Network Scalability for Your Business
When a business is just starting out, the temptation is to keep expenses low in order to get through the critical first few years. After all, you have other start-up costs and finances to take into consideration.
However, when setting up a computer network for your growing business, you should also take into consideration scalability. Network scalability is the ability of your computer network to grow with your business as your needs change. Not taking scalability into account can mean spending more money on infrastructure down the road.
What is Network Scalability?
One of the definitions of network scalability is the ability of your computer network to handle the amount of traffic that runs on it. When a business is starting out and is relatively small with a handful of users, having a scalable computer network may seem to be an unnecessary expense, since the smallest amount will seem sufficient. However, on the contrary, you must remember that as your company grows, your business technology needs will also change.
While a business is small, a shared communication line may be all that is needed to ensure that the office can access the Internet. However, more users and more complicated online communication needs mean that you’ll also have greater network bandwidth needs. As a company adds more users, the need to do more downloading or transferring of files, will require more bandwidth and faster speeds, the original network equipment needs to be able to handle that traffic. By understanding what future needs are likely to be, a network architect can choose equipment that will be able to grow with you.
At the same time, while a business is still getting off the ground, a handful of users may find that sharing one printer, locally hosted and shared on someone’s machine, to be a fine arrangement. Once again, as that business grows and adds more users it will increased printing needs, this former arrangement may no longer be sufficient. Investing in a network printer that will allow multiple user access may be more expensive at first but will pay off in usability and lack of downtime in the future.
How to Plan for Future Growth through Network Scalability
By investing in technology that can grow with your business, you can rest assured that your computer network will grow with your business. Though your business may not use the full capabilities of certain devices from the very beginning, having that flexibility for growth and expansion can help.
For most business owners, these needs can be addressed by your IT consultant or technical department. This is yet another reason why it pays to consult with an IT specialist early on in a business’s operations. Keeping scalability in mind while your business is just starting out will help to ensure that your computer network will grow with your business needs. Investing in technology that can grow with your business is always a smart choice.
The Importance of Server Backup Systems
We all know how important server backup systems and regularly saved work is. We’ve all been the victim of a wrong button pushed once or a power surge that can eradicate entire documents that have been the focus of your attention for hours. However, consider what kind of damage this brings to companies working on a larger scale. What if you have thousands of documents and files that have suddenly vanished?
Hourly, Daily, Weekly, or Monthly Data Storage?
The problem with server backup systems and saving data is that it can be a time-consuming task. Manually backing up your files might seem ideal – especially if you work almost entirely with documents on your computer – but can easily take up several minutes of every hour. This can result in hours each year of lost productivity. Daily saving is a little less time-intensive but can still become a burden over time. Weekly or monthly storage might seem more realistic until you lose that entire week’s worth of work during a hard disk failure or other setback.
Server backup systems can step in to save some of this lost time and effort, especially if you use a system designed with productivity in mind. Many systems operate automatically each night after you close the office for the night. A little more costly than simply moving all your files to an external hard drive every night, they can streamline everything by only uploading those files that were changed during the day or that underwent regular maintenance. But because it doesn’t cut into the workday or require activity on your part or on the part of your employees, it can quickly become an invaluable business tool.
Most data storage experts also recommend that you do an additional weekly backup in addition to an automated daily option. This should usually go one step further in terms of protection and security, often including storage in physical form in an offsite safe or over a network on an offsite server. If you implement these steps early on in your business, it will quickly become a habit and take up even less time than you imagined.
Keeping Your Information Safe by using Server Backup Systems
No matter what type of backup solution you choose, make sure security is always at the forefront of your mind. Regardless of whether you’re looking to remain secure against theft, physical damage, or future loss, remember that backup and data storage is only effective if you keep the information secure. Never keep all your information in the same place, and make sure that those who have access to it are authorized.
The art of Task Automation and Corrective Processing
The last few years were a very good time for the IT market. After a great depression that occurred in the beginning of the decade, the future looks very promising. It is also much easier to find a job in the IT market. However, when you are trained in using task automation and corrective processing methods, your chance to find a job grows even more along with your potential salary. Those skills are in high demand now!
What exactly is task automation and corrective processing? Nowadays those two skills are used in almost every aspect of computer science. If you find a job as a network administrator, or as a programmer, you will use those two methods almost every day.
First let’s take a closer look at task automation. Let’s say that someone finds a job as a system administrator. He could easily spend every minute of every day at work performing periodic maintenance tasks unless he finds a method of automation. Automation entails creating scripts that the system can execute at a particular time each day, week, or month. Automation also includes the simplification of interactive tasks by creating scripts or programs. Tasks that are repeated often and are complicated or tedious are good candidates for both simplification and automation.
