Microsoft-certified Consulting
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and Server 2008 R2 Support:
Consulting and Technical Assistance
Windows Server 2008 delivers enhanced fault tolerance, performance, security, manageability, functionality, capacity, and economy by incorporating a variety a new and improved features. New virtualization technology saves money, simplifies administration, adds flexibility, and reduces recovery time in case of natural or-human-made disaster. Improved clustering and load balancing capability increases fault tolerance and manageability. An updated web hosting and development platform strengthens the security and dependability of web applications and makes it easier to maintain web environments. Windows Server 2008 has been hardened to withstand external and internal attacks and new tools help enforce security policies. Better support for branch offices and offsite clients makes it simpler and safer to run remote applications and easier to manage and troubleshoot offsite environments.
Windows Server 2008 R2 adds important enhancements to the initial release of Windows 2008 in the areas of virtualization, remote access, web services, management automation, clustering, fault tolerance, availability, security, and Windows 7 integration.
Progent's Microsoft-certified consultants can help you evaluate the benefits of Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 for your business, develop pilot programs and migration plans, integrate Windows Server with your network infrastructure and applications, train your IT staff how to use new management tools to administer and support your clients, and provide ongoing consulting and troubleshooting support via budget-friendly options such as Help Desk services and remote online technical support.
Features Introduced by Windows Server 2008
Windows Server 2008 introduced a broad array of new and enhanced features that address vital aspects of business networking and solidify the position of Windows Server technology as a pivotal component of any information technology solution. Some of the headline features introduced by Windows Server 2008 include:
Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V
Windows Server 2008 includes integrated virtualization technology known as Hyper-V, which allows businesses to save money by deriving more functionality from less equipment. By making it possible to run multiple server roles on a shared machine, virtualization reduces costs associated with hardware, space, energy, and management time. Hyper-V offers a flexible virtualization platform with a unified set of tools to control virtual and hardware resources. Features and benefits of Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V include:
- Ability to cluster virtual machine hosts and to backup virtual machines without service interruption improves system availability
- New virtual switch feature supports Windows Network Load Balancing (NLB) to enhance performance
- Symmetric Multiprocessors (SMP) Support allows as many as four multi processors for a total of 16 processors in a virtual machine (VM) environment to get the maximum benefit of multi-threaded applications such as SQL Server
- Ability to capture snapshots of a virtual machine makes it possible to restore a previous state
- Multiple operating systems including Windows and Linux can be run from a single physical server
- New storage capabilities including pass-thru hard disk access and dynamic storage expansion makes data more accessible to virtual machines, programs, and services
Improved Failover Clustering and Network Load Balancing
Windows Server 2008 improves support for failover clustering, also known as server clustering, by making this high-availability technology more secure, more stable, and easier to manage. Features of Windows Server 2008 that support failover clustering include:
- A Cluster Validation Tool helps verify that an environment is correctly configured and architected to be converted to a cluster
- A Cluster Management Interface makes it easier to administer clusters by offering features such as the ability to create customized views of clusters and shared folders
- Migration is simplified by the ability to capture and copy cluster settings from one cluster to another
- Seamless integration with the Volume Shadow Copy Service makes it easier to back up and restore clusters
- Support for GUID partition table (GPT) disks allows greater disk capacity and improves availability by permitting extra storage to be added to an application without disrupting service
- Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) and DNS support eliminates the requirement to have WINS and NetBIOS name broadcasts
Server Manager and PowerShell
Administration, management, and automation are made easier in Windows Server 2008 by Server Manager and PowerShell. Server Manager offers a centralized console for controlling a server's configuration and system attributes, displaying the current status of a server, highlighting problems with configuring the server role, and managing all the roles assigned to the server. Server Manager makes it possible for system administrators to accomplish tasks quickly and accurately in a single friendly environment without being forced to jump from one management utility to another. Server Manager works seamlessly with PowerShell, a new command-line scripting language that helps automate administration across multiple servers.
