Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Guidance How to Use Small Business Server Support Services?

Are you looking for ways to troubleshoot your server errors ? Why not to avail experts’ help at online resources offering server support services. They have got a team of Microsoft Certified System Engineers to manage your server resources, consultation needs, or requirements for the latest software patches and releases.

Here, you are provided with 24x7 assistance through remote sessions which is no less than having an IT staff. These certified technicians help you resolve errors efficiently in form of proactive support. The person owning the computer uses it as himself, apart from the fact that it is being controlled over the Internet. Small businesses find buying server support as a better option than paying hefty amounts to system administrators.

Moreover, online technicians don't make you go through the process of unplugging all the wires, packing the PC up in the car, dropping it off for several days, going back to pick up the PC and attempting to set it all back up again.

Since these technicians hold vast experience in handling and troubleshooting technical problems, you can expect immediate solutions for most of your small business technical support requests, and guaranteed response times for other support issues.

With online server support resources, you can avail a comprehensive array containing a variety of services for different server products to cater your server support requirements. Another benefit that is attracting most small businesses towards remote server support services is the benefit of lower costs. You get all server support services at one price and availability of all things under one roof.

In addition to server support solutions and services, online technical; support resources deliver a full range of hardware and software support for advanced server platforms and associated technologies. You can also avail other support services such as computer support, technical support, exchange support, software support, etc. Online tech support resources always try to make it convenient for customers to get their technical issues resolved fast.

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/information-technology-articles/server-support-services-487671.html

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Cisco Planning to Sell Servers With Virtualization Software

Cisco plans to start selling servers equipped with virtualization software as early as March, The New York Times reported on Monday, a move that could position it for tough competition with Hewlett-Packard Co and IBM.

The report, citing people with knowledge of the company's plans, said Cisco aims to sell a server combining hardware and virtualization software from Cisco and VMWare Inc, in which Cisco holds a small stake.

Cisco's move into the server services market has long been a target of speculation, with technology websites over the past few months calling it by the code name "California."

Company officials were not immediately available for comment.

Analysts have said a new server product is likely to be aimed at data centers, which Cisco has identified as a key growth area as an explosion of consumer-generated content and a shift to Web-based software in business operations has meant increasing data traffic.

But analysts have also said it could be a difficult move, noting that it would turn IBM and HP, with whom Cisco partners in selling its other network equipment, into rivals.

Cisco, the world's biggest network equipment maker, has been expanding into a wider range of products and services, as growth slows in its traditional routers and switches business.

Its expansion into unified communications systems, which tie together e-mail, phones and other tools over Internet networks, has already led to greater competition with another partner, Microsoft Corp.

From: http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSTRE50J0A020090120

Thursday, January 15, 2009

How To Install and Run Windows 7 Beta

What you'll need:
  • A DVD burner, and a blank DVD
  • Minimal system requirements per Microsoft:
  • 1 GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor
  • 1 GB of system memory
  • 16 GB of available disk space
  • Support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128 MB memory (in order to enable Aero theme)

If you're not familiar with beta versions of operating systems, read the "New to beta testing?" section; otherwise, proceed toward the bottom of the page, select your version (32- or 64-bit), and hit Go. You'll need to sign in to your Windows Live account at this point — if you don't have one, you can create one (click Sign Up Now). Interesting fact: as I was writing this article, I had to go back and forth through these steps quite a few times. With only one Windows Live ID, I was awarded 4 different Product Key (no more, no less) – I think only Product Key per Windows Live account would make more sense.

The details

Download size: 2,557,416KB (2.5GB)

The beta expires on August 1, 2009

Windows 7 FAQ

You will not be able to upgrade from the beta version to the official release.

Preparation

I opted for a dual-boot with my Vista installation. To do so, I had to resize my current Vista partition: go to Start > Control Panel. If your Control Panel is in Classic View, simply select Administrative Tools. If not, click System and Maintenance, Administrative Tools, Create and Format Hard Disk Partitions.

Select your main partition (probably C:), right-click and pick Shrink Volume. If you're lucky, you'll have some available space to be shrunk ("Size of available shrink space in MB" — Windows Vista is very peculiar when it comes to this; don't expect this shrinkable part of your hard drive to be as big as your empty space on the drive). I was barely able to squeeze 16GB out of this, even though I have more than 100GB of space left.

