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Is there spyware and adware on your computer?

Friday, 10 March 2006 Malcolm Moorhouse
The Shocking Facts are that 85% to 90% of computers that are connected to the internet today are infected by some type of adware and spyware!- Source CNN

These malicious software programs Invade your privacy and send personal and private data to third parties and also take up hard drive space and slow down your PC.
 
Spyware tracks your on line internet browsing and surfing habits. It moniters each location you visit and what you have looked up on that site. Spyware programs can even track every keystroke you make on your keyboard and record every bit of data you add to a online form, such as name, location and credit card data when you make a purchase. This can lead to identity hijacking and theft of personal and private credit card information. Your PC surfing habits and personal and private information is then sold to third parties.

Adware is another kind of spyware. It doesn't work by tracking your information as spyware does, but what it can do is literally switch your browser settings without your permission. It can cause pop up ads to appear on your PC. A toolbar can also be installed on your computer without your knowledge. Most of us are unaware of the presence of adware programs installed on our computer untill it starts to slow down, crash, blue screen or programs stop working properly.
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The spyware business is a billion dollar a year industry with people getting very rich selling the information they steal about you.

Downloading and installing anti-spyware software will remove and protect your computer from spyware, adware, keyloggers, pop ups, trojans and worms.

You can if you wish go to http://www.adwareremoval4you.com and download an excellent anti-spyware program that will scan, remove and protect your computer from all these hidden parasites.

---------------------------------------------------------
Malcolm Moorhouse
Email: info@adwareremoval4you.com
Web : http://www.adwareremoval4you.com
Tel: 01458 830032 (UK)
Tel: 44 1458 830032 (International)
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Computer Diagnostics 101

Saturday, 04 March 2006 Natalie Aranda
If your PC is sluggish, the screen freezes more, the hard disk makes strange noises and/or you reboot frequently due to error messages then computer diagnostics are essential to sort out the trouble.

A complicated machine is bound to have trouble in delivering every time, smoothly. Apart from external factors sometimes, internal factors also might result in the malfunctioning or crashing of a computer. To determine the nature of the problem there are computer diagnostic tools . Though the word diagnosis means identifying and analyzing the problem, computer diagnostic tools go all the way to set things right after preliminary diagnosis. A comprehensive computer diagnostic tool would diagnose dead PCs, motherboard, power supply, memory, hard drive and the central processing unit. Data recovery diagnosis is a part of this process too.
 
Computer diagnostic tools flood the markets in both software and hardware form. A lot of computer diagnostic software is available for free and can be used by an end user without any technical help. The assistance of technicians may be sought to set problems like stuck keys on the keyboard, mouse related problems, rolling pictures, memory loss and loss of data with the help of computer diagnostic software.
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Most of the computer diagnostic programs are easy to run and come with useful instructions that can be performed by PC users themselves, unless there is a serious problem concerning the hard disk or the CPU. Computer diagnostic programs should be run periodically by end users even when there is no obvious problem to check for troubles that might be lurking in the system. It is advisable to leave some space in the drives to accommodate the computer diagnostic software. Computer diagnostic programs would run a set of tests either individually or simultaneously to identify the problem and prepare a report. This report may be saved for future reference. After this, the computer diagnostic program would proceed to trouble shoot.

Computer diagnostic software can retrieve lost data in minutes. However, complete testing of a PC by using a computer diagnostic program may take as long as 100 hrs. The costs of computer diagnostic software is higher than the cost of computer data recovery software, as the later does a myriad of functions that includes identifying, analyzing and trouble shooting that also includes data recovery.

Windows mode computer diagnostic software is compatible with 2000, 2000 Pro, XP and 2003. DOS mode computer diagnostic programs are compatible with IBM XT, PC, AT and Pentium, Pentium Pro, Pentium I, II, III, and Pentium IV to name a few.

 

Natalie Aranda is a freelance writer. She contributes to Ecommerce Guide and Gift Ideas for Wedding and Valentines .

 

Computer Data Recovery ? Step by Step

Saturday, 04 March 2006 Natalie Aranda
Ever wonder how computer data is recovered? What happens to a file when it gets deleted from the recycle bin? How data recovery programs work? How does computer data recovery take place?

To understand how computer data recovery happens we must first understand what happens when a data file is deleted. Does a file get completely wiped out of the PC once it's deleted? The answer is – no. First of all a file once deleted just changes addresses and goes in to the recycle bin. The real deletion takes place when it's deleted from the recycle bin as well. Then the question arises – what happens to the file? Well. The file is right there inside the PC, hiding in the hard disk.
 
The illusion within the virtual world gives us a false picture of how files are actually stored in the disks. The partitions and the drives that we see on our Windows are not arranged that way in reality. The disk stores files in clusters unlike the way it's displayed on the monitor.

