vpnsite.net

Price : $40.24

Features

• Sold Individually

 

Product Description

 

The Cisco VPN Client is software that enables customers to establish secure, end-to-end encrypted tunnels to any Cisco Easy VPN server. The client can be preconfigured for mass deployments and initial logins require very little user intervention. VPN access policies and configurations are downloaded from the central gateway and pushed to the client when a connection is established, allowing simple deployment and management.

Main Features

• Manufacturer: Cisco Systems, Inc
• Manufacturer Part Number: CVPN-CLIENT-K9=
• Manufacturer Website Address: www.cisco.com
• Software Sub Type: Network Connectivity/Management
• Software Name: VPN Client v.4.6 - Media Only
• Features & Benefits:
• Support for Windows 98, ME, NT 4.0, 2000, XP, Linux (Intel), Solaris (UltraSparc 32 and 64-bit) and Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar)
• Automatic software updates (Windows 2000 & XP) makes deploying new client versions hassle free
• VPN Virtual Interface Adapter present on Windows 2000 and XP
• Application Programming Interface (API) allows you to control operation of the VPN client from another application
• System coexistence with Microsoft L2TP/IPsec client
• MSI (Windows Installer) package available for NT, 2000, and XP
• Intelligent peer availability detection (DPD)
• Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol (SCEP)
• Data compression (LZS)
• Command-line options for connecting, disconnecting, and connection status
• Configuration file with option locking
• Support for Microsoft network login (all platforms)
• Domain Name System (DNS) including DDNS/DHCP computer name population, Split DNS
• Windows Internet Name Service (WINS), and IP address assignment
• Load balancing and backup server support
• Centrally controlled policies (including backup server list)
• Integrated personal firewall (stateful firewall): Zone Labs techn

   

  

Introduction: The majority of role playing games available rely on dice to create a system of random chance. As such, one can never truly predict how things will go. Even an attacker, blaster, or speedster can?t guarantee victory before the foe gets a chance to make a crucial attack. Even an achiever, trickster, or defender can?t assume that a foe will never succeed to score a hit. Eventually, sometimes even often, characters will take hits. If anything in an RPG is guaranteed, it is this simple fact.

How to deal with it? Play a tanker. Tankers are the characters who take the hits and keep on going. They do not fall easily, do not succumb to single blows. All tankers are alike in their ability to take the hits, but in some games, they also heal rapidly over time, making them virtually impossible to wear down through attrition and compounding their incredible stamina with constant recuperation.

In Quests of the Realm, tankers are represented by the endure preference.

Player Tactics: The tanker, like the defender, is primarily a protective specialty. In QoTR, tankers supplement their stamina with some functional options. They can sacrifice their resilience to improve their actions, and can ignore some of the penalties that come from being badly injured (and, indeed, gain bonuses instead!) This isn?t always the case, however, and being able to take a lot doesn?t matter much if you can?t likewise dish it out.

The tanker, thus, is a specialty that helps to maximize other advantages more than granting benefits of its own. Since a tanker doesn?t fall easily, it has more chances to make use of its abilities. When other characters are falling back to get healing, the tanker is still going strong, possibly even stronger than it was in the beginning of the fight.

A tanker should never go for minimal impact. Do whatever you can to pester your enemies so they turn their attention onto you. As with a defender, your value to the party, other specialties aside, is strongly limited if foes elect not to attack you. On the other hand, don?t let the value of your strength defeat itself. Tankers are hard to take down?but not impossible. You want to draw attacks off of your allies, but much as with a user, if you rely too heavily on your ability to resist hard, it will be used up when you need it later.

Although any combination can prove effective, tankers do lend themselves to certain other specialties. A user/tanker, used wisely, is a master of winning through attrition. A blaster/tanker might risk a high chance of burnout, but played with some caution, can devastate the enemy force without fearing being taken down quickly due to the perceived threat of blasters. An enhancer/tanker, able to take the hits and heal, is virtually immortal on the field, while a defender/tanker is not only hard to hit, but also requires more hits to drop (and may be able to lower the damage of those hits it takes, to boot).

GM Tactics: Tankers share many of the same advantages of defenders for villain design. They make great boss opponents, especially if a lot of the players have high-damage characters that would otherwise eradicate a boss in one or two hits. If tankers can gain in effectiveness as they are injured (as in QoTR), the challenge of such a battle increases as the characters get closer to winning, not unlike in some video game RPGs.

Attacker/tanker fodder opponents are a pretty safe bet. Since they are lower level than the party, their ability to take more hits and deal more harm make them credible threats. And, since their tactics are straightforward, the GM can use them without having to worry about complicated strategy. As with defenders, though, tanker fodder can mean a much longer battle. On the flip side, they?re a great choice if the party contains a slightly-too-effective blaster.

Tanker elites can prove effective, especially if combined with more powerful allies. A trickster/achiever boss, for example, with a couple of tanker elites can make for an interesting challenge. All in all, the tanker specialty is among the best choice for villains?it makes them effective without making them unnecessarily devastating, and nicely complements any other specialty they have.

Tankers can take the hits and keep on fighting. They lack powerful offensive abilities of their own, but if they have a halfway decent fighting specialty to back them up, they can win their fights through attrition. Players should value the added survivability of tankers, since a player?s character is naturally subject to more attacks?and more successful attacks?over the course of a long-running game than any individual villain. However, enemies too can benefit from a tanker?s capabilities, allowing them to actually stay in the fight long enough to cause an effect, even against a group of high-damage characters.

Copyright ? 2006 Dustin Schwerman.

Dustin Schwerman has been playing RPGs for over a decade, using an analytical approach to critically evaluate the game systems (and so to create the most powerful characters he could get away with). He used the extensive experience gained doing so to create his own game, Quests of the Realm. QoTR focuses on unlimited character customization, relying on its author’s understanding to detect and counter game-breaking power plays. Though balanced, QoTR still allows players to create highly effective characters and run them through heroic story lines. To contact Dustin, read more of his writings, or learn more about Quests of the Realm, visit his web site, Quellian-dyrae.

