Tag Archives: Raleigh

About 1660 days ago Servers and Routers

Has the Greening of IT Gone Too Far?

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Everyone seems to be jumping on the green bandwagon, which is great for our environment, but how do we know when buying green is overkill? “Green IT is an oxymoron,” says Simon Mingay, an analyst with Gartner Research. “There’s no such thing, but with more efficient tools available, you will more than pay back any incremental costs.” Studies show that businesses want to be energy efficient and that when it’s time to replace old equipment, whether it is a server or a desktop, IT managers make their replacement the energy efficient choice. However, most businesses do not replace a good system even if it is not energy efficient or if it still has many years left in its life cycle. Mingay agrees that you’re better off hanging on to the old equipment if it is reliable, and he says when it’s time to replace hardware “then making energy efficiency part of the buying criteria is absolutely critical.” Businesses need to look at achieving energy efficiency in both their desktop and data center environments without compromising budgets and shrinking their return on investment. Greening of the data centers In the data center, many companies choose a virtualization solution, which may include integrating a software solution like VMWare with existing servers or may require buying larger servers to give power to the virtual machines. Energy efficiency can be achieved depending on how many servers there are. Consolidating servers is another green solution which reduces loads and ultimately saves costs. BDNA Corporation in Mountain View, Calif., helps companies save energy by using their GreenScan technology to run a server inventory. When the scan is complete it reveals how much power each server consumes, which determines the new server configuration. If new servers are necessary, then the scan takes into account the company’s current footprint and monitors the migration of the new location’s future equipment purchase. Companies can deploy thin clients and use CPU power throttling for their high-end servers, where the servers throttle down during low use time and don’t waste power. Data center solutions do require purchasing additional hardware and they do require more time to implement. Steve Brasen, analyst at Enterprise Management Associates recently conducted a green IT study which revealed that some data centers can’t reduce their power consumption since they need to be up and running 24/7. In reference to virtualization and hardware upgrades, Brasen says, “You should upgrade hardware because it’s time for more efficient computing, and not for just having an energy efficient solution. Choosing virtualization in order to go more green shouldn’t be the primary reason for deployment.” Greening of the desktop area In the desktop area, using power management tools such as turning off the machines at night, using spin down drives or hibernation tools lowers costs so companies don’t need to purchase new equipment. Brasen in the same green IT study found that when power management techniques were implemented in the desktop area, there was an average of 19 percent reduction in power. He also found that using laptops cost $23.26 in power consumption per year, versus desktops costing $149.10 per year. “So for 10,000 deployed desktops, which would consume 1.5 million in energy costs, and laptops, which cost $232,600, you could save $1.3 million annually,” he concludes. ”Going green is the great umbrella of social responsibility and reducing company cost,” Avanish Sahai, vice president of BDNA marketing says. To achieve energy efficiency in the desktop area, “There’s simple stuff that can be done with dramatic effect. Get a policy with automated power management to turn off your computers and monitors and see a savings of 22 percent in IT costs.” Sahai adds that companies also need to educate their employees on how to use Windows’s hibernation controls and then set a policy and monitor it. Mingay suggests companies check out Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool at EPEAT.net to find out which monitors, desktops, and notebooks are the best green choice as rated by the Energy Star 4.0 rating system. Obstacles to green IT The largest obstacle to implementing a green IT initiative is the budget and responsibility split between the facilities department, which handles the power budgets and the IT department. Sometimes a good green policy gets stuck waiting for the right data and implementation to make it happen. Ultimately, the CEO needs to provide the overall vision of green IT by implementing green governance, or corporate social responsibility bodies to oversee multiple projects across departments. Mark L. Cavaliero, CEO of SyTec Business Solutions in Raleigh, N.C., a network integrations firm, says he makes his green IT decisions by listening to his vendors, his clients, and his team of engineers. He also considers his budget. “We don’t like to waste anything and there’s also an economic incentive to help clients save money and to make our employees more productive,” Cavaliero says. Regarding green IT, “It seems that the economic and benefits to society have lined up.” Where green IT is headed Brasen predicts virtualization will be the number one data center solution to achieve green IT over the next year and he also emphasized that the 19 percent average saved in the desktop area could be even greater. He states that opportunities do exist in both the data center and desktop area and that more companies will realize that you can reduce power consumption and produce ROI. Implementing a green IT policy is no different from any other networking or security implementation. Both involve a thorough inventory of all hardware and software assets and both require the CEO to communicate policy and goals by example and leadership. Companies shouldn’t rush to buy green equipment without first checking the equipment’s agility first just as they shouldn’t implement an ad hoc green policy that doesn’t reach all areas of their organization. But by adopting power management strategies and replacing equipment nearing the end of its lifecycle with a more energy efficient models, companies can reap the benefits of sustainability, social responsibility and cost savings.  