The Operating System knows what file is stored where. When a file is deleted, the Operating System, like a robot, just removes the file from its list without actually removing it from the hard disk. FAT (File Allocation Table) and MFT (Master File Table) are like contents in a book, which actually maintain the real table of all files stored on the hard disk. So, even if a file is removed from the Operating System its still there on the hard disk and can be searched by looking up at FAT or MFT.
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Computer data recovery involves a few simple steps to recover data. The first step is to determine what type of recovery is required. Accordingly, suitable data recovery program software is installed or run. The search can be confined to a folder or drive. The entire disk can also be scanned. The file type has to be selected to make the search more efficient and quicker. Once these details are fed to the data recovery program it's only a matter of time that the target, the lost data, pops up along with other lost data. From a list of such files one has to select the target file for which the search was intended and recover it.

The only care that one has to take when data is lost is to avoid adding a new data file to the hard disk. This might really erase the data by over writing it.

 

Natalie Aranda is a freelance writer. She contributes to Ecommerce Guide and Gift Ideas for Wedding and Valentines .

 

Strategies for Maximizing the Life of Your Hard Drive

Monday, 13 February 2006 Alex Bezborodov
Maximizing the life of your hard drive

If I asked you the question: which part of your computer is the most fragile, what would you say? What if I asked: which part is most important to you?  Often, the answer to both of these questions is your Hard Drive.
 
Your hard drive is likely one the most important things you own. It contains work data, school data, emails, photos, music, movies, tax information, etc… Incidentally, the hard drive is also one of only two moving components in your computer (the other being your optical drive). The following is a list of important maintenance and monitoring techniques you can use to maximize the life of your hard drive and prevent data loss.
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Hard drives are physically fragile – handle with care
Statistics show that 25% of lost data is due to a failure of a portable drive. (Source: 2001 Cost of Downtime Survey Results)
Contrary to its seemingly rugged appearance, your hard disk is a very delicate device that writes and reads data using microscopic magnetic particles. Any vibration, shock, and other careless operation may damage your drive and cause or contribute to the possibility of a failure. This is especially relevant for notebook users, as they are most at risk of drive failure due to physical damage, theft, and other causes beyond their control. That's why we recommend regular backup of notebook hard drives, as often as possible.
Possible solutions include external USB or Firewire drives (although these are prone to the same risks), desktop synchronization, or backup at a data center through the web.

Hard drives write data in a non-linear way forcing it to become fragmented.


When files accumulate on your hard drive, they do not just get written in a linear fashion. A hard drive writes files in small pieces and scatters them over the surface. The fuller your hard drive becomes and the more files you save and delete the worse file fragmentation can be. Hard drive access times increase with fragmentation since your drive must work harder to find all the pieces of the files. The more fragmented your data is, the harder the actuator arm has to work to find each piece of a file.

A case in point: Disk fragmentation is a common problem for users of Outlook Express and database software. Each time outlook saves new mail, it does so in a different physical location from the previous time. This results in extreme fragmentation, causing longer hard drive access times and forcing more strain on the heads. This strain can eventually lead to a head crash, and often that means a virtually unrecoverable drive.Finally, in the event of a total crash, a fragmented drive is much more difficult to recover then a healthy defragged drive.

Luckily, Windows makes it remarkably easy to defrag your hard drive , simply launch the Disk Defragmenter utility (Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools) , choose which disk or partition you'd like to defragment and set it to work overnight or while you are not actively using your computer. Defragmentation will speed up your computer and ensure a longer life for your hard drive.

A very small power surge can fry a hard drive – use a UPS and turn off your computer when you can

Another little-known fact about the fragility of your hard drive is its susceptibility to electrical failure. An electrical failure can be caused by a power surge, lightening strikes, power brown-outs, incorrect wiring, a faulty or old power supply, and many other factors. If a power surge enters your computer, it may do an unpredictable amount of damage, including destroying your hard drive's electronics or crashing the heads and possibly resulting in total data loss.
The best way to protect your computer from such dangers is to use a highly rated protected power bar or an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). Although these devices won't eliminate the chances of a crash, they will serve as effective protection in most cases. Also, you can minimize the danger of an electrical problem and reduce wear of your hard drive by turning off your computer or using power-save modes whenever possible. It's a known fact that 100% of drives fail, the question is when will it happen and will you be prepared? Make sure to check out the knowledgebase section of our website for more detailed information on how electrical power affects your computer.

Be SMART, monitor the health of your drive to prevent unexpected crashes

All modern hard drives have a self-monitoring technology called SMART (Self Monitoring Analysis & Reporting Technology). What most people don't realize is that the majority of hard drive failures do not have to be unexpected. Most failures occur as a result of long-term problems which can be predicted. By regularly monitoring disk health and performance, you can know about potential hard drive problems before you lose any of your data.

Several excellent utilities are available, including DiskView and Stellar SMART for standard IDE and SATA desktop drives. Also available are tools that monitor the health of SCSI drives and full RAID Array systems. Ariolic Software offers a great utility called ActiveSMART.

The only fool-proof way to prevent data loss is... Backup!