Branch and Remote Office Support
Windows Server 2008 includes a number of features designed to simplify the installation and ensure the security and reliability of branch and global office systems. Improvements in this area include:
- Windows Deployment Services (WDS) allow businesses to automate the installation of operating systems in remote offices without requiring the onsite presence of technical personnel. Windows Deployment Services makes it possible to deploy new systems quickly and inexpensively, even in cases where the remote computers have no operating system installed.
- A new Read-Only Domain Controller offers a more secure mechanism to provide Active Domain administration in remote offices
- Terminal Services (TS) RemoteApp and TS Web Access allow offsite workers to open programs remotely with a single click so that they appear to be running on their own computers
- TS Gateway offers safe connectivity to remote applications through firewalls without requiring workers to set up or activate a Virtual Private Network (VPN)
- Network Access Protection (NAP) is a platform to help enforce security policies and can be utilized to verify the health of remote office systems. When a remote client accesses a Windows Server 2008 environment, the NAP services can make sure that required updates and configuration standards are in place before permitting remote access to the system.
Web Support
Internet Information Services 7.0 (IIS 7.0) is a comprehensive solution for developing and hosting web applications. IIS 7.0 plays a crucial role in unifying Microsoft's web platform products such as ASP.NET, Windows SharePoint Services, and Windows Communication Foundation web services. Enhancements offered by IIS 7.0 include:
- IIS has a more modular design so that feature modules can be installed independently, making it possible to shrink the server's exposed attack surface and reducing the server's resource requirements
- The introduction of IIS Manager as well as a new command-line utility simplifies management and administration
- Web site settings can easily be copied across multiple servers thanks to cross-site deployment support
- Application administration as well as management of different components of the web server can be delegated to appropriate specialists
- Improved integrated tools for analysis, repair, and health management make it easier to identify and correct problems
- Sites and applications can be more thoroughly isolated from one another to improve security and availability
Windows Server 2008 adds important new or enhanced services to Active Directory. New or improved services and their key features include:
- Active Directory Domain Services are an enhanced and renamed version of AD Directory Services. AD Domain Services now offer improved auditing, fine-grained passwords for more versatile password policies, a Read-only Domain Controller for environments with marginal security, and Restartable Active Directory Domain Services to make routine maintenance less disruptive.
- Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LS) are an enhanced and renamed version of Active Directory Application Mode. Enhancements to AD LS include Install from Media Generation for creating installation disks, easier auditing of directory service changes, and Active Directory Sites and Services Support to simplify management of AD LDS replication.
- Active Directory Rights Management Services (AD RMS) identify which users have what rights to a file (e.g., open, modify, print, etc.). This protect data that is distributed to environments that you do not control. Enhancements to AD RMS include the ability to install the AD RMS client on other Windows operating systems, Persistent Protection to keep content secure when it is outside your network environment, and Usage Policy Templates to make it easy to set usage rights for files with the same rights.
- Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS) store certificates and private keys to protect the identity and centralize access to this information. Enhancements to AD CS include an Online Responder to reduce network traffic when clients validate certificates, and a new management tool called Enterprise PKI (PKI View) to help manage Certification Authority (CA) hierarchies.
- Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) authenticate users from partner organizations and make it easier to integrate trusted and untrusted domain resources. Enhancements to AD FS include the ability of AD FS to be managed via Server Manager, integration with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 to allow a single sign-in, elimination of the need for AD RMS to be installed in both organizations, and improved administration to make it easier for both organizations to configure trust information.
New and Enhanced of Windows Server 2008 R2
Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP 1 includes major enhancements to the original Windows Server 2008 release in crucial areas such as virtualized servers and desktops, branch office connectivity, web hosting and development, high availability, failover clustering, remote administration, management automation, and support for Windows 7-based clients. Windows Server 2008 R2 is available only in 64-bit versions and is designed to accelerate return on investment by delivering world-class performance, data protection, scalability, and dependability.