Price : $51.31

 

Product Description

 

Best-practice QoS designs for protecting voice, video, and critical data while mitigating network denial-of-service attacks

• Understand the service-level requirements of voice, video, and data applications
• Examine strategic QoS best practices, including Scavenger-class QoS tactics for DoS/worm mitigation
• Learn about QoS tools and the various interdependencies and caveats of these tools that can impact design considerations
• Learn how to protect voice, video, and data traffic using various QoS mechanisms
• Evaluate design recommendations for protecting voice, video, and multiple classes of data while mitigating DoS/worm attacks for the following network infrastructure architectures: campus LAN, private WAN, MPLS VPN, and IPSec VPN

Quality of Service (QoS) has already proven itself as the enabling technology for the convergence of voice, video, and data networks. As business needs evolve, so do the demands for QoS. The need to protect critical applications via QoS mechanisms in business networks has escalated over the past few years, primarily due to the increased frequency and sophistication of denial-of-service (DoS) and worm attacks.

End-to-End QoS Network Design is a detailed handbook for planning and deploying QoS solutions to address current business needs. This book goes beyond discussing available QoS technologies and considers detailed design examples that illustrate where, when, and how to deploy various QoS features to provide validated and tested solutions for voice, video, and critical data over the LAN, WAN, and VPN.

The book starts with a brief background of network infrastructure evolution and the subsequent need for QoS. It then goes on to cover the various QoS features and tools currently available and comments on their evolution and direction. The QoS requirements of voice, interactive and streaming video, and multiple classes of data applications are presented, along with an overview of the nature and effects of various types of DoS and worm attacks. QoS best-practice design principles are introduced to show how QoS mechanisms can be strategically deployed end-to-end to address application requirements while mitigating network attacks. The next section focuses on how these strategic design principles are applied to campus LAN QoS design. Considerations and detailed design recommendations specific to the access, distribution, and core layers of an enterprise campus network are presented. Private WAN QoS design is discussed in the following section, where WAN-specific considerations and detailed QoS designs are presented for leased-lines, Frame Relay, ATM, ATM-to-FR Service Interworking, and ISDN networks. Branch-specific designs include Cisco SAFE recommendations for using Network-Based Application Recognition (NBAR) for known-worm identification and policing. The final section covers Layer 3 VPN QoS design-for both MPLS and IPSec VPNs. As businesses are migrating to VPNs to meet their wide-area networking needs at lower costs, considerations specific to these topologies are required to be reflected in their customer-edge QoS designs. MPLS VPN QoS design is examined from both the enterprise and service provider’s perspectives. Additionally, IPSec VPN QoS designs cover site-to-site and teleworker contexts.

Whether you are looking for an introduction to QoS principles and practices or a QoS planning and deployment guide, this book provides you with the expert advice you need to design and implement comprehensive QoS solutions.

 

Customer Reviews

Review date : 2008-11-13
It’s a great book for a network engineer. I think it should be a must for any person who is looking to be a great network designer.

Review date : 2008-10-03
This book provides good coverage on the technical side. If you are also interested in the commercial/economic and regulatory side of QoS, then this book may be useful too:

Technical, Commercial and Regulatory Challenges of QoS: An Internet Service Model Perspective

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0123736935/

Review date : 2007-03-08
The Broadband hype of converged networking, things like IPTV, VOIP, H.323, will never work without QoS. Now even the Microsoft Vista Kernel has QoS.

This is a great book about end-to-end QoS pratical examples, code, methods along with solid explanations of why and how. A must read for both LAN and WAN people. QoS is still diffcult but this book finally details practical standards that can be adhered too.

Buy it

Claude King
Senior Systems Programmer
University of Florida

Review date : 2006-04-26
"Indispensable" is the one word which best describes this work. (In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve known Christina Hattingh for several years. As I’ve written in the acknowledgements of my books she is "one of the finest engineers I’ve known and worked with." I’ve never met Tim Szigeti.)

The authors have put together an outstanding work which incorporates real world experience, lucid explanations (see the section on ‘qos pre-classify’ on p.649, for example), and a wealth of configuration examples, show and debug command outputs.

If you need to "do" QoS, especially in a converged network, the contents of this book will be invaluable.

Review date : 2006-04-12
When this book first arrived at my doorstep, I figured it would be a quick read, a review of information I was already fairly comfortable with, and just another presentation of the same-old material. I couldn’t have been more wrong! Over the last several months, a number of hours have been devoted to leafing through the pages of valuable information, learning something new every time! Szigeti and Hattingh have done a superb job in putting this reference together. From the basic fundamental concepts of QoS, to the tuning and optimization of QoS policies, this book covers it all pretty well. QoS design considerations, both on the campus as well as the WAN, are covered in a way that is easy to understand. A significant amount of material is dedicated to explaining QoS support on the various models of Cisco Catalyst switches, with a solid breakdown of each. A number of case studies guide you through real-world examples of how QoS technologies are best leveraged, in clear, concise detail. The at-a-glance guides in the back of the book are also good reference material. For the enterprise user and service provider alike, this guide will prove to be a valuable tool when tackling in the toughest of QoS tasks. I would give this book a solid 5 on the scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being amazing! Great job with this book, keep up the good work!

The Backup utility creates a copy of data on a hard disk of a computer and archives data on another storage media. Any storage media such as removable disks, tapes, and logical drives can be used as a backup storage.

While taking a backup of files, the Backup utility creates a volume shadow copy of the data to create an accurate copy of the contents. It includes any open files or files that are being used by the system. Users can continue to access the system while the Backup utility is running without the risk of losing data.