If you only take one of the suggestions here to heart, let it be this one: always back up your important data. After all the monitoring and all the prevention measures are in place, one fact still remains: all hard drives fail. Backing up regularly will ensure that you're never caught without your critical data. For individuals, the simplest solutions include external portable hard drives, dvd's, and online storage. For businesses, we recommend renting space at a secure data centre and implementing a disaster recovery plan, regardless of the size of your business.

I hope that the above techniques give you some idea of the importance of hard drive maintenance and provide some insights in how you can protect yourself from data loss.
 

Electronic Discovery: As an Attorney, Are You Prepared For It?

Tuesday, 07 February 2006 David S
You're sitting in your office when your secretary buzzes you and says you have a letter in from the mail. Upon opening it you realize it's a request for electronic discovery. The opposing attorney is asking for your client's hard drives, emails, phone records, tape backups, and other legacy media.

Do you know how to respond to their request? Do you know what is relevant or not to the litigation? How do you review and do productions on electronic discovery? What kind of software exists out there to help? And can't you just give them paper and let them be happy with that?
So many questions, and not surprisingly, so many answers. To begin, you need to know what electronic discovery is before undertaking any kind of response. Electronic discovery is the term coined to indicate any information in electronic format that is passed between two parties for the sake of discovery during or before litigation commences. Such information can be electronic files on a hard drive, emails on a pda, server, laptop, or desktop, and voice and video recordings among other things.
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Generally, most electronic discovery is centered on anything that could be paper, but is usually electronic. Emails, word documents, and excel spreadsheets seem to be the most highly sought after items in discovery. Whereas an attorney could get away in the past with printing out an email and handing it over the other side, these days that is generally not good enough. Email files contain what is called meta data which shows who sent the email, what time, who was cc'd and who was even bcc'd. It may even show what email servers sent the data out originally.

Because emails are kept in electronic format during the ordinary course of business, it seems only right to ask for it in the same format. There are many vendors out there that can assist with processing emails and electronic files for the sake of discovery and productions. Doing a price comparison won't always give you the best solution for a service provider. Ask around. See who is doing a good job among other firms and who isn't. Vendors will take the electronic data, process it by taking out the metadata and create what is called a tiff image and a corresponding data record linked to that image that you can search on. These vendors will even OCR the image so that you can search on the words actually on the image.

Computer forensic experts also exist and would be happy to provide consultation to the attorney who needs help in deciding how to handle this new realm of discovery. Such consultants are usually well versed in discovery requests and can assist in making your own discovery request as well.

Once you have received the electronic data from the opposing attorneys, you now need to review it. The same vendors who assisted you with your own processing can now process the opposing attorneys files as well. They will either process and give you back searchable data files for various popular litigation support software (Concordance, Summation, etc) or some vendors have hosted solutions available that are web based and allow you to do online reviews for relevancy, confidential, and other hot coding issues that you would normally do in your own office with paper.

Now that I've given a little primer on what electronic discovery is, don't be alarmed if you are not up to date on everything. There is more than enough information on the web that will allow you to sink your teeth in and absorb this ever growing field of electronic discovery. A good source of reading about this field is http://www.electronicdiscoverycenter.com

Article written and provided by Article Authors
for Electronic Discovery Center
 

FlexHEX 1.4 makes binary editing a breeze.

Wednesday, 07 December 2005 David Bernstein
Inv Softworks LLC has announced the release of version 1.4 of FlexHEX, a powerful hex editor offering unique features and program options.

A hex editor is a tool almost any software developer or software specialist uses now and then. Analyzing binary files, creating input files for test runs, patching binary data – these and hundreds of similar tasks make a hex editor an indispensable tool in the professional's toolbox. FlexHEX has been specifically designed with the software developer in mind, with its intuitive interface and a feature set, perfectly meeting demands of software professionals.

FlexHEX edits raw binary files, OLE compound files, logical disks, physical drives, and can inspect, modify, insert, search, or replace binary, ASCII, or UNICODE data. While providing a full set of features for editing raw hex bytes, FlexHEX also supports editing binary data as typed values in a number of formats. The data conversion functions let a user easily import or export binary data, or just drag-and-drop them to/from another application.

In addition to the powerful editing functions, FlexHEX includes an unlimited Undo/Redo list, so there is no risk of losing data because of a typing error. A rich set of navigation and tracking functions make browsing binary data quick and easy. Bookmarks, the modified area list, the jump history, and other convenient tools make inspecting binary data easy and straightforward.
{mosgoogle}
Software professionals will like handy tools for string and GUID search, checksum computation, random number generation, and browsing COM classes. FlexHEX recognizes the structure and can directly modify OLE compound files, such as MS Word or Excel files. Editing raw binary files, FlexHEX provides full support for advanced NTFS features, such as alternate streams or sparse files.

FlexHEX 1.4 runs under Windows NT/2000/XP/2003. The price of a single-user corporate license is $59.95. Significant discount is available for home users and academic institutions.