Marquee technologies introduced by Windows Server 2008 R2 include Live Migration for Hyper-V based virtual servers, Clustered Shared Volumes (CSV) for high-availability clustering, BranchCache for improving remote office connectivity, DirectAccess for supporting remote and mobile Windows 7 clients, Internet Information Services 7.5 for advanced web services, and new PowerShell capability for expanding and automating the management of remote servers. For a more detailed discussion of the new technologies incorporated in Windows Server 2008 R2 and to find out how Progent can help you turn them into advantages for your business, refer to Progent's Windows Server 2008 R2 consulting services.
How Progent Can Help You with Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2
Progent offers a variety of consulting and support services that can help businesses of any size benefit from Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2. Progent's Microsoft-certified consultants can help you evaluate the ways Windows Server 2008 or 2008 R2 could improve the business value of your information network so that you can justify the cost of an upgrade. Progent can help you pilot Windows Server 2008 or 2008 R2 so that you can determine its stability, performance, and compatibility under realistic workloads. Progent can assist with developing a rollout plan, assess and enhance existing network infrastructure, develop backup and recovery procedures, evaluate security architecture and policies, help integrate physical and virtualized servers, design high-availability strategies including failover server clustering, train in-house IT staff, and set up automated server and network monitoring processes to ensure security and performance.
Microsoft has terminated mainstream support for Windows Server 2008, making it advisable to consider upgrading to a current version of Windows Server. If you maintain an environment based on Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 and would like to move up to Windows Server 2012 R2, Progent can provide expert Windows Server 2012 R2 migration support.
If you are considering the creation of a hybrid network model that integrates on-premises resources with public cloud services like those offered by Microsoft Azure, Progent can help you evaluate and deploy a current version of Windows Server that incorporates core elements of Azure technology and is designed to support hybrid networks. See Progent's Windows Server 2019 migration consulting and Windows Server 2016 hybrid cloud solutions.
Progent can provide a variety of support services that include remote online troubleshooting, comprehensive Help Desk services, outsourced or co-sourced network management, and full-time or part-time staffing. Progent can provide the expertise of CISM, CISA GIAC, and CISSP-certified network security engineers to assess the security of your environment, validate regulatory compliance, perform penetration testing, establish business continuity plans, and verify disaster recovery procedures.
Progent's Cisco-certified network professionals, including high-level CCIE consultants, can help you design, configure, manage, and troubleshoot a hardened network infrastructure that offers the performance and security your business requires without breaking your IT budget.
Progent's Consulting and Support Services for Microsoft Server Technology
For small and mid-sized businesses anywhere in the United States, Progent's Microsoft-authorized experts can provide network assistance and professional consulting services for the entire family of Microsoft .NET servers and Microsoft Windows Servers. Progent's planning, integration, update, and support services cover network architecture, configuration, and management help for
project analysis and documentation, local and off-site
IT help and network troubleshooting,
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ProSight Virtual Hosting services.
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An index of content::
ProSight Email Denial of Service Protection Professionals
Cloud Protection for Email Specialists
Progent's ProSight Email Guard uses the services and infrastructure of leading data security companies to provide centralized management and comprehensive protection for all your inbound and outbound email. The powerful structure of ProSight Email Guard integrates cloud-based filtering with an on-premises gateway device to offer complete defense against spam, viruses, Denial of Service (DoS) Attacks, Directory Harvest Attacks, and other email-borne threats. Email Guard's cloud filter serves as a first line of defense and blocks most threats from making it to your security perimeter. This reduces your vulnerability to inbound attacks and saves system bandwidth and storage. Email Guard's onsite gateway appliance adds a further level of analysis for inbound email. For outgoing email, the local gateway offers anti-virus and anti-spam protection, protection against data leaks, and email encryption. The onsite security gateway can also help Exchange Server to monitor and safeguard internal email that originates and ends within your security perimeter.