Volume Shadow Copy

Backup provides a feature of taking a backup of files that are opened by a user or system. This feature is known as volume shadow copy. Volume shadow copy makes a duplicate copy of all files at the start of the backup process. In this way, files that have changed during the backup process are copied correctly. Due to this feature, applications can continue writing data to the volume during a backup operation, and backups can be scheduled at any time without locking out users.

Types of Backups

The Windows Backup utility provides various types of backups. While planning for a backup strategy, it is important to choose an appropriate type or combination of different types of backups. The backup type determines which files are transferred to the destination media.

Each backup type relates to an attribute maintained by every file known as archive (A). The archive attribute is set when a file is created or changed. When an archive attribute is set, it means that the backup of this file has not been taken or it is due.

Note: When it is said that The file is marked as backup, it means that the archive attribute of the file has been cleared.

Normal Backups

When an administrator chooses to use a normal backup, all selected files and folders are backed up and the archive attribute of all files are cleared. A normal backup does not use the archive attribute to determine which files to back up. A normal backup is used as the first step of any backup plan. It is used with the combination of other backup types for planning a backup strategy of an organization. Normal backups are the most time-consuming and are resource hungry. Restoration from a normal backup is more efficient than other types of backups.

Incremental Backups

An incremental backup backs up files that are created or changed since the last normal or incremental backup. It takes the backup of files of which the archive attribute is set. After taking a backup, it clears the archive attribute of files. An incremental backup is the fastest backup process. Restoring data from an incremental backup requires the last normal backup and all subsequent incremental backups. Incremental backups must be restored in the same order as they were created.

Note: If any media in the incremental backup set is damaged or data becomes corrupt, the data backed up after corruption cannot be restored.

Differential Backups

Differential backup backs up files that are created or changed since the last normal backup. It does not clear the archive attribute of files after taking a backup. The restoration of files from a differential backup is more efficient than an incremental backup.

Copy Backups

A copy backup copies all selected files and folders. It neither uses nor clears the archive attribute of the files. It is generally not a part of a planned scheduled backup.

Daily Backups

A daily backup backs up all selected files and folders that have changed during the day. It backs up data by using the modified date of the files. It neither uses nor clears the archive attribute of the files.

Combining backup types

The easiest backup plan is to take a normal backup every night. A normal backup every night ensures that the data is restored from a single job the next day. Although the restoration of data from a normal backup is easy, taking a backup is time consuming. Hence, an administrator is required to make an optimal backup plan. An administrator must consider the following points before creating a backup plan:

?The time involved in taking the backup.
?The size of the backup job.
?The time required to restore a system in the event of a system failure.

The most common solutions for the needs of different organizations include the combination of normal, differential, and incremental backups.

Combination of Normal and Differential Backups

An administrator can use a combination of a normal backup and a differential backup to save time in taking a backup as well as for a restoration of data. In this plan, a normal backup can be taken on Sunday, and differential backups can be taken on Monday through Friday every night. If data becomes corrupt at any time, only a normal and last differential backup are required to be restored. Although this combination is easier and takes lesser time for restoration, it takes more time to take backup if data changes frequently.

Combination of Normal and Incremental Backups

A combination of normal and incremental backups can be used to save more time for taking backups. In this plan, a normal backup is taken on Sunday and incremental backups on Monday through Friday every night. If data becomes corrupt at any time, a normal and all incremental backups till date are required to be restored.

Backing up a System State Data

System State Data

System State data contains critical elements of the Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 operating systems. Following are the files included in the System State data:

?Boot files, including the system files and all files protected by Windows File Protection (WFP)
?Active Directory (on domain controller only)
?SYSVOL (on domain controller only)
?Certificate Services (on certification authority only)
?Cluster database (on cluster node only)
?Registry
?IIS metabase
?Performance counter configuration information
?Component Services Class registration database

For backing up the System State of a computer, the System State node is included as a part of the backup selection in the Backup utility.

Note: On domain controllers, System State can be restored only by restarting the domain controller in Directory Services Restore Mode. NTDSUTIL is used to recover deleted objects in Active Directory.

System Recovery

In the event of a system failure, the recovery of the system is difficult and tedious for administrators. Recovery involves reinstallation of the operating system, mounting and cataloging the backup tape, and then performing the full restore. To make this process easier, Windows provides a feature called Automated System Recovery (ASR). ASR is used to perform a restore of the System State data and services in the event of a major system failure. An ASR restore includes the configuration information for devices. ASR backs up the system data and local system partition.

How to create an ASR set?

Take the following steps to create an Automated System Recovery (ASR) set by using the Backup or Restore Wizard:

1.Run Backup from Start Menu > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Backup. 2.In the welcome screen of the Backup or Restore Wizard, click the Advanced Mode link. 3.On the welcome page of the Advanced Mode of the Backup utility, choose the ASR Wizard option from the Tools menu. 4.In the welcome screen of the ASR Wizard, click the Next button. 5.On the Backup Destination page, specify the location of the backup, and click the Next button. 6.Click the Finish button.

Note: An ASR backup does not include folders and files.

Best practices for Backup

According to Microsoft, administrators should take the following steps to ensure the recovery in case of a system failure:

?Develop backup and restore strategies and test them.
?Train appropriate personnel.
?In a high-security network, ensure that only administrators are able to restore files.
?Back up all data on the system and boot volumes and the System State.
?Back up the data on all volumes and the System State data at the same time.
?Create an Automated System Recovery backup set.
?Create a backup log.
?Keep at least three copies of the media. Keep at least one copy off-site in a properly controlled environment.
?Perform trial restorations.
?Secure devices and media.
?Do not disable the default volume shadow copy backup method and revert to the pre-Windows Server 2003 backup method.
?Back up your server cluster effectively.
?Back up the cluster disks from each node.