Product Page: http://www.flexhex.com
Download: http://www.flexhex.com/download/flexhex_setup.exe
Screenshot: http://www.flexhex.com/img/flexhex_sshot_800.jpg
Order: http://www.flexhex.com/order/

 

Dedicated Web Hosting : The Executive Summary

Monday, 06 March 2006 Rodel Garcia
Dedicated web hosting can alleviate the need to share hardware or software with any other sites or web pages. Webmasters are given the autonomy to decide on applications that are installed on the server to create specific configurations for their web needs, and have the ability to provide a secure environment for their site. As compared to a shared-server environment, dedicated web hosting offers a peace of mind that a site will be delivered in a reliable and secure manner.
There are major benefits of dedicated web hosting, as discussed below. However, the major disadvantage, cost, is quickly being overcome. Because of continual growth in the dedicated web hosting industry, the rates for dedicated server plans are rapidly declining. A competitive environment drives up the level of service and decreases cost. This reduction is powered by an increase in small and medium-sized businesses gaining an online presence and the rapid proliferation of web hosting providers.

Advantages of Dedicated Web Hosting

Dedicated server hosting is favorable because of 2 major assets: control and reliability.

Since a dedicated web administrator has more control over a dedicated server, it tends to be more secure, compared to a shared web server. By knowing what exactly is installed on a dedicated server through full root access, a system administrator is able to confidently make decisions on the software and application updates necessary to maintain the dedicated web server and keep it running in its most optimal configuration.

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Increased reliability is another major asset of dedicated server web hosting, as a server administrator has the self-sufficiency to optimize page loads by tweaking variables such as page load speed and general server resource allocation. This server reliability translates to customer satisfaction and an increase in the bottom line goals of a web site's presence.

DisAdvantages of Dedicated Web Hosting

While the benefits of dedicated web server hosting is apparent, the bottom line consideration, especially for business purposes is cost. Dedicated web hosting is significantly more expensive compared to shared or virtual web hosting, and until recently, could most commonly be quoted at several hundred dollars to several thousand dollars per month. Although cost may still be exorbitant, most businesses are able to justify the use of dedicated servers through a true web analysis to weigh the resources necessary to run applications and code.

Another drawback is the need to be able to monitor, install, upgrade and configure programs, add sites, deal with potential hacks, and troubleshoot systems. Therefore, the necessary system administration skills, if one does not possess them, may definitely inhibit the successful implementation of a web site hosted on a dedicated web server.

Benefits:

The direct benefits of a dedicated web hosting plan surround the ability to totally administer a web server. The advantage to be able to effectively maintain a dedicated server lies in one's ability to control the variables associated with reliability and stability. In a dedicated environment, server overload, malicious scripts from other users, and too many installed applications are variables which can be controlled, as compared to this loss of management in shared server hosting.

Furthermore, a dedicated server allows one to only install applications or software that applies to the major hosting goal at hand. Conversely, shared web hosting has installed software that may or may not be related to the web hosting goals.

Reliance on the web host repair services and time delays of platform repairs can be minimized, as one may intervene and provide solutions to existing problems with dedicated web hosting. Having the option to add patches, upgrade software, or tweak performance is invaluable and allows the dedicated server administrator to work with 24 hour access to perform adjustments, corrections, or updates.

Lastly, speed of downloads can be determined through the amount of bandwidth that is dedicated to just your website. Statistically, visitors will quickly leave a site if the load time was long. Dedicated servers allow quick delivery of web pages, which increases the probability of keeping web site visitors on a site that may convert them to paying customers. Furthermore, quick loading pages enhance the company's image and may encourage existing customers to refer your web-based services to others.

What is the best application of a dedicated web hosting service provider?

Utility of a dedicated server environment is best suited to those with a working knowledge of server operating systems and those who don't mind troubleshooting problems which may arise.

Server administrators must be able to apply kernel upgrades, service packs, and software patches, as well as provide ample security, monitor traffic, update server applications, balance server loads, and configure email, FTP, and DNS services.

* In exchange for competency in the above functions, the best uses for a dedicated web server environment would be: mission-critical sites requiring custom server management and software implementation.

* dedicated hosting resellers, web developers and designers who need greater flexibility, reliability and security for their clients

* backbones of corporate intranets

* robust and dependable servers for streaming media, online gaming, and e-mail or chat applications

* complex application sites with high traffic and secure information such as ecommerce, database, and multimedia sites.

* enterprise-level web sites * Web sites which may have content restrictions if hosted elsewhere (e.g. adult targeted sites.)

How to decide:

Overall, the cost, security of data and equipment, bandwidth availability, the knowledge and integrity of the web-hosting provider, uptime, hardware maintenance, and any technical support offered by the dedicated web host are important deciding factors. Although your specific dedicated web hosting needs may be unique in a few ways, generally, one can make a decision on a dedicated web server provider by considering the following things:

Data Transfer Rates:
Data transfer will need to be determined based on the amount of information that will be downloaded, as well as the type of content a site will be sharing (general text vs. high resolution graphics and multimedia). A dedicated web host will generally have various packages that will allow one to choose the data transfer level, normally measured in "gigabytes per month". Higher levels of data transfer rates normally mean more cost, so utilization of the first few months to correlate data transfer rates and traffic patterns is key.