As you see, task automation is in fact a very simple process. Corrective processing is a little more complicated. However, this method also can, and sometimes must, be used almost everywhere, even outside the IT industry. Almost everywhere where data processing is used, there is a place for corrective processing. It may be something’s as simple as purifying html code, to a little more complicated calculations involving Hubble’s telescope.
In the IT business, corrective processing is mostly used to check for errors in new software, but that~s not all. It is also used for optimization, like clearing or simplifying the program code to make it run faster or be better read by search engine robots. There are also many new IT companies where you can find a job that is concentrated solely on corrective processing. Such companies are usually sub-hired by other, bigger ones to check on their product. Even one of the biggest producers of antivirus software is outsourcing corrective processing of its products, so the demand for corrective processing specialists is high indeed.
But the real art is connecting task automation and corrective processing into one, single process. People who have obtained both skills can find a job almost everywhere, and for quite a good salary. So, if you are currently trying to find a job, it would be a good idea to learn at least one, if not both skills. Your chances to find a well-paid job will grow!
The power of Automated Alerting for hard drive recovery
You are sitting in a cafe with your friends when suddenly your cell phone rings. When you look at the screen, you see the new messagereport. While reading it, you find out that there was a power shortage in your company building and that hard drive recovery of all of your computers was successful. Then you can sit back and enjoy the rest of the evening or run to the company’s office depending on the specific situation. You know everything, and you can react accordingly with no need of people screaming on the phone. In fact, there is no living person needed to do that. How can that be possible?
The answer is: automated alerting applications. There is an enormous amount of automated monitoring systems around us. Personal life alert devices, fire sensors they launch a signal that is automatically delivered to a proper service. It is because automated methods cost less and it is becoming very common. From hard drive recovery reporting to stock notifications automated alerting systems are used everywhere.
There are four main methods of sending an alert report. The first and the oldest one is using a dedicated, specially designed alarm line between the sensor and the proper alarm station. It usually triggers some kind of a sound alarm. Because in this method one sensor is dedicated to one indicator, the source of alert can be easily identified. This method, however, has many flaws first of all, it is extremely expensive. Another thing is that it only notifies you about an alarm being triggered there is no detailed data given (it is good for fire alarm, but it won’t tell you if hard drive recovery was successful or not).
Another form of an automated alerting system is a pager message. Unfortunately, it slowly becomes obsolete. Recently, the cost of pager services became too high, but this method made possible to provide as many details as was needed – even the number of files that were lost after hard drive recovery.
The method of sending an e-mail report is the third method. It is by far the cheapest and most detailed one. There is, however, one major flaw and the successful delivery depends on constant access to the computer. Sending a message about a hard drive recovery process or about a burglary attempt has some sense only when someone can receive it, thus making this method less effective.
That’s why the last method is near perfection. It incorporates all the best aspects of other methods, while lacking their flaws. The use of a short message system is currently the best way of sending alerts: very detailed, almost instantly delivered and economical. From the emergency service doctors to company owners; from fire fighters to hard drive recovery trained personnel they all have one thing in common the cell phone.
Viruses, Rootkits, Adware and How to Protect Your Tech Environment
As technology use increases due to people using computers and Internet access for business and personal reasons, there has also been an increase in malicious software (or “malware”). Malware is most known for its ability to wreak havoc on both a user’s computer and the network that it has infected.
While some problems caused by malware infection often include such annoyances as computer and network slowness, more serious problems include network breaches facilitated by malware on company computers.
Types of Malware
There are several types of malware, the most common of which are viruses, worms, trojans, and rootkits.
Viruses and Worms: Both viruses and worms are infectious, which means that they can and will spread to other computers. Viruses spread when they are accessed or run, while worms can spread without additional user intervention.
Trojans and Rootkits: These are malware programs that conceal their true identity. Trojans are usually embedded in another program and are installed by a user who does not realize what they are installing is harmful. Rootkits are a means of hiding the malware from the user. A rootkit allows the program the ability to continue by either hiding within the operating system or by thwarting attempts at removal if detected.
How Malware Gets In
Malware can be introduced into a network in a number of different ways. Users are often unaware that they have allowed malware onto their computer and network until it is too late. Common infection scenarios include downloading e-mail attachments from an unknown source, downloading files on the Internet, or visiting untrusted websites.
To ensure and protect the integrity of your network, you need to reduce the threat of malware. Here are some tips to help:
- Install an antivirus program that runs in the background on all your computers. While not fool-proof, an antivirus program is a great way to protect against known viruses
- Instruct users not to open email attachments from an unfamiliar source. This is a simple way to protect your network from malware.