About 1844 days ago Wireless Networks

Avoid Costly Networking Mistakes

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When small businesses grow, their network must also expand. They know that it will take time and money to set up their network architecture, connectivity, and security requirements. But before a small business travels down this road, there are many things they need to consider. One of the first will be: should they go with a value added reseller (VAR) or buy the hardware to set up their own network? To avoid costly networking mistakes with a VAR, small businesses need to know if the VAR is a good match for their business, if the VAR has the necessary experience, and if the support promised is reliable. If the small business chooses a D-I-Y (do-it-yourself) solution, then the D-I-Y route needs to be worth the extra time that could be saved by selecting a VAR. Reasons for choosing a VAR Security – With a VAR, the client is ensured that firewalls, software monitors, encryption, and port monitoring are in place. A VAR such as IT Integrators in Apex, N.C., changes all of the known bandwidth ports to unknown ports to confuse hackers. They also close international ports if their clients don’t conduct any international business. Says Joel Phillips, owner of IT Integrators, “If you don’t do this for a living, you’ll be muddling through.” When small businesses choose to work with a reliable VAR, they don’t have to spend time reading through all the necessary security advisories and other time-consuming security matters. Support – Besides a having reliable help desk with 24/7 support, some VARs, such as Sytec Business Solutions in Raleigh, N.C., advocate for their small business clients should any issues arise from their vendors. For instance, Sytec keeps its staff informed of all new products from Cisco, one of its chief vendors, which in turn is beneficial for their clients. Says Mark Cavaliero, founder and president of Sytec Business Solutions, “When we see a problem, prevention is key to keep the uptime going for the small business.” VAR Pitfalls Lack of experience – Many VARs outsource their staff or hire part-time workers who are not highly qualified to service networks or don’t have their necessary certifications. Also, some VARs have high staff turnovers. Small businesses need to realize that a VAR has access to sensitive company information and choosing a weak VAR can hurt productivity and can compromise security and database information. Lack of reliability – A VAR may say that they are monitoring the server, but they may not be able to tell that their client’s disk sub server is out. They may seldom respond to e-mails requesting help, which is especially frustrating if the small business has already made a significant investment with this VAR. Do-it-yourself option Many small businesses decide to buy the hardware and build their own network. This may be a cost effective solution if the owner or staff have worked in the computer industry, but if the time spent on a D-I-Y solution is going to take away productivity from the business, then turning to a VAR to handle networking management may be the wisest choice. Choosing a VAR to build a company’s network to support high bandwidth and security needs should not be taken lightly. Small businesses should use their own professional networks to discover the right VAR for their segment of industry and one that comes with excellent referrals and testimonials. Companies that use a VAR make an initial investment on the front end, but this investment should be regarded as a way to avoid costly networking mistakes. If the server goes down, so does productivity — using paper and pen won’t keep a business competitive in 2008.

About 1996 days ago Telecom and Wireless

Time to Accept Contactless Payments?

You’re Marty Chamoff, the owner of two Debby’s Hallmark stores in Raleigh, N.C., and Christmas is around the corner. You offer extended hours and have hired extra help to accommodate the growing line of customers. You wonder if there’s some way you can serve more customers without compromising your bottom line. Perhaps installing a contactless payment system is the way to go to speed up transactions and increase your sales volume. You know that radio frequency identification (RFID) technology can be embedded into American Express, Visa, and MasterCards so that all the customer has to do is tap her card or key fob at the point of sale (POS) reader and her account is charged without ever leaving her hand. In addition, mobile phones equipped with NFC, or near field communication technology, can communicate with a merchant RFID reader to complete a transaction. This payment system works best for small transactions, called micro-payments, where the transaction is under $10. For these micro-payments a signature is not required, although for transactions above $25, the customer needs to sign or input a personal identification number for a debit transaction. The next frontier for contactless payments Retail customers already enjoy using their contactless cards at gas stations such as Exxon Mobil and Shell, at fast food restaurants such as McDonald’s and Arby’s, and at drug stores such as CVS, where the transactions are small and customers want to be in and out as quickly as possible. So are small businesses the next frontier for contactless cards? Unfortunately, there are still a few hurdles. “Using contactless payments is a great idea, but unfortunately, my bank doesn’t offer it,” says Chamoff. “Our entire system has to be compatible with this technology in order to be successful and right now it isn’t.” According to Forrester Research, the Cambridge, Mass. IT research company, many merchants hit a wall when the banks and payment system operators can’t agree on who should front the initial investment costs for this new technology. And even if the banks can agree, merchants may not be willing to invest in RFID, or their business may not be the best fit for contactless payments. Concerns remain about contactless cards The types of businesses best suited for contactless payment systems include convenience-type stores or other retail businesses that need to move many customers through the point of sale with low cost purchases as quickly as possible. The infrastructure needed to accept contactless payments includes hardware terminals and the necessary software to integrate the data into the existing accounting system. Many small businesses still have reservations about upgrading. Such is the case for Nollie Jones, owner of a UPS franchise in Raleigh, N.C. He says that he often spends longer with his customers than other businesses “since they wait for us to measure, weigh, and pack their packages.”  Adds Jones, “I’m also concerned that the person swiping the card may not be the owner of that card.” Furthermore, Jones would receive virtually no savings from MasterCard or Visa for switching to contactless payment systems and that it would take a long time to recoup the initial investment costs. Looking ahead, contactless systems will replace cash for small transactions in businesses where there’s high volume and relationship-building with the customer is not the priority. Already 19 million RFID credit and debit cards have been issued since 2003, according to Forrester. However, once the public accepts the ease of payment and trusts that this system is a secure one, more merchants and banks will invest in this technology so customers won’t shop somewhere else. SIDEBAR: Contactless payment systems in the U.S. MasterCard PayPass — launched in 2005 with 10 million registered users. American Express ExpressPay – launched in July 2003 with 3 million registered users. Visa payWave — launched in December 2006 with 6 million registered users. Source: Forrester Research