If you have less than 16GB (16,000MB) of available shrink space available, I strongly recommend against trying to dual-boot with Windows 7. If you're adventurous, though, you should be able to find some tutorials online on how to get around Vista's partition management tool's restrictions.

Windows XP users can access similar disk management tools by going to Start > Programs > Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Storage > Disk Management.

ISO

The Windows 7 file comes in ISO format (a disk image), which you'll need to burn to a DVD (sorry, a CD won't do!). The easiest ( and free!) way to do this is imgburn.

Installation

To install Windows 7, you'll need to pop in the DVD you just burned, restart your computer, and boot from the DVD.

First, you'll pick your language, time, currency, and keyboard in an environment that looks very much like Vista's. Clicking Install Now will set things into motion.

After accepting the License Terms (which I did not scrutinize — I'm guessing someone else will!), you pick your installation option (Upgrade or Custom – I picked Custom for obvious reasons). Next, you're prompted to choose your partition.

Important: Unless you don't care about your Vista installation, make sure you pick the newly-created partition!.

In what looks like Vista's installation process, you'll be going through "copying files", "expanding files", "installing features", "Installing updates", and "Completing installations." Be prepared for a restart (in which the newly-created boot menu behaves perfectly). Next, setup "is starting services" – and then you'll have time to go get a drink or two... or three... or four...

If you're into nice graphics, the Windows 7 logo may impress you (I sure liked the "Starting Windows" graphics!) — if not, you'll just have to sit through the "setup is preparing your computer for first use" and "checking video performance" screens.

Next — and this is where things actually start happening — you get to enter your username and a computer name (no password yet). Next, you enter the product key (you did get one, right!?!), upon which you're urged to "Automatically activate Windows when I'm online."

The "Setup Windows" screen will be familiar to anyone using Vista, with options to have Windows "help protect your computer."

A reboot will bring up the quintessential boot menu, and you'll be prompted for your "computer's current location" (Home, Work, or Public). Next, the "Homegroup" question is up (more on that later), and that's it: you've got Windows 7 running.

Source: http://www.enterpriseitplanet.com/networking/features/article.php/3795621


Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Microsoft Small Business Server 2000: Win2K Svr

Microsoft's Small Business Server 2000 (SBS) claims to offer small businesses an easy way to support internal or external networking and business applications. Indeed, it's a good option for larger companies that have access to tech support. But although Microsoft says SBS is ideal for companies with fewer than 50 employees, we found that managing and maintaining the suite required significant technical expertise. Rival client server suites, including Novell and IBM also suffer from the same drawback, but they cost less, making them more economical for small businesses. Newer options, such as outsourcing or open source solutions may require less technical expertise and carry a lower price tag.Microsoft's Small Business Server 2000 (SBS) claims to offer small businesses an easy way to support internal or external networking and business applications. Indeed, it's a good option for larger companies that have access to tech support. But although Microsoft says SBS is ideal for companies with fewer than 50 employees, we found that managing and maintaining the suite required significant technical expertise. Rival client server suites, including Novell and IBM also suffer from the same drawback, but they cost less, making them more economical for small businesses. Newer options, such as outsourcing or open source solutions may require less technical expertise and carry a lower price tag.

What does it do?

These days, if your office has more than one computer, printer, scanner, or Internet connection, you need a network. Why? Say you manage a small medical practice with several physicians, nurses, and receptionists. Each receptionist needs a computer to take appointments and keep patient records. But to avoid duplication and overbooking, the receptionists must share a common database. That's where a small-business server comes in. These software packages not only connect every PC to a common server (and thus to one another), they also allow several computers to share a single printer or Internet connection (for surfing or e-mail). And these things are precisely what SBS aims to do.

To find out how SBS works for small companies of various sizes (a 10-employee office with no technical expert; a 50-employee office with an in-house technical expert; and a 100-person company with either a small IT staff or an outside consultant), we installed SBS three separate times on a 1.5GHz Pentium III with 2GB of RAM and 120GB of drive space. After each simulation, we wiped the server and performed a fresh installation. (Keep in mind that because Microsoft limits the number of items on a single network to 50, you'd have to buy a second server license to set up a 100-person network.) For each test, we set up intranets and Internet connections, deployed software to client PCs, and compared SBS to traditional small business software rivals, such as IBM and Novell, as well as newer options, such as outsourcing and open source solutions.

Source:http://reviews.cnet.com/other-os/microsoft-small-business-server/4505-3678_7-3634572.html