Platforms:
The two most common systems available are Windows based servers versus some flavor of UNIX (Linux and Solaris). Windows is historically more expensive, but is generally regarded as more user-friendly, especially with the ubiquitous presence of Windows-based pc's and administrators. Linux, on the other hand, is less expensive to install, but harder to maintain, as a steeper learning curve exists for those unfamiliar with it. Therefore, the operating system installed on a dedicated web server should depend on a couple of factors.

First, the platform should be conducive to the coding in which the website and necessary applications are developed. Next, since administration of the dedicated server will be done by the subscriber, the necessary skill base to support the platform must be in place. Commands and administration techniques are definitely platform-specific.

Monitoring:
Dedicated server monitoring works to prevent service interruptions. The web host will provide a service that can, at a pre-set frequency, check a website to see downtime.

Automation:
Although dedicated web servers may require a greater degree of skill, certain dedicated web hosting companies may offer software that will automate common procedures, thus lessening the high level knowledge necessary to maintain servers and implement new services.

Data Backup:
Some dedicated web hosting providers assist the web hosting subscriber with data backups. Finding a dedicated server provider who will assist in this process could alleviate the hassle of doing it yourself and can allow one to devote time to other things.

Scalability:
Dedicated web hosting providers should be able to account for major growth. Progressive expansion can be accounted for by asking a web host if modules of extra space, bandwidth, or better yet, larger packages can be purchased to allow easy transition to better hardware and software.

Service Level Agreements:
More dedicated web hosts are publishing their SLA's, which thoroughly documents what they will do in exchange for what the customer is responsible for. For instance, some dedicated server hosts are offering features such as: 100% uptime guarantees, unlimited live answer technical phone-based support, free upgrades of patches, hot-fixes, personal Dedicated Sales account managers, maintenance staff with spare parts for all server configurations, and more. A full understanding of the commitment that a dedicated web host is offering will help in a decision to utilize that service.

About the Author
To find the best home based business ideas and opportunities so you can work at home visit: http://www.Money-Making-Opportunity.net

 

iSCSI vs. FC for Meeting Mission Critical Requirements

Sunday, 22 January 2006 Efrat Levi

Introduction

Mission Critical Data is just what its name says: critical to the core functioning of an enterprise. Mission critical data must be available 24x7 and fully backed up for immediate recovery in the event of disaster.  Enterprises are constantly seeking more reliable, more efficient, more convenient and more affordable ways of meeting these needs. SANRAD’s V-Switch 3000 uses Iscsi technology to centrally consolidate, manage, backup and restore mission critical data at a fraction of the cost, in capital and human resources, of existing FC SAN technologies.

Mission Critical Requirements and SANRAD’s Solutions

Storage Area Networks (SANs) are used to manage mission critical data and, as they have developed,
storage and network administrators have identified three main requirements on a SAN to manage this
critical data:

• High Availability: Storage systems and their mission critical data must be available 24x7.
There is no leeway for downtime. Every minute of downtime equals a loss of revenues and
credibility for an enterprise.

{mosgoogle}

• Remote Backup and Recovery: Data must be backed up off site to enable remote recovery
in the event of disaster. Experts estimate that 30% of companies could not recover from a
catastrophic loss of data and having backups on premises is of no use if the premises are
destroyed.

• Manageability: A SAN management system must be able to be centrally managed and provide
a consolidated storage solution accommodating different storage subsystems and infrastructures.
In addition, the SAN management must not exert added strain on the network and storage
administration staff.

• Dynamic Expandability: Storage networks must be able to grow with an enterprise. Systems
cannot be taken offline to accommodate this growth and no one wants to search for new storage
management solutions every time there is a growth spurt.

SANRAD has taken these requirements and provided comprehensive solutions in a single centrally
managed platform using iSCSI technology.

• SANRAD’s High Availability: The V-Switch 3000 hardware is fully redundant to weather
power, processor and fan failures. The V-Switch 3000 configuration database is written to both
flash and compact flash memory. The software IP-based SAN configuration provides automatic
V-Switch 3000 failover and failback as well as data mirroring. No single point of failure ensures
high availability.

• SANRAD’s Remote Backup and Recovery: The V-Switch 3000 can create global IPbased
storage networks to allow mission critical data transfer to remote sites within the IP SAN.
For more information on Disaster Recovery applications, see SANRAD’s White Paper:
Continuous Data Availability Solutions using SANRAD’s iSCSI Virtualization Switch.

• SANRAD’s Manageability: The V-Switch 3000 enables storage pooling across multiple
platforms and infrastructures and eliminates the need for host agents. The V-Switch 3000
functions at the network layer and is therefore independent of host OS and storage vendors. The
V-Switch 3000 provides storage virtualization and precise LUN carving of the pooled storage,
supporting volume concatenation, mirroring and striping. The locally accessed GUI-based
Storage Pro management server is used to centrally configure volumes, monitor status and
manage the storage pool.

