server virtualization and how it meets specific business goals to your CEO may still pose a challenge. Most CEOs don’t have the time to worry about how many servers their business needs, or which application will run them.  He or she just wants to make sure that it is big enough and reliable enough to run the business. As an IT professional, you will want to know about its advanced use cases and how the major vendors’ products stack up against each other. Your CEO will want to know if the technology will reduce their costs and increase efficiency throughout the company.

Imagine a patient in a doctor’s office with the flu: The patient may not understand exactly how the medicine works to rid of the illness; they just want to know that it will make them feel better.

Cloud computing is often too theoretical sounding, stick with what CEOs understand: time.  A virtualized environment takes hardware out of the equation, dramatically reducing the time associated with hardware acquisition, setup and maintenance of business applications. A business application can be provisioned, relocated or have its resource allocation changed in minutes, whereas in the past, productivity might be lost.  While these time savings may seem trivial to a CEO, they are not.  Think of a massive enterprise software implementation where a couple of days of lost time is literally worth tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Virtualization allows for new testing environments to be created, deployed and recreated in moments, rather than days that would have had users and consultants twiddling their thumbs while IT did its work. Old applications can be moved to new hardware, and virtual servers quickly put back into play in case of disaster.

Even minutes of downtime saved during business hours can translate into massive savings that justify the expenditure on a virtual environment. Stop speaking about clouds and ESX, and couch virtualization as an enterprise-wide time saver. Ditch the tech jargon and the CEO and CFO won’t be able to get virtualization implemented quickly enough

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Transform Your Business with Server Virtualization

July 8th, 2010 by Andrew Cohen President CEO

Would you rather your employees be spending their valuable time innovating instead of managing servers? Imagine how your company could flourish if your tech people were able to brainstorm about benefits for the business. With virtualization, you can improve the efficiency and availability of IT resources and applications. Start by eliminating the old “one server, one application” model, running multiple virtual machines on each physical machine. Approximately 70 percent of a typical IT budget in a non-virtualized datacenter goes towards just maintaining the existing infrastructure, with little left for innovation. Now, with virtualization, you are able to free your IT administrators from spending so much time managing the servers and let them get on with innovating.

An automated datacenter built on a production-proven virtualization platform lets you respond to market dynamics faster and more efficiently than ever before. They can deliver resources, applications and even servers when and where they’re needed. Virtualized customers typically save 50-70 percent on overall IT costs by consolidating their resource pools and delivering highly available machines.

Here are just some of the advantages of deploying virtualization:

  • Run multiple operating systems on a single computer including Windows, Linux and more.
  • Let your Mac run Windows, creating a virtual PC environment for all your Windows applications.
  • Reduce capital costs by increasing energy efficiency and requiring less hardware while increasing your server to admin ratio.
  • Ensure that your enterprise applications perform with the highest availability and performance.
  • Build up business continuity through improved disaster recovery solutions and deliver high availability throughout the datacenter.
  • Improve enterprise desktop management and control with faster deployment of desktops and fewer support calls due to application conflicts.

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Lunch N’ Learn Recap: Introduction to Desktop & Application Virtualization

July 2nd, 2010 by Joel Wonicker-Cook

We held a great event at the VIT offices last Thursday. With attendees from across Tampa Bay, representing a variety of industries – all with extensive IT needs – we were able to discuss several scenarios where virtualization can come incredibly handy. That is, after covering the basics and grasping a better understanding of what both desktop and application virtualization is and how these tools can be used to solve tech challenges for business. The number one question most people ask when discussing virtualization is: How do we go about implementing virtualization in our business?

We recommend using our crawl – walk – run approach. Try implementing application virtualization first. If you find that successful and want to give desktop virtualization a try, use pilot groups to test the tool before committing to fully “virtualizing” your office. See more about what was covered during the event in the video of Joel’s intro below as well as what one of our attendees had to say about the event and his take on how virtualization can benefit an organization.

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MS Office 2010: Through the Eyes of an Engineer

June 29th, 2010 by Ted Arent VIT Senior Systems Engineer

The Microsoft Office lineup of applications, have already proven to be incredibly valuable tools for businesses in almost all industries. Now, with the new Office Suite 2010, businesses have an even more powerful set of tools at their finger tips for producing quality work both efficiently and effectively.

Here are the top six reasons why Microsoft Office 2010 is great for your business:

  1. Remote access to documents. With the new Office Web Apps, you can access and edit documents with any device that has a browser from anywhere you like, whether it be from home, a hotel room, airport lounge, etc.
  2. Save time, stay updated. SharePoint Workspace 2010 allows you to work offline, then instantly sync the changes made to your PC when connected again, keeping your laptop up to date with the office.
  3. Stay connected to customers. Have an important presentation to give to clients or colleagues across Tampa, Florida, The USA, or Across the World? With the new Broadcast Slide Show feature in PowerPoint 2010, you can now broadcast your slide show directly to anyone, anywhere with a browser.
  4. Get organized. The new Conversation View feature in Outlook cleans up your inbox by removing duplicate messages, making email easier to search, and making you more efficient.
  5. Enhance your brand with multi-media. The new video and photo editing tools in Office 2010 produce professional outcomes without the expense of professional fees.
  6. Manage data with ease. Excel 2010’s new Sparklines feature allows you to quickly determine your customers needs and make better-informed decisions by showing entire trends in a single cell. The ability to analyze data more efficiently and effectively provides you with meaningful insights into your business processes.

Learn more about Microsoft Office 2010 here.

Then contact your CAM (Care4IT Account Manager) to get Microsoft Office 2010.

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