About the Author:

uCertify was formed in 1996 with an aim to offer high quality educational training software and services in the field of information technology to its customers. uCertify provides exam preparation solutions for the certification exams of Microsoft, CIW, CompTIA, Oracle, Sun and other leading IT vendors. To know more about uCertify, please visit http://www.ucertify.com/

Price : $80.00

Features

• An Internet connection-sharing Router, Switch, and Access Point with built-in VPN endpoint capability and advanced security features
• Jump start small business network by connecting both Wireless-G (802.11g) PCs, and local wired PCs
• Securely connect up to 50 remote or traveling users to office network via VPN
• "Hotspot Ready" with subscriber registration, authorization and authentication functions

 

Product Description

Standards: IEEE 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.3Ports: Internet, Ethernet (1, 2, 3, 4), PowerButtons: Power, ResetCabling Type: UTP CAT 5LEDs: Power, Internet, LAN (1, 2, 3, 4), Wireless-G, DMZTransmit Power: 19 dBmUPnP able/cert: AbleSecurity Features: WEP, 802.1x AuthenticationWEP Key Bits: 64, 128Dimensions(WxHxD): 7.32 x 6.89 x 1.89 / 186 x 175 x 48 mmUnit Weight 20.11 oz. / 0.57 kgPower: 5V, 2.5ACertifications: FCC, IC-03

First, there was the standard land line phone system; then came the cell phone ? a convenient little portable item that everyone adopted a ?must have? attitude toward. Progress didn?t stop there, however. Now, we have the Smart Phone ? the answer to the on-the-go lifestyle that demands immediate access to whatever electronic needs that we happen to have, in addition to the ability to phone our family and friends for a chat whenever the whim presents itself.

To be sure, Smart Phones are capable of extraordinary electronic feats, but convenience ? especially that of the technological variety ? always comes at a cost, and this one comes with quite a hefty one. The bottom line is that, if you plan to buy a Smart Phone, then plan on paying a visit to the loan officer of your local bank on the way to the store. These electronic marvels are designed to bring true computer capability right to the palm of your hand, but most people will have to put some serious thought into the type of financial commitment that they?ll have to make in order to become the proud owner of a brand new bouncing baby Smart Phone.

Pros and Cons of Owning a Smart Phone

Just like anything else, Smart Phones have their bright and dark sides and, depending upon how much you?re willing to compromise, they?ll either be a great investment for you, or not at all worth the money that you?ve invested.

Pros

• For those who, until now, had been carrying around a mobile phone and PDA, this combines the two into one unit, without losing any of the capability of either format.
• This is definitely a multi-media friendly device, offering the opportunity to enjoy both audio and video files ? or both, if you prefer ? without a lot of hoopla.
• Cell phone software companies have taken quite kindly to the Smart Phone and are fully supportive of it when it comes to developing software that?s compatible with these units ? especially those in the game and entertainment industries.
• If accessories are your thing, then you?ll love the number of add-ons that you can purchase to go with your new Smart Phone ? including those which utilize Bluetooth technology.

Cons

• Unless you have very good vision, you might have trouble reading the screen on the Smart Phone ? it?s smaller and the resolution isn?t as sharp as that of a Pocket PC.
• Text messaging and other text-related capabilities are compromised as a result of the limited text-entry that?s intrinsic to these devices.
• Unlike the Pocket PC, Smart Phones are missing some applications that are critical to some users. Among these are Microsoft products, such as Pocket Excel and Pocket Word.
• You may be told that you?ll have nationwide coverage, but the reality is that coverage of that type only includes larger cities with higher populations. As a result, there?s quite a menu of non-service areas.

Smart Phone Features

Much like a mini-computer with telephone capability, these devices are often seen as handy little items for meeting most or all of the needs of those who are on the run, but want to have access to their PC and phone service, regardless of where they roam.

• Cell phone service is certainly one of the major perks of the Smart Phone ? complete with voice mail. Just as in the case of mainstream cell phone varieties, specific service plans can be purchased for these, depending upon your particular needs and preferences.
• Internet connectivity is also an available Smart Phone feature, allowing you to retrieve wireless e-mail messages and gain access to search engines and other online goodies. Just pop open your flip phone and jump onto the web.
• If you?re interested in games, the Smart Phone offers those, as well. A variety of computerized games can be played ? either online or through special software ? just as if you were using your home PC.
• Office functions, such as certain Windows or other Microsoft programming, are also available, allowing you to create and store files for future use.
• If you?re bored and have a bit of extra time on your hands, you can even gain access to online movies through the video feature that the Smart Phone has to offer. Or, if you prefer, you can listen to your favorite tunes as a result of the audio features.
• Photography is also an option when you invest in a Smart Phone. Just as with the mainstream camera phones, these devices offer instant pictures that can be viewed on-screen immediately after they?re snapped. These units, however, are more than just cell phone cameras, so if you?re looking for something more, think ?Smart Phone?.

Smart Phone Pricing

Although these have been compared to PDAs on a certain level, Smart Phones are definitely more sophisticated ? and more compact. As compensation for these conveniences, however, you must be willing to pay a hefty price. Typically starting at about $600 and ranging into the thousands, Smart Phones may be all the rage, but if you?re planning to buy one simply for the novelty of it all, then you should save your money and stick with something a bit less progressive.

Keep in mind that additional costs will be incurred in order to establish phone service and gain internet connectivity. That equates to the price of the unit plus the additional charges for basic services and any special features that you choose to opt for ? all of which can add up to an exorbitant amount of money.

The best way to keep down your expenses is to take the time and effort to do some online research before you make a commitment to buy a Smart Phone or specific service plan that you?ll need in order to fully utilize all of the features that it offers. By simply typing ?smart phone comparison? into the keyword area of any major search engine, you?ll have cost and feature comparison information at your fingertips, which will help you to determine which one is right for you ? if, indeed, any of them are. Is investing in a Smart Phone a wise decision? Only you can decide.