• SANRAD’s Dynamic Expandability: The V-Switch 3000 uses existing adapters, network
and disk subsystems to form a sophisticated SAN solution ranging from 72 GB to 16 TB. New
storage devices can be added dynamically and their volumes virtualized in real time without
taking the system offline or impacting on functioning volume performance. Two V-Switch 3000s
can be combined in a SAN to form a cluster to provide inter-V-Switch 3000 load balancing and
failover.

Benefits of iSCSI SAN over FC SAN

When creating a SAN, enterprises find that the traditional answer is FC SAN. However, the investment
required to implement an FC SAN is often beyond the means of a young enterprise. As a result, growing
enterprises may find themselves delaying the inevitable upgrade to a SAN and, therefore, gambling with
their mission critical data store.

The FC investment comes from four fronts:

• Infrastructure: An FC network demands FC switches, hubs and bridges along with specific
GBICs and cabling. In addition, each host requires dedicated FC HBAs.

• Storage Devices: The storage devices must be costly FC RAID arrays. If an enterprise wants
to maintain its JBOD stores, it must purchase virtualization appliances to convert the JBODs for
use in an FC SAN.

• Software: A variety of software tools is needed to manage all of this new equipment as well as
the dedicated FC HBAs.

• Human Resources: dedicated group of FC storage and networking IT administrators is
needed to manage all of this.

For a growing enterprise, this represents a sizable investment in capital and human resources to acquire,
implement and manage only one aspect of the enterprise’s data flow.

SANRAD’s V-Switch 3000 provides a single integrated hardware/software solution to SAN management:

• Infrastructure: The V-Switch 3000 uses an enterprise’s existing IP infrastructure including
existing Ethernet switches, cabling, GBICs and SFPs. A host’s existing NIC is all that is needed
to connect to the SAN.

• Storage Devices: The V-Switch 3000 supports existing legacy storage devices, both FC &
SCSI, RAID & JBOD, so there is no need to purchase new storage devices. Due to the V-Switch
3000’s storage pooling capabilities, enterprises may have an increase in usable storage space.

• Software: The V-Switch 3000 has both hardware and a software component. There is no need
for additional software beyond the included Storage Pro storage management tool.

• Human Resources: Because the V-Switch 3000 operates over the enterprise’s existing
Internet network, minimal additional knowledge or training is needed to implement or manage the
SAN. The existing network or storage administrator is readily qualified to manage SANRAD’s
Iscsi SAN.

Business Case: V-Switch 3000 vs. FC

Typical SAN topographies can be divided into 5 groups according to the number of servers accessing the
SAN and the net storage capacity of the SAN.

• Small: 8 servers accessing a net capacity of 500GB.

• Small – Medium: 12 servers accessing a net capacity of 1TB.

• Medium: 16 servers accessing a net capacity of 1.5TB.

• Medium – High: 24 servers accessing a net capacity of 2TB.

• High: 32 servers accessing a net capacity of 3TB.

To best understand the budgetary impact of implementing an FC SAN compared to a SANRAD iSCSI SAN,
consider the costs of each for a medium enterprise with sixteen hosts accessing a storage pool of 1.5TB.

In an FC SAN, this would require two FC switches. Upstream of the FC switches there are five server
clusters, including Exchange, SQL and file servers, plus six individual servers. Each server requires FC
software and each server has two HBAs, each connected to a different switch for a total of thirty-two HBAs.
Downstream of the FC switches is a RAID system with RAID 5 and hot spare capabilities and a net capacity
of 1.5TB.

In a SANRAD V-Switch 3000 SAN, this would also require two V-Switch 3000s. Upstream of the V-Switch
3000s there are two multi-Gbit switches but no special host software or HBAs are required. Downstream of
the V-Switch 3000s are the legacy SCSI or FC JBODs with a net mirrored capacity of 1.5TB. The cost of

For a medium enterprise, implementing an FC SAN for Mission Critical Data is more than two times as
expensive as a SANRAD iSCSI SAN. This expense does not take into consideration the Total Cost of
Ownership (TCO), e.g. FC cabling installation costs; cost of human resources to regularly upgrade FC
software and maintain two separate networks or the cost of replacing an FC RAID unit compared to a JBOD
disk. As the size of an enterprise grows, the cost par between FC and iSCSI SAN grows.

Conclusion

SANRAD iSCSI SAN provides all of the key SAN requirements needed to manage, backup and restore
mission critical data with added benefits over FC SAN. SANRAD’s V-Switch 3000 represents a single
integrated hardware/software solution to SAN management, including storage pooling, virtualization,
mirroring, striping and remote backup. The IP-based iSCSI SAN permits remote storage access and
provides greater flexibility in the location of network and storage components within an enterprise and it
does so at a fraction of the cost of an FC SAN.
 