- Limit the sites that users are able to access using a firewall. Certain websites (including illegal software, music download sites, and adult websites) are much more likely to have malware lurking in their coding.
- Place strict limits on what can and cannot be downloaded from the Internet. Defining what can be downloaded can greatly reduce your business’s risk of being infected with malware.
- Consider reducing the privilege level of users on their individual computers. Many malware programs require administrator level access to make malicious changes to a hard drive, but most user applications do not need this high level of access.
Top Ten Ways to Ensure the Security of Your Network
Ensuring the security of your business network should be a priority for any company. Because so much work is done on your computer, storing files with important customer information and company secrets, it is crucial that a business protect that information as well as it can. Here are ten easy-to-implement tips for protecting the security of your network:
- Do not let unknown users use your computer network. All users should be authenticated with a login and password assigned by a domain administrator who has verified the identity of the user.
- Educate users on safe password creation and handling. Because some users find passwords easy to forget, some may try to use easy to remember dictionary words or even their own names. Some users may even write down their passwords in an easy to find place. This creates an opportunity for someone to steal a password and compromises the security of your network.
- Require users to change their passwords at least every 90 days. The more a password changes, the less likely it is to be useful if stolen.
- Limit the number of failed logins that can be tried before the system locks the user out. Password crackers often try different passwords at high speed. By limiting the number of failed logins, you can lock a potential intruder out.
- Never set up an unsecured wireless network at your company. If your business has a need for a wireless network, make sure that the wireless network is secured and that unauthorized users are not able to access it.
- Educate users on opening e-mail attachments. If a user receives an attachment from an unknown source or from a strange email, they should delete it. It could be a malware program that can create back doors to your network and breach your network security.
- Use antivirus programs and be sure to keep them up to date. Antivirus programs can detect and eradicate various malware threats.
- Restrict the websites to trusted sites only for your users to browse. Malware is often downloaded unknowingly from untrustworthy websites, especially illegal download or adult websites.
- Restrict the types of programs that can be downloaded onto your user’s computer. Users may download malware in the form of a trojan or a worm without realizing it.
- Consider restricting administrator access on your desktop computers. Most users and applications do not need administrator access on their computers and can work just fine with regular user access.
Although having an IT consultant can help you to limit damage if your network security is breached, this is one case in which prevention really is worth an ounce of cure. By creating a secure network ahead of time and working with your employees to implement safe practices, you can avoid damage or lost productivity before it occurs.
Five Disaster Recovery Planning Tips
If your business is getting ready to set up or install an IT disaster recovery plan, make sure you cover all the bases. Few companies are able to fully recovery from the loss of data or significant downtime, so this is one type of safety net you simply can’t do without.
- Monitor and/or update your disaster recovery plan regularly. The business world and the Internet are both like living, breathing organisms – they change and adapt daily. This means that a disaster recovery plan put in place six months ago might very well be obsolete by the time the unthinkable occurs. Whether you rely on automated monitoring, regular back-up data storage, or an actual physical update of your system, it’s a good idea to include regular updates into your planning and your recovery budget.
- Test the system regularly. Although this is technically part of the monitoring step, it’s a step that 9 out of 10 companies fail to do. But if there are weaknesses in your disaster recovery plan, you might actually be worse off than if you had no plan at all. That’s because you and your team will go through your recovery efforts under the assumption that you were safe from the more pressing issues, and you might fail to perform the most basic – and necessary – steps.
- Keep data stored somewhere else. Whether you keep your backed-up data stored physically off-site or you use offshore storage for all your information needs, having the information away from your own system is the most important thing. This back-up data will need to be updated regularly, according to your recovery point objective (or how reliant your business is on having the most recent data possible).
- Protect the hardware that goes home. If you have laptops that employees take home for work use, you need to install the laptops with theft recovery and data delete options. The top-of-the-line options will be able to return all the necessary information to you and still disable the computer so that the thief can’t get access to the same data.
- Consider hiring someone to do the disaster recovery planning for you. Whether you are a small business without an IT department or a large business whose data planning needs span entire departments and cross-country facilities, this is one area where it doesn’t pay to cut corners.
Disaster Recovery Priorities
It doesn’t matter whether you’re seeking protection against the physical damages of flood and fire or the more pervasive damages of a system that has been infiltrated by hackers – disaster recovery planning is necessary for any business. However, because the scope of potential threats is so large – and because there are so many kinds of threats you may not have even realized – it can be a daunting task to undertake.