About the Author

Samantha Goode is a freelance technology writer who loves to provide tips to consumers shopping for smart phones, pda phone and blackberry pda.

Price : $44.97

 

Product Description

This book provides a detailed technical and business introduction to SSL VPN. It explains how SSL VPN devices work along with their benefits and pitfalls. As well as covering SSL VPN technologies, the book also looks at how to authenticate and educate usersa vital element in ensuring that the security of remote locations is not compromised. After that, you will see strategies for making legacy applications accessible via the SSL VPN. Written in a highly readable style, it provides a vendor-neutral introduction to SSL VPN technology for system architects, analysts, and managers engaged in evaluating and planning an SSL VPN implementation.

You will learn: * How SSL VPN technology works, and how it fits into existing network architectures * Evaluating SSL VPN for your organization * What to look out for when talking to vendors * How to plan an SSL VPN implementation for your business * Educating staff to maintain SSL VPN security * Strategies for providing access to internal legacy applications via SSL VPN * Likely trends and possibilities for the future of SSL VPN

Customer Reviews

Review date : 2005-06-01
"SSL VPN - Understanding, evaluating and planning secure, web-based remote access" - the only thing wordy about this book is its title. The rest of the book delivers information clearly and concisely through text, diagrams and examples. "Hacker Bob" animates key passages to keep things from getting dry.

As expected, the audience for this book is techies. Basic network concepts are explained, so anyone with a technical background will understand. Any network fundamentals quickly lead to SSL VPN applications.

The authors are good about explaining "why" and providing the pros/cons of a decision. Key criteria are also provided for both technical and business decisions. I found one of the most valuable parts to be about bad architectures. The authors illustrate several common architectures and point out weaknesses. The focus on diagrams and flow was quite useful.

In this phase, existing mail accounts and messages are migrated from the existing messaging environment to the Microsoft Exchange 2003 environment. Your migration strategy must be executed in a manner that is transparent and that has the minimum possible impact on your current e-mail users.

To accomplish these goals, an effective migration strategy and appropriate migration tools must be designed and implemented. They must address all aspects of system migration, including networking, external interfaces, account synchronization, management systems, and parallel operations.

This chapter contains the following sections:

Developing a Migration Strategy

Preparing the Migration Plan

Using Migration Utilities

Tips for a Successful Migration

Refer to the Microsoft Exchange 2003 Migration Guide for complete information on migration.

Developing a Migration Strategy The typical site where Microsoft Exchange 2003 is installed has an existing mail system that provides messaging services to its users. Migration is the act of moving or copying the data for all users from the legacy (existing) system to the Microsoft Exchange 2003 system. Migration is performed so that all customers can be serviced by the Microsoft Exchange 2003 system, not simply those new subscribers following the installation of Microsoft Exchange 2003.

Migration is the most complex facet of any deployment project. Even though this document provides a framework to follow for migration, no two migrations are exactly alike, due to the differences in each site’s legacy mail system and its integrated systems and procedures. A successful migration depends upon accurately identifying all unique aspects of the system that are to be duplicated in Microsoft Exchange and then duplicating these conditions through development and testing prior to the actual physical migration.

The principal issues of concern in any migration to a new mail service are data integrity and transparent cutover to production. Data integrity guarantees that all mail accounts, stored messages, and associated personal information and preferences (for example, address books, passwords, and so forth) are accurately retained in the new mail system. Transparent cutover to production means that the transition is handled quickly, cleanly, and with no disruption to the end-user experience.

In typical migrations, the total amount of time required for a successful transition is a function of system complexity. Both the total number of mail accounts and the total number of stored messages are significant factors. In addition, migration time can be affected by system and site-specific issues.

Any migration strategy must address:

Migrating accounts

Migrating mailboxes

Migrating Accounts This migration involves all of the information that uniquely identifies and describes a user, including class-of-service data that defines the service for which users are subscribed. Account data must be placed in the Microsoft Exchange 2003 system before message data. The first task is therefore to collect and transfer account data from the legacy system and then transfer it to the Microsoft Exchange 2003 system.

If your legacy system has domains and organizational units, you must prepare to migrate these also.

Migrating Mailboxes This migration involves message data–the actual messages to be migrated that belong to the user. The mailbox is simply a collection of the messages belonging to a particular account.

Preparing the Migration Plan Migration involves significant planning, more so than any other deployment task. This planning is necessary because the activity is exposed to existing users and will, in most cases, be the initial experience that users have of the new system. It is very important to plan for every eventuality in order to avoid problems during the migration.

Refer to Appendix A for information on how to obtain a sample migration plan.

Migration is 95 percent planning and 5 percent execution. A multitude of factors that must be considered in order for a migration to succeed.

The Migration Plan provides a detailed, step-by-step procedure for migrating accounts and mailboxes to Microsoft Exchange 2003. The deployment team should make several dry runs of this plan, with each dry run resulting in a subsequent refinement of the plan.

Any migration plan should address these considerations:

Ensuring systems readiness

Coordinating with other groups and identifying dependencies

Verifying software installation and configuration

Setting up the test system

Providing provisioning connectivity

Testing the migration

Choosing full or limited migration

Resuming service

Ensuring Systems Readiness All systems to be tested must be ready and operational before testing begins. In addition networks must be implemented as defined in the architecture design (see Chapter 2).

For each original e-mail system, separate IP settings (each with unique A records in the DNS) must be established for the following:

Host Address This is the permanent IP assignment for the host. Service Address This is the address that is used by all e-mail clients for a service. The Service Address will be re-assigned to Microsoft Exchange at the time of account migration. Service Proxy Address There must be a Service Proxy Address for each Service Address. The IP number used for any Service Proxy Address will match its respective Service Address. The Service Proxy Address will be used for proxy targeting where proxy is used on the Microsoft Exchange system. These can be de-assigned after all migrations are complete and when it is determined that a revert procedure is not required.