Before You Take The Plunge: Essential Information on Data Recovery

Monday, 09 January 2006 Alex Bezborodov
Know what you're dealing with

The world of data recovery is a big mystery for most consumers and even some IT professionals. This is largely because hard drives themselves are complex devices and their technological specifics are not generally well known. Data recovery companies thrive on their customers' lack of information and often get away with charging obscene rates for any recovery, regardless of complexity. I hope this article will be a helpful resource for consumers and professionals alike. I provide some basic information about data recovery by shedding some light on how hard drives work, how they can fail, what are the chances of successful recovery and how much the user can expect to pay. This information will enable the user to make an informed decision when choosing a data recovery company.

 A bit about Hard Drives

A computer hard drive stores data on metal oxide platters which spin up to 10000 revolutions per minute. An actuator arm contains the 'head' which reads and writes the data in the form of magnetic charges one millionth of an inch above the surface. Any given drive can have multiple read and write heads and each head can 'crash' independently. A head crash occurs when the read/write head comes in contact with the platters of the disk (more on head crashes below). As manufacturers strive to cram more space on hard drives without increasing their physical size, the data gets written increasingly closer together, making for very difficult recovery should one or more heads crash. The brain of the hard drive is its controller board and this is unique for each individual hard drive. One other detail worth a mention is the service track of a hard drive. This is an area located on the outer part of the disk platter and it contains the drive's firmware zone. The firmware of a hard drive is the information used by the computer to communicate correctly with the drive. These are the main components that make a hard drive work, now let's talk about what can go wrong.
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There are many ways in which a hard disk can fail

Hard drives are extremely fragile and can suffer failures in many different ways, leading to a loss of data. The five most common types of drive failures are: logical errors, mechanical failure, electronic failure, firmware corruption, and bad sectors, or any combination these. Least severe of these is usually data loss due to logical errors.

Logical errors are often the simplest and sometimes the most difficult problems to deal with when recovering data. They can range from an invalid entry in a file allocation table, a simple problem that needs little work; to severe issues such as the corruption or loss of the entire file system. Logical errors can be spotted when files become inaccessible, there is a delay in starting up the computer, and programs do not run properly. Logical errors are often seen as simple because there is nothing wrong with the physical drive leading users to try recovering it themselves by using third party software. This is quite risky, however, as running such software on a damaged drive can result in total loss of data. The most effective way to prevent logical errors on your hard drive is to regularly use the Disk Defragmentation tool in your operating system. For more comprehensive information on preventing data loss, visit the tips section of our website.

Recovering a drive with logical errors can be simple and quick, however if the problem requires manual bit-by-bit reconstruction of the data, it can also be quite complex and time consuming. Normally, logical errors are in the lower end of the price range as they do not require manual disassembly of the drive, however there are cases when logical failures end up in the higher end of the price range. The bottom line with logical errors is the sooner they are caught and the less a user tampers with the drive, the better the chances for a quick and thorough recovery.

Mechanical failures are often much more serious than any other failure and frequently lead to a partial or even total loss of data. The most common type of mechanical failure is a head crash, which is when the read/write head comes in contact with the disk platter. Head crashes can be caused by a variety of reasons, including physical shock, static electricity, power surges, and mechanical read/write failure. Mechanical failures are detected by a constant clicking or grinding noise coming from the drive. If you suspect mechanical failure, you must immediately shut down your computer and call a data recovery company for advice.

Mechanical failures are usually the most severe and most challenging to recover from. All mechanical failures require physical disassembly of the drive. The replacement of a read/write head is one of the most complex and costly procedures that can be performed by a data recovery engineer, especially with larger capacity drives. The chances of recovery depend entirely on how much damage the drive has sustained, however they can be quite good. A crashed head does not mean that all your data is lost! Once again, the sooner you catch a mechanical problem and turn off your drive, the more of your precious data is likely to be rescued.

Electronic failures are most common after a power surge or due to some other electric problem, and the most common type is control board failure. A power surge can knock out the control board, making the drive undetectable in the BIOS. Because each drive is fitted with a unique control board, recovery of this type is relatively complex. However, the good news is that normally once the control board issue is fixed, the data is usually 100% recoverable.

Recovering a drive that has suffered from an electronic failure can be time consuming, mainly because the specific problem takes some time to diagnose. Once diagnosed, though, the recovery is usually not tremendously complex and would probably land in the mid-range in terms of price. Most of the time, we are able to achieve a 100% recovery from drives that have suffered an electronic failure.

Firmware corruption is caused by logical problems or physical damage to the firmware zone on the disk platter. When the firmware becomes corrupt, the computer is often unable to properly communicate with the hard drive, and drive is not recognized in the BIOS. Fortunately, when the drive fails due to firmware corruption, the data is usually fully recoverable once the drive has been repaired.