About 2271 days ago Wireless Networks

Wireless Networking Hazards to Avoid

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Who doesn’t love the convenience of an in-house wireless network? You can tote your laptop to a colleague’s office, a conference room, even to the cafeteria — as long as those places are within range of your system’s signal — and still get your email, retrieve documents on company servers and even access the Internet. And who hasn’t heard about the headaches inherent with all that openness? A few complaints involve performance: For instance, most networks have some “cold spots” where the wireless signal is weak or non-existent. But for most businesses, the biggest concern is security. Or, more precisely, the lack of it. Like cell phones, wireless networks rely on radio waves; like cell phones, they’re simply more vulnerable to certain security problems than their wired counterparts are. While security standards have grown increasingly more stringent in recent years, corporate wireless networks remain vulnerable to a variety of threats. Among them: Computer viruses and worms. Hacker intrusions. Nearby outsiders who hop, uninvited, onto your network, using your signal to access the Internet for free. (A few years ago, I had a contract job at a struggling company that didn’t have its own wireless set-up, but its employees could easily piggyback onto a neighboring business’s unsecured wireless network. Nobody was interested in their host company’s data; they just wanted to surf the Web for free. And they did. Regularly.) Protecting your wireless network starts with an obvious step: Invest in a firewall, a virus-scanning program, and intrusion-detection software. Use them at their highest-security settings. Update them regularly — automatically, if possible. And make sure your IT team is using the most recent security protocols (usually expressed as some combination of the number 802.11, followed by a letter), which are more secure than earlier iterations. Beyond that, avoiding these common mistakes can help strengthen your network’s security, keeping your information safe and your employees productive: Using easily cracked passwords. Too many organizations use group passwords that a fifth-grader could figure out. Common ones include: The company name or a slight variation, (such as “WidgetCorp”), a logical sequence of letters and numbers (such as “abcde12345”), one number repeated multiple times (such as “777777777”) or the company’s main switchboard number or mailing address. Experts say some businesses never even bother to change the wireless network manufacturer’s default password — which a savvy crook can find almost as easily as that street address or phone number. You’ve heard it before, but it bears repeating:  Opt for less-obvious passwords, both individually and as an organization. Don’t use names. Don’t use recognizable words — hackers typically have software programs that cycle through electronic dictionaries trying one possibility after another until they hit the right one. Use a seemingly random group of letters and numbers, but watch the length. If it’s more than about 10 characters, some people will write it down to remember it, possibly even posting it on or near their computers. That’s like putting a key to your house in an envelope marked “Key to the House” and leaving it right outside the front door. Leaving entry points vulnerable. Jonathan Hassell, an IT systems consultant based in Raleigh, N.C., says a wireless network’s weakest spots are the places where legitimate outside users can get into your systems. Those points — such as virtual private network (VPN) connections and remote-access servers — are also the places most likely to attract unwelcome visitors. Hassell, author of Hardening Windows (Apress, 2005) recommends having your IT team or a security specialist “harden” those points — that is, provide them with state-of-the-art protection against hackers, viruses and other external threats. And don’t forget that every computer on a network also serves as an access point. Encourage employees to turn off their machines whenever they’re not in use. Failing to set policies. The world’s best security measures won’t work if employees don’t cooperate. For instance: Wireless networks are so inexpensive and easy to use these days that in some growing companies, forward-thinking employees simply set up their own little networks for small-group collaboration. You need to consider whether such “private” networks are acceptable and, if so, determine whether they’re properly secured. It’s also important to establish rules about who can use your company’s main wireless network. For instance, do you want to provide visiting consultants and contractors with access? Finally, when you travel, pack the same precautions. Be especially careful about transmitting confidential information over a wireless network in a public place. Travel writer Christopher Elliott relates that while he was using a hotel’s wireless network, someone snagged his email account password and nearly succeeded in sending an obscene message to the 21,000 subscribers of his email newsletter. “It’s the last time I’ll send any sensitive data” wirelessly, Elliott wrote in describing the experience on a Microsoft-sponsored site for small businesses. Just as with cell phones, when you’re on a wireless connection in a public place, your best bet is to assume that somebody might be eavesdropping.