Tag Archives: Ennio Carboni

About 1966 days ago Servers and Routers

Business Benefits of Virtualization

Nearly every critical operation these days is dependent on one or more computer applications that typically run on servers.  As businesses grow, many have to increase investments in new servers proportionally to host databases, electronic commerce applications, and financial reporting programs.  What is growing out of proportion, however, is the increased complexity associated with managing and maintaining these expanding technology infrastructures. This management challenge is pinching profits. Enter Virtualization. Virtualization allows multiple applications and operating systems to operate on a single server — or box.  This has been a major tool for managing IT complexity and cost in large enterprises, and it is catching on with small and medium-sized businesses.    Moreover, organizations are quickly realizing that virtualization can do more than simply consolidate server investments. This technology allows small and mid-sized businesses to save on power consumption and enables better disaster recovery. Help with backup and disaster recovery The number one pain point for growing businesses in their IT infrastructure is backup and disaster recovery, says Ben Matheson, director for small and mid-sized businesses at VMware. Virtualization helps in disaster recovery in a number of ways. In the physical world, disaster recovery is complicated and expensive. A good disaster recovery plan requires twice as much hardware resources to replicate their operating environment at a secondary site. Such is not the case in a virtual IT environment.  Backup sites can consolidate multiple applications on fewer pieces of hardware.  This value-proposition is finding a receptive audience among small and mid-sized businesses. According to a study conduced by AMI Partners, small and mid-sized business that are fully leveraging their networks by deploying solutions such as wide area networks, virtual private networks, and IP-based services, also report that technologies such as server virtualization and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) are top of mind as they seek ways to realize the most return out of their network investments. Cut costs by reducing servers VMware’s Matheson says the sweet spot for virtualization are companies that start at 10 servers or more. “Customers see an immediate ROI by investing in virtualization,” he says. As servers age and are replaced, virtualization enables companies to remove 10 old servers and simply buy one virtualized server. “Immediately they have a 90 percent reduction of capital costs that year,” he adds. Virtualization also lets end users scale more easily. As small and mid-sized businesses grow, they no longer need to add a new server each time they support a new application in the network.  It is an opportunity that vendors are flocking to pursue.  For example, Dell plans to introduce VESO, a virtualization optimized server that has been designed from the ground up with virtualization workloads in mind, says David Lord, a spokesperson for Dell. Virtualization is also creating demand for supporting applications.  For instance, Ennio Carboni, vice president for Lexington, Mass.-based network monitoring firm Ipswtich, says he expects monitoring and management tools for virtualized machines to grow rapidly. He also predicts that small and mid-sized businesses will be more likely to support virtualization technology on desktop applications as opposed to larger companies, which are primarily using virtualization in LAN environments and for storage consolidation.

About 2180 days ago Wireless Networks

Networking Advances Bring Potential Break-Ins

Technologies such as Wi-Fi, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP), and mobile devices are proliferating and helping many small and mid-size businesses expand and open more remote branch offices. But these breakthroughs in our ability to network businesses and workers are also taking their toll on resource-strapped fast-growing businesses by introducing unwanted security vulnerabilities into the network. Few businesses can afford to ignore the new technology and communications tools that have come to market, between wireless networks, collaboration tools, and accessibility to the network from mobile devices and remote workers. But according to a new study from Gartner, the Stamford, Conn. research firm, small and mid-size businesses recognize that they are putting more sensitive information on their network and allowing more access to the corporate network from mobile devices. As a result, businesses need to look at improved security software, new security processes, and more on internal training secure their networks. HomeGain.com, an Emeryville, Calif. based online source for connecting realtors and agents with homeowners and homebuyers, is all too familiar with the dilemma. On one hand, while new technologies have brought more capabilities for the business, they also make network’s security that much more complicated and costly to maintain, according to Barry James, HomeGain.com’s vice president of technology and operations. The human factor HomeGain.com, which has 5 million monthly visitors and 130 internal users, mitigates network vulnerabilities by layering firewalls, supporting port management, and deploying VPN and anti-virus software. These layers of security are on top of the company’s use of patch management, two-factor authentication, ISA servers and email/IM gateways, network activity monitoring, and intrusion detection. James says that although he can use technology to reasonably limit and manage external access to the various systems, the fact is that avoiding potential human error is just as important as supporting cutting-edge security technologies. “It doesn’t matter how secure our external-facing technology is if an employee mistakenly introduces an infected file behind our firewall and our controls are not prepared to deal with it,” James says. To limit mistakes, the company restricts access to internal systems and devices to minimize the potential impact. The company also educates new employees about best practices when using email, external websites, file uploads/downloads and physical security. HomeGain.com goes so far as to require security badges for site access, biometric authentication for server room access and deploys cameras to record activity in high-risk areas. Security steps to take In addition to training employees, there are several steps small and mid-size businesses can take to remain secure while taking advantage of the latest technologies, according to Ennio Carboni, product manager at Ipswitch, a Lexington, Mass. network monitoring and messaging software company that caters to the small business market. He recommends that companies take the following actions: Use a personal firewall and MAC address filtering when accessing files from home and remotely. Change user name and passwords frequently for routers and other elements that hackers could potentially access on the network. Use a VPN. They are affordable and allow users to protect themselves and remain compliant with recent legislation. Use encryption technology and SSL-based email systems for transferring files when traveling. A significant takeaway for small and mid-size businesses when it comes to security is practicality. “Most people get overwhelmed by security because they try to literally block the windows and doors and then suddenly all enablement is gone,” Carboni says. “The enterprise space has learned that security — like all technology — needs to be digestible by all users and not just the Chief Information Security Officer.”