Coordinating with Other Groups and Identifying Dependencies Since any migration touches upon many aspects of a company’s operations, make sure you coordinate the migration with all affected groups and identify dependencies–that is, determining the order in which systems should be migrated.

Verifying Software Installation and Configuration In addition to installing Microsoft Exchange 2003 (see Chapter 3) and verifying that all components inter-operate, you must set correct Microsoft Exchange environment settings for the root user. These include the correct $PATH, $LDLIBARARYPATH, and $Microsoft Exchange settings in order to access the Microsoft Exchange migration tools.

Setting Up the Test System To validate a migration plan, the test system should have the capacity of production systems, including the proper storage volume configuration and failover configuration (service continuity). The test system must have Internet connectivity, as Proxy mode operations cannot be tested without this.

Aside from equipment that mimics the production system, test driver machines must also be available to power the migration and capacity tests. The test drivers must be configured with migration utilities as well as with mail clients or other test utilities for accessing and sending mail.

At least one test host is required for migration testing; this host acts as a surrogate for the actual online e-mail hosts and holds all mailbox data required for testing.

Providing Provisioning Connectivity The provisioning interface must be validated before migration can occur. C API procedures should be tested to ensure that modifications performed on the ISD are successful and are propagated to the provisioning database. The Perl API set for batch account migration also must be tested. Last, administrative routines in the provisioning system or ISD must be validated.

This testing is performed in a dual provisioning environment. The purpose of dual provisioning is to ensure the ability to revert to the legacy mail system in the event that the new mail system in not successful.

For provisioning, automatic mailbox creation must be tested. Zero-length mailboxes are typically not migrated; rather, they are turned on in Microsoft Exchange 2003. The first time mail is received or checked, the mailbox can be created. A large test database (representing the volume of anticipated accounts) must be test-migrated to ensure that the procedure works and that the destination ISD database can handle it.

If possible, you should identify a group of friendly users willing to assist in identifying any problems or errors

Testing the Migration Before the migration can occur, comprehensive testing on the production system must be completed. Migration test activities are non-intrusive to the existing mail system and are conducted from a separate system using actual user account information and a test copy of the production user data.

The procedures for extracting account data from the legacy system must be tested. The method and utilities to load these accounts into the ISD must be validated through testing. Each class of service must be included, as well as each combination of account attributes, such as forwarding, aliases, and vacation replies.

In addition, the process of moving mailboxes to the Microsoft Exchange 2003 system must be tested. This process includes the method of suspending the account, the physical transfer of messages and attachments, and the return of the account to active status.

You should make any possible configuration changes to prevent network or system loading. In addition, you must establish any special network, host, or storage accommodations that may be required for testing. A special network configuration may be required to prevent traffic complications introduced by migration testing. Another solution may involve localization of the original mailbox storage to the Microsoft Exchange 2003 system.

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Note: Depending on the particulars of a given migration, you may need to create new scripts or modify existing migration scripts. All scripts for managing batch processes must be completed and tested prior to migration.

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Choosing Full or Limited Migration Accounts to migrate can be defined based on business rules (for example, all mail accounts in good standing or priority accounts requiring early access to features not offered in the exiting mail system).

If you are not going to migrate the entire population at one time, there are certain considerations you need to plan for. For limited migration, you must configure the Microsoft Exchange 2003 system for POP proxy in order to retrieve mail from the legacy system for unmigrated accounts and mailboxes. The architecture must also account for SMTP relay during Proxy mode in order to deliver appropriate mail to the legacy system as well as to Microsoft Exchange 2003.

The method of migrating account data must be identified and tested. Before the limited account migration can occur, a back-out plan, migration quality assurance, and certification of migration must be resolved and validated by testing.

In many instances, new subscribers to mail service at the customer site are added to the Microsoft Exchange 2003 system before migrated accounts from the legacy system. The benefits of handling new registrations in Microsoft Exchange 2003 are that you may be able to:

Offer differentiated service immediately.

Introduce Microsoft Exchange 2003 at a measured pace.

Ensure that no more users are added to an obsolete system.

Resuming Service Once migration is completed, accounts are automatically switched from Proxy mode to active status. Users regain access to their mailboxes and all messages that were deferred during migration are delivered to their intended recipients. In addition, you must move operations entirely to the Microsoft Exchange 2003 system and deactivate the legacy system.

A burn-in period should be identified, over which the Microsoft Exchange 2003 system must be closely monitored for error conditions.

Using Migration Utilities There are multiple methods for the combined migration of accounts and mailboxes. One method is to transfer all accounts in a single migration. Then, mailboxes can be transferred in batches. Another method is to transfer a batch of accounts, then transfer a batch of corresponding mailboxes, and so on.

Utilities that support the chosen strategy must then be developed and tested. These tests should include timing of the execution of these utilities.

This phase involves the building of the migration utilities themselves and must include the design, development, and testing of the migration utilities that are to be used to migrate the mail from the existing system to the newly implemented Microsoft Exchange 2003 system. New tools have to be built very often because of the different source mail systems that can be in existence.

Microsoft Exchange 2003 offers automated migration tools designed to streamline the process of moving your service, including built-in tools for services using Sendmail and Software.com’s Post.Office. These flexible, modular, and customizable tools are Perl scripts that handle the export of directory, mailbox, and user information from these other systems to files in Microsoft Exchange 2003-readable format (based on LDIF), which are then imported into Microsoft Exchange 2003. These tools enable you to migrate all accounts at once or as incremental blocks of users. When migrating from a different mail system such as Netscape Messaging Server or SIMS, Microsoft Exchange 2003’s proxy features and robust export command set provide a solid foundation for rapid development of custom export scripts.

Tips for a Successful Migration With the completion of the migration tests, the only anticipated impact will be caused by the difference in functionality between mail systems. Once the migration of accounts has started, the target production environment becomes the production environment.