WatchGuard Firebox T45 Firewall Security Tech Services
WatchGuard XTM Firewall Protect
Progent provides support expertise for WatchGuard Firewall security gateways such as the WatchGuard Firebox and XTM families of Firewalls and the Firebox SSL VPN Gateway. Progent's WatchGuard professionals can show you how to choose, configure, and manage a WatchGuard Firewall/VPN appliance that aligns with your network security needs and budget. Progent can assist you to manage legacy WatchGuard firewall appliances or migrate smoothly to modern WatchGuard firewalls.
Palo Alto Networks PA-400 Series Firewalls Security Consulting
Palo Alto Networks PA-3400 Series Firewalls Cybersecurity Organizations
Progent's Palo Alto Networks firewall consultants can help you select, configure, and manage Palo Alto Networks PA-Series firewalls to provide a modern security solution that spans your on-premises and cloud-based resources and protects all users at any location with any endpoint device.
Network Engineer Remote Employees Endpoint Security
Remote Troubleshooting Remote Workers Endpoint Security
Progent can help small and mid-size companies to set up security defense systems and deliver cleanup services required for at-home workers.
SQL Server 2019 SSRS Professional
Emergency SQL Server 2019 Development Specialist
Progent's certified SQL Server 2019 consultants can assist your organization to evaluate the advantages for upgrading to SQL Server 2019 and can deliver rapid online or onsite contact with consulting experts in solution planning and integration, application development, database administration, and network security.
Consulting Remote Server Management Cards
Urgent Dell DRAC Specialists
Remote management cards give IT administrators complete control over a server without the requirement for an on-site visit. Using these management cards, all console screen information plus keyboard and mouse operations are transferred to an off-site session to an IT professional who can be located anywhere with Internet access. Progent's Microsoft and Cisco authorized consultants can assist you to design, deploy, and manage a fault-tolerant business network that includes remote server management cards and Progent can utilize these remote server management cards to provide efficient remote technical support. Progent is familiar with a number of remote management cards including Aten IP9001 remote management cards, American Megatrends remote server management cards, Dell remote server management cards, HP Lights-Out remote management cards, and Peppercon eRIC remote management cards.
DoubleTake Carbonite Replication Support and Setup
Double-Take Backup Technology Consulting
DoubleTake/Carbonite Software offers a family of tools designed to deliver small businesses a range of affordable solutions for replicating and recovering vital workloads such as Microsoft Exchange Server, SQL, RIM Blackberry, and SharePoint. Progent's disaster recovery planning experts have extensive experience incorporating DoubleTake/Carbonite products into small business IT networks to create a high state of availability and disaster recovery readiness at an affordable price.
24-Hour PEN Testing Cybersecurity Firms
PEN Testing Network Consulting
Stealth penetration testing is a key part of any comprehensive IT system security plan. Progent's security experts can perform thorough intrusion checks without the knowledge of your organization's in-house IT resources. Unannounced penetration testing uncovers whether existing security monitoring tools such as intrusion detection alerts and event history monitoring are properly configured and consistently observed. Progent can provide continuous autonomous penetration testing to define your internal/external attack surface and to detect ways that exploitable vulnerabilities, unsafe configurations, stolen credentials, uninstalled patches, and dangerous product defaults can be chained together by threat actors into the multi-vector attacks common to modern versions of ransomware.
infrastructure documentation management Specialists
client credential management Consultants
ProSight IT Asset Management is an IT infrastructure documentation management service that allows you to create, update, find and safeguard data about your network infrastructure, processes, business apps, and services. You can quickly locate passwords or IP addresses and be alerted about impending expirations of SSLs ,domains or warranties. By updating and organizing your network documentation, you can save as much as 50% of the time thrown away searching for vital information about your IT network. ProSight IT Asset Management includes a centralized location for storing and collaborating on all documents required for managing your business network like recommended procedures and self-service instructions. ProSight IT Asset Management also offers advanced automation for collecting and associating IT information. Whether you're making improvements, doing regular maintenance, or reacting to an emergency, ProSight IT Asset Management delivers the data you need as soon as you need it.
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