Recovering a drive that has suffered from Firmware corruption is possible with the use of our proprietary technology. Because the firmware information is isolated on the outer rim of the disk, most of the data can be recovered successfully. The complexity of recovering a drive that has suffered from firmware corruption depends on the amount of damage suffered by the service track on the disk's platter. Expect the cost of this type of recovery to be in the mid- to high-price range.

Bad sectors are a common fate of all hard drives.

Eventually, all drives develop areas that are no longer functional and when this happens, they are isolated by the operating system. Bad sectors are very much like bumps in the road, areas which are avoided by the read/write head and which are no longer accessible to the user. If mission critical data exists on the drive, we recommend to backup as soon as possible, as the formation of bad sectors often indicates the impending demise of the drive. Finally, and most importantly, do NOT under any circumstances run the ScanDisk or Chckdisk utilities when data becomes inaccessible. These utilities are designed to fix only file system errors and not any other types of errors, so if your hard drive has suffered from bad sectors, these utilities only make things worse.

Bad sectors are accessible

We are able to recover drives with bad sectors using our proprietary mirroring technology. The process often involves manual mirroring bit-by-bit, which can be time consuming. The price of this type of recovery will generally be in the mid-range of the pricing schedule.

I hope the above explanations are of some use to all computer users. The basic fact is that data loss happens to everyone. Every hard drive crashes, and often when you least expect it to. Backup is essential for end-users and business users alike, and there are many excellent ways to back up your data. But if you've lost data, attempt to understand the problem before calling a data recovery company. Be informed, save your money, get your data back.

 

Dedicated Server Backups and Recovery Strategies for Web Hosting Companies

Thursday, 16 February 2006 David Williams
What kind of backup recovery strategy should a company have for its dedicated server? Web hosting companies have been debating this architecture since their existence began. It is really a question pondered by the whole IT community. There are many right solutions, dependent on your company's ability to handle downtime. The correct solution for you will factor in the amount of redundant protection you need against the overall cost.
 
Before we discuss the different options for backing up and recovering your dedicated server, we should mention that the server hardware, data center, and fiber connection are all critical to reliability. This article is specifically focused on strategies to backup and recover your server's data.

At a minimum, you can create a partition in your hard drive and backup your server weekly or monthly. There is no cost to this kind of solution, but the downsides are obvious. If your hard drive crashes, you will lose your backup as well. This kind of solution is only recommended if you can afford to lose all of your data, which most web hosting companies cannot.
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Next, you can contract a remote backup service to set up offsite backups. These backups can be run daily, weekly, or monthly. The cost of this solution is around $30-$50/month depending on the web hosting provider. This option gives you a solid backup in case your hard drive crashes. The downside is that recovery time will take 6-12 hours or more depending on how much data you have. The data has to be manually copied over, and this is a slow process. If you can afford the cost, this solution is part of an overall backup system, but it is not recommended as your only solution.

The next backup option is to have a second hard drive installed on your server and have it set up to do daily, weekly, or monthly backups. Most web hosting companies that provide dedicated servers will charge between $15-$30 for a second hard drive. This is a nice compliment to the previous solution if you have the budget for both. The recovery time is faster then a remote backup. But unlike a remote backup, if your dedicated server or the datacenter are down, then you cannot access the backup. For most small web hosting companies this is not a problem. If their entire server or datacenter are down, they have larger issues to worry about. We recommend this as a complimentary option with a remote backup.

Next, a web hosting company can use mirrored RAID drives. This option will cost $50-$80/month more, but it provides the fastest possible recovery in case of a hard drive crash. You can just reboot using the mirrored drive, and you are back in business. The cost is a little higher, but this is a nice luxury. The downside of this option is that if your server is unavailable, then you still cannot reach your data. Additionally, if the hard drive becomes corrupted it will also corrupt your backup. This is why we recommend mirrored drives as part of a larger solution that includes other backup systems.

Finally, there are mirrored servers. This entails the largest cost and is really not necessary, except for those web hosting companies that can tolerate no downtime at all. In this scenario, if the server itself dies you can have another server ready to take the load. In fact, if your company is large enough, you might already need this kind of solution for performance. Some websites require multiple servers to handle the performance, and it is load balanced across them. In this case, if a server dies the system still runs. This is the best solution but it is not always necessary. And, of course it is costly.

We recommend a weekly remote backup to provide you with a fail safe version. Even if the datacenter burns down, you will have a copy of your data. To this we would add either mirrored RAID drives or a second hard drive, depending on your hosting company's needs. If you are more worried about recovery time from hard drive crashes, which is the most frequent hardware problem with dedicated servers, then go with the RAID drives. If you are more worried about the hard drive getting corrupted, go with the second hard drive.

We hope this article provides you with the information you need to adequately back up your dedicated server!

www.HostChart.com, www.ResellerConnection.com, FoundHost.com, ResellerForums.com, and HostingKnowledge.net

John Clark is a webmaster for http://www.hostcube.co.uk (Cheap Web Hosting - Hosting Reviews) and for http://www.media-press-release.com (Submit Press Release)
 
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