The migration procedure involves these discrete steps:

Setting up Microsoft Exchange 2003 in Proxy mode

Changing the MX record

Identifying accounts to be migrated

Extracting account information

Creating accounts in Microsoft Exchange 2003

Migrating messages

Setting Up Microsoft Exchange 2003 in Proxy Mode Microsoft Exchange must be configured for Proxy mode prior to activating the system. The proxy configuration permits the relay of message and service requests to the legacy system until the full migration has been achieved.

In Proxy mode, all incoming mail is directed to Microsoft Exchange 2003. If the mail is for a user that does not have an Microsoft Exchange account, the mail is relayed to the legacy system for delivery. If a user attempts to retrieve mail, but the user’s mailbox is not yet located on the Microsoft Exchange 2003 system, the POP server will connect to the legacy system and will retrieve the mail from the legacy mailbox location.

Changing the MX Record In order for mail to reach the Microsoft Exchange 2003 system (instead of the legacy system), you must change the MX record in the DNS for the mail domain of the site, so that traffic is directed to Microsoft Exchange 2003.

With all of the mail directed to Microsoft Exchange, you can begin to burn-in the system with live loads and become accustomed to operations administration even if there is no account data in the system. However, as soon as the system is activated, accounts are provisioned directly into Microsoft Exchange 2003.

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Note: This step can take a few hours to be propagated over the Internet.

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Identifying Accounts to Be Migrated The first step in migration is to determine which existing mail accounts will move to the Microsoft Exchange 2003 system. Accounts to migrate can be defined based on business rules (for example, all mail accounts in good standing, or priority accounts requiring early access to features not offered in the existing mail system).

Extracting Account Information After defining the accounts to migrate, the next step is to extract account information from the existing mail system. Using the target account list, account information is exported into a file in LDAP Data Interchange Format (LDIF). The standard LDIF format permits the importing of account information from any existing mail system to an Microsoft Exchange system. The scripts used here can be customized to handle any situation.

Creating Accounts in Microsoft Exchange 2003 Next, accounts are created in the Microsoft Exchange directory based on the account information described in the LDIF file. As accounts are created, they are placed in Proxy mode, causing mail delivery to and access from unmigrated accounts to be passed directly through to the old mail system, thus ensuring continuous service to end users. During this phase, if a user logs in and supplies an unknown username, the Microsoft Exchange POP server connects to the current e-mail system.

Migrating Messages The last phase of migration involves moving mail messages from the existing mail system to the Microsoft Exchange system. Message migration may occur either as separate files or as a single, concatenated file. However, some customization is typically required, since the way a message is stored in the Message Store Server (MSS) can differ from the standard mail format. This phase requires new accounts to run in Maintenance mode, during which time these mailboxes are unavailable. For this reason, message migration is typically performed in small increments during off-peak hours.

Exchange Migration plan for moving forward:

Perform Due Diligence on your network via Remote Terminal Service ( Next Week)
Identify existing components - users, groups, login variables
Document proposed AD structure
Project kickoff meeting (Friday)
Install Windows Server 2003 (Friday Night)
Install Active Directory (Friday Night)
Configure, Patch and Connect (Friday Night)
Review Event Log, resolve any errors (Friday Night)
Connect AD environment to existing Windows 2000 (Friday Night)
Identify existing printers (Saturday)
Identify existing components in Exchange (Saturday)
Build Exchange, configure, patch(Saturday)
Install and configure virus software,Spam solution and Fax
Software(Saturday)
Configure OWA in DMZ(Saturday)
Verify Installation (Saturday)
Perform Mailbox Move (Saturday)
Install Outlook 2003 on all desktops. (Saturday - Sunday)
Review Event Log, resolve any errors (Sunday)
Setup Test workstation/perform testing (Sunday)
On-Site to handle any issues with the migration (Monday)

The above steps are only an estimate of work needed to be perform a successful migration. After we perform the Due Diligence Intercore will have a more definite outline in MS Project to fully detail the breadth of work needed to perform the migration . This Due Diligence will identify issues that we can resolve before the migration is performed.

InterCore Technologies, LLC opened it’s doors in May of 1996. Our mission: To Provide a high level of computer consulting services using the most experienced engineers at fair prices. We believe in using a Business Value approach to every aspect of computer consulting. This provides our clients with the most cost effective solutions. We help our clients get more with their current technology investment. Click here to see why Intercore is different from other firms

Exchange Migration Groupwise Lotus Notes conversion services

Price :

Features

• Weight - 3.25 lbs
• WAN Ports - 2
• Package Content - Router, AC Power Cable, Setup CD with User Guide, Registration Card, Rackmounting Kit
• ¿ Full IPSec Virtual Private Network (VPN) Capability using DES and 3DES Encryption Algorithms

 

Product Description

The Linksys 10/100 8-Port VPN Router is an advanced Internet-sharing network solution for your small business needs. Like any router, it lets multiple computers in your office share an Internet connection. But the unique dual Internet ports on the 10/100 8-Port VPN Router let you connect a second Internet line as a backup to insure that you’re never disconnected. Or, use both Internet ports at the same time, and let the router balance your office’s requirements between them for maximum bandwidth efficiency.The 10/100 8-Port VPN Router also features a built-in 8-port full-duplex 10/100 Ethernet switch to connect eight PCs directly, or you can connect more hubs and switches to create as big a network as you need.The Virtual Private Network (VPN) capability creates encrypted tunnels through the Internet, allowing up to 50 remote offices or traveling users to securely connect into your office network from off-site. Users connecting through a VPN tunnel are attached to your company’s network - with secure access to files, e-mail, and your intranet - just as if they were in the building. You can also use the VPN capability to allow users on your small office network to securely connect out to a corporate network.The 10/100 8-Port VPN Router can serve as a DHCP Server, and has a powerful SPI firewall to protect your PCs against intruders and most known Internet attacks. It can be configured to filter internal users’ access to the Internet, and has IP address filtering so you can specify exactly who has access to your network. Configuration is a snap with the web browser-based configuration utility.As the heart of your small office network, the connection-redundant Linksys 10/100 8-Port VPN Router gives you the connection reliability your business needs.

