Domain controllers need backup love too!

Courtesy: Home Box Office - Game of Thrones

On the hit HBO series "Game of Thrones," the task of protecting and defending the realm of Westeros is an often thankless and bloody endeavor. To control such a sinister and hazardous domain would be a grand task indeed.

The modern day "domain controller" is not a leadership figurehead of some war-monger nation, but a software application that helps our main server networks function smoothly and efficiently. The exact definition from Technopedia.com is as follows:

"A domain controller (DC) is a server that responds to security authentication requests within a Windows Server domain. It is a server on a Microsoft Windows or Windows NT network that is responsible for allowing host access to Windows domain resources. A domain controller is the centerpiece of the Windows Active Directory service. It authenticates users, stores user account information and enforces security policy for a Windows domain."

That definition is a bit complicated, but the bottom line is that a domain controller is kind of like a traffic cop in a Windows-based network. If your network traffic cop (the domain controller) is compromised or fails then nothing can move, there is no access, and everything grinds to a halt. So think about it, wouldn't it make sense to find a way to have a failover DC?

It doesn't have to be up and running all the time, it just has to be ready if and when you need it. So in a hosted backup configuration, this "cold" DC could be fired up in case of an emergency and the network can be restored in minutes rather than hours or days. For the SMB organization that relies so heavily on these systems being available, this could be the difference between prosperity and mere survival. Talk to your trusted technology partner to see how it could work for you. And bring your shield, just in case!

Remember...

While everyone is rushing around, thinking about the big plans or hours of rest this holiday weekend, it is imperative we all stop and think. Think about those who are now at rest, having made the ultimate sacrifice to give us the freedoms we have today. The freedom we have to enjoy a long weekend. The freedom I have to write this column. The freedom we have to continue to opoerate as we do in a free-market economy. We spend far too much time worrying and complaining about the small stuff.

I plan to dedicate some of that wasted time this weekend to thinking about and praying for those who gave their lives in service for us, and for the families and loved ones they left behind. Memorial Day is about the fallen, but should also be about the fallen hearts of the ones still here who supported and loved them in all they did.

Let us all make it a priority this weekend, amidst the revelry, the barbecues and the games, to remember those who gave so willingly for us, and raise a glass to their memories and their families. Have a wonderful holiday weekend, and be safe.

Cloud HQ

By: Germany's Heike Weichmann @ http://www.heike-wiechmann.de

Maybe Heike has captured the office of the future. Teleworkers are growing in numbers year after year, but what if the concept became the norm rather than just an option? Without proper recovery planning, a disaster striking a small or mid-sized business could make the decision for you.

One major issue in this regard is the spread of data across multiple machines in an organization. This can be especially challenging in the SMB space despite lower employee counts as IT resources are more scarce. I see it all the time; organizations without a strict defined policy on data saves and archiving. Some employees take the necessary steps to back up data on network shared folders, but others too busy with the day to day tasks in front of them take the path of least resistance and store data on their local PCs. This can lead to several issues; there could be a PC crash that causes the data to disappear, the remote PC (not behind the corporate firewall) could be hacked and destroyed or looted of its data, and a remote employee in the process of going to work for a competitor siphons off the data for future use in their new job.

How can you minimize these risks? It goes hand in hand with a more efficient system; a private cloud hosted network infrastructure. It's essential to have your server or servers in a central data center with controlled VPN access, enforced policies on all data automatically saved onto the shared network folders, and policies that prevent data from being saved locally. Finding a provider to do all that for you is imperative, so look for partners that understand the SMB marketplace, work with the best-of-breed providers of hardware and software, and who are local so you can tour the data center. At the very least, network hosting provides protection against threats and crashes. If that is too costly, look into hosting a virtual domain controller to quickly get back up and running after a server issue. I'll look at the concept more next week. Until then, have a productive week and a terrific Memorial Day holiday!

A little goes a long way!



Courtesy Dylan's Candy Bar @ www.dylanscandybar.com

When I was a kid there was one candy confection that I couldn't get enough of. Truth be told, there were very few that I couldn't get enough of, even to this day sometimes! The treat I'm referring to was none other than the chewy, gooey,  delicious Bonomo Turkish Taffy. As I recall, their catch phrase was, "A little goes a long way." A great reference to the ability of freezing it and then slamming it on a hard surface where it would break it into smaller pieces that would melt in your mouth!

Despite my now-drooling mouth, I am trying to tie this idea into our monthly discussion of virtual disaster recovery. One of the most annoying aspects of getting back up and running from a server crash is the rebuild of the domain controller. Without adequate backups, or sometimes even with them, the process of getting the foundational DC back to working order on the server can be hours if not longer. This can be averted through a monthly service plan from your IT professional. A virtual domain controller essentially provides a cold backup of an organization's primary DC which would be ready to restart and reload remotely from the hosted data center. This can cut hours and days into a matter of minutes to get a server rebuild started. Leaving you and your staff time to head out for the candy of your choice, and a big pat on the back from your executive staff for a job well done!

Don't let Hollywood dictate your disaster preparedness!

There once was a time when movies about massive horrific disasters were top bill at the Hollywood box office. The mastermind behind several films that defined this genre in the 70's was Irwin Allen the "Master of Disaster." His Poseidon Adventure was a star-studded tale of an unsinkable cruise ship flipped over by a giant tsunami and the struggle to survive and to be rescued. The Towering Inferno was a star-studded tale of a huge "fire-proof" office building suddenly ablaze and the struggle to survive and to be rescued.

When you consider the impact of disaster on your organization, whether natural, fictional, or otherwise, it can be more than just a scary two hour diversion; it could be a death knell. Statistics show that 50% of small or mid-sized business that encounter a catastrophic data loss will fail within two years. We've heard and read about disaster recovery for years now. Many businesses have embraced it while others have only tinkered with it. With the emergence of all the hype around "the cloud" it has become not only a hot topic but easier to obtain and cost effective for the budget-wary SMB marketplace. This month we will look at the general topic which we call "virtual disaster recovery" which is our term for the fusion of DR solutions and the cloud.