Before you do any disaster recovery planning, it’s important to prioritize what’s important for your business. No two disaster recovery plans are alike, and the only way to minimize your own damages is to act accordingly.
Some of the questions you’ll need to ask yourself include:
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What are the most likely worst-case scenarios? (For example, if you are located in a flood plain, you may need to place a greater focus on keeping physical damages to a minimum. If your company deals with a large amount of personal data, keeping your customer’s information safe might be the most important thing.) How can these be prioritized to streamline the disaster recovery planning stage?
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What do you need to keep the business running in the event of a disaster? Do you need email? Phones? Access to backed-up data on the system? Alternate computers or technology?
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What liabilities might you be facing? If your network is infiltrated by hackers, what are the legal ramifications for your company? How much of an effect will this have on your company reputation and your bottom line?
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How long can your system be down without causing you to go bankrupt? (For example, if you experience a denial of service attack or you simply can’t access your system for a few days, how prepared is your company to “weather the storm?” Do you have access to emergency funds or an alternate way to keep business running?)
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Is your data somewhere safe? Imagine that you’ll never be able to get your system back up and running again. Do you have backed up data located somewhere where it won’t be damaged?
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What sort of information sharing system do you have in place? Employees and administrators will need to be kept appraised of the disaster and its recovery efforts. A way to contact everyone is important in making sure that things continue to run as smoothly as possible.
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How are you going to let your customers know about the situation? Nothing is more irritating to a customer or client than being unable to access your company (either online or in person). If your system is going to be down, or if you need to send out notifications of an information breach, you must have a way to get in contact with all of your customers.
No one likes to think that a disaster can happen to them. However, most businesses will experience some sort of an information emergency during operations. In order to successfully get your company back up and running, it’s important to plan ahead.
Getting Started with Vulnerability Patch Management
Last week, we discussed the benefits of a vulnerability patch management plan in boosting information security on a company-wide level. From IT policy development to network restructuring, there are countless reasons to integrate vulnerability patch management.
Once you decide to start working with an online or local IT consulting firm, you will most likely go through the following steps:
Inventory and Assessment: Not only will your IT consultant assess the strength of your current system from an operating standpoint, but he or she will also inventory the resources you have in the form of hardware, software, bandwidth, and even the employees you can rely on. All of these factors weigh in on the strength and viability of your system.
Monitor and Identify Threats: Using the inventory you currently have (or using new additions based on your consultant’s recommendations), you will begin a monitoring program that finds weaknesses and emerging threats. This may be automated, or it may be part of your consultant’s plan. In either case, you should be able to tell where to put your focus for moving forward.
Move Forward: This includes prioritizing the vulnerabilities, creating a database of solutions based on the prioritization list, and actually implementing the patches. It doesn’t matter whether you immediately apply the patches or if you spread them out over a period of time, this is the point at which you develop a long-term solution to see you and your company through the next few years.
Begin Automation: Making vulnerability patch management a regular part of your business means relaying the appropriate information to administrators and setting up an automated detection patch deployment system. In many cases, this will include training your IT staff on how to read the vulnerability scan results and how to apply solutions before they become liabilities in your business.
Benefits of Vulnerability Patch Management
Many of today’s top companies have been working on vulnerability management for as long as they’ve operated on a network of information technology. After all, information security is an important component of running a successful business – especially when that business works with personal information, finances, and other sensitive data.
However, companies that have an existing vulnerability management plan might not be as protected as they think. Over time, the series of patches used to repair weaknesses or “holes” in the system might burden a network or fail to provide complete safety against penetration. That’s why most IT consultants recommend vulnerability patch management as a way to revitalize an existing system that is either ineffective or that hasn’t been updated in at least a year.
Overall, vulnerability patch management systems work by:
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Providing a core for all other vulnerability tasks. Instead of merely putting patches on top of patches, you’re looking beyond an immediate solution to an entire restructuring of the way your business handles technology. This also creates a concrete plan of action that can gear your entire company toward a more results-oriented approach to technology.
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Bringing administrators, technology experts, and separate department together. For a vulnerability patch management program to work effectively, it must become a company-wide solution that pays attention to the organizational hierarchy. What department has the biggest need for vulnerability protection? Where is it the most cost-effective to start? The answers to these questions can be integrated into policy to become a baseline for future vulnerability patch solutions.
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Eliminating downtime. Whether it’s freeing up a burdened system to run more effectively or freeing up your employees to turn their attention to more pressing tasks, a vulnerability patch management plan is a great way to monitor, revise, and streamline your information system.
Next week, we’ll look at how getting started with vulnerability patch management works and what businesses can expect.