Customer Reviews

Review date : 2008-11-19
Last year I was in the market for a VPN solution for my home office and after reading some mixed reviews I bought the RV082. The dual WAN, IPSec VPN, firewall and price were the features that sold me and as a relatively savvy VPN user, I figured I could tough it out. Boy was I wrong. This device delivers decent router performance but I couldn’t get the QuickVPN software to work at all with Vista clients. The documentation is incomplete and is especially not useful for those who’re new to VPN administration. Even after hours of research online and numerous tech support calls I still couldn’t get the QuickVPN working, so I gave up on it and switched to another, more configurable IPSec VPN application. This did get the VPN going, and it seems stable so far, but it’s annoying and disappointing that it wouldn’t work right out of the box.

Review date : 2008-09-04
I have been using one of these for a few years. I just threw it away. I should have thrown it away years ago.

Even with the latest firmware it doesn’t work right and is slow. It’s difficult to configure. It’s impossible to configure correctly. I’ve spent many hours on the phone with Linksys tech support, which has proved to be a total waste of time. Even through the router sucks, though, the documentation is even worse.

Save your money. Use dd-wrt. That’s what I did.

Review date : 2008-02-22
This is the third Linksys RV082 I have bought, and they are all used to connect several sites securely. Good performers even with high-grade encryption enabled, relatively simple VPN tunnel setup, good recovery from link outages, nice load balancing features for dual WAN links, and very good total system availability. Especially considering the price and the throughput this is a very good deal. The typos in the GUI and the manual luckily don’t contribute much to setup challenges if you know what you are doing.

Review date : 2007-11-08
This unit basically represents the higher end of the consumer market, but is not overly serviceable as a business grade router. We own two of these routers and they are just not reliable enough. Once configured, a vpn/firewall/router is a device that should soon be forgotten. Not so with the RV082. It is definitely quirky and requires the occasional reset. We have tried several different firmware revisions and all seem to be buggy in different ways. At various times we’ve had trouble with the VPN, port-forwarding to our database servers, problems with VOIP, and other strange states. I think I’ve decided that for the price of this unit, you just can’t get one box that is a fast and reliable VPN, firewall, and router. It’s a little disappointing.

Review date : 2007-03-08
I bought this router to replace my Netgeart FVS318 that was fried when we got hit by lightning. The VPN utility that came with that was too hard for the average user to configure, so the Linksys and QuickVPN utility looked good. Unfortunately the QuickVPN doesn’t work, and spent quit a lot of time with Linksys tech support and still no luck. So if you’re looking at this for the ease of VPN with QuickVPN, you may want to consider something else.

Basically Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) means that you have the ability to hold conversations over the Internet or any other IP- based network. VoIP is as easy to use as a normal phone.

When you make a call via VoIP it will normally cost less than other traditional phone services supplied by your local provider.

VoIP to VoIP is virtually free. However, if you use your VoIP connection to call a non-VoIP recipient there will be a cost. There are some doubts whether VoIP is at a service standard to cover all end users needs.

There are also a lot of questions that are unanswered about its reliability. Some of those questions are:

How many people can I call?

This typically depends on your provider. Larger companies that have a VoIP connection will allow calls to anyone.

If your call falls off the system (if you have the facility to carry out this function) then it is automatically picked up by the normal landline system. You are then charged at a higher rate for those calls separately.

Should I be concerned about the cost?

Again the cost depends on your provider and the rates they charge. The best idea is to compare cost of a number of companies that supply this service so you can make a well informed decision.

Special equipment may also be required. At the very least, you must have an Internet connection (broadband or DSL connection) and a computer to send and receive the calls.

Are there any problems with VoIP to note?

The number one problem is if your Internet goes down, so does your VoIP connection. That brings us to the consideration as to whether or not VoIP is suitable for a business.

It will obviously differ from country to country but in Australia, in our opinion, VoIP is still in its infancy.

We use it for personal local and international calls to select destinations. However the problem we find is that the call drops out frequently. Drop outs similar to that of cell or mobile phone users experience from time to time in non-signal areas are a nuisance.

If the consumer doesn’t have access to a traditional phone in case of emergencies because of slow Internet connections, VoIP may not be suitable. The trade off here is whether the cost verses the reliability is acceptable.

Cost and reliability are the top factors that a businessperson should consider when assessing VoIP. We find that there are select service providers (SP’s), which sell VoIP after assessing a businesses position and make recommendations based on that assessment whether to recommend VoIP.

These SP’s take into consideration whether it is cost effective for the business to stick to the landline business. In these cases they may offer similar rates on landline business to that charged for VoIP services to get the business.

This service has influenced a large number of businesses to consider staying with traditional landline services. There is only one company, Telco Blue that has developed a Virtual VoIP product although it isn’t true VoIP it has prices that are very similar to VoIP prices, but all on the standard quality landline service, which gives business the best of both worlds.

Is VoIP right for business?

When making a decision that answers this question the business person will have to consider whether or not they accept the trade-offs in cost verses quality.

There are cost savings to the business consumer. Especially where they have an existing network capacity that can be used for VoIP at little or no additional cost.

Additional costs to consider may include the technical requirements to have VoIP intergraded into their system.

On the bright side VoIP is a growing service and eventually will, arguably, take over the traditional phone system. As a final note something to consider is to avoid any long-term contracts with providers that insist on term contracts.

The arrangement may lose the benefit to the business next week and if you are tied in to a contract it may cost you more in the long run.

Dan Cavalli helping businesses and people to be the best they can be now! For more details about this and similar articles and to claim your free subscription to news and views go to http://www.telcoblue.com.au