The Strickland Group

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Datto makes for great server migrations

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The other day we had an interesting project come across our helpdesk. A client of ours has an old mail archive application that they need to maintain for history sake, though they aren’t adding new messages to that archive. To complicate things, that app lived on an old out of warranty Dell server. No problem – Dell servers tend to last forever if you give them a little tender love and care every once and a while and we back this server up with a Datto backup appliance.

You can probably guess where this is heading – our team started getting alerts that a hard drive was predicted to fail on this server.

The most obvious option was to recommend that the customer purchase a new hard drive to replace the one that was going to fail. This is a good, low-cost option that would extend the life of the server a bit. However, I never enjoy spending customer’s money if there’s another option.

We had implemented a multi-server virtualization solution with shared storage for this customer’s production environment a while ago and that system still had plenty of capacity to handle one more virtual server. Our engineering design team discussed the various options we could present to the client and determined that turning the old physical server into a virtual server was the most cost effective solution for the client (labor was on us for this one because they are under a managed services contract) and this helps with some of the other goals we have for this client’s network.

We scheduled a maintenance window with the client and took one final backup with the Datto appliance. Then we exported that backup as virtual disk images for each drive on the server and imported them as a new virtual machine. Fast forward an hour and a half including several reboots to install paravirtualization drivers and the legacy archiving application is back in business. An added bonus is that the application runs faster than before because it’s on more robust hardware.

Easiest server migration ever. Thanks Datto!

Not Your Typical IT Company

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The Strickland Group learned what differentiates our company from other IT service providers: We like technology, but we’re passionate about making our customers successful.  Some of our customers have been with us since we opened for business in 2001. Many of our employees have been with us since day one.  We have a long history of successful relationships with growing clients.

Bridge to Nowhere?

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mfr3l5w_smallDo you have a plan for where your business is headed? How about your technology? Does your current IT Vendor have a plan for how your network is going to keep pace with your business over the next few years?  Do they meet with you regularly to discuss your strategy and what is currently happening with your network?

Let us give you a free network assessment valued at $400!  We will provide you with a go forward strategy and tell you about the health of your network and any current risks.

Call 817-224-2020 to schedule.

5 Things We Do Better!

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1. We do not make every customer work the same way.  We customize a solution for you.  Some of our customers want flexible and creative environments; others need a rigid workflow; some are very time sensitive.  No matter what your environment we will work with your leaders to provide the right solution for you.

2. Quick and Efficient Repairs.  Your problems will be addressed in a timely manner.  Your computer network and your time are too important to wait around for computer repair. Our remote network IT support services are the answer.   Our “all inclusive”  includes taking care of problems as they arise and  proactively resolving problems before they escalate to outages.

3.  Straight Talk.  Your computer support and maintenance questions will be answered clearly. You will not be made to feel uncomfortable by our team of IT support experts with unfamiliar technical jargon.

4.  100% Unconditional Satisfaction is Yours – We Guarantee It. Complete satisfaction will be yours with our products, technology services and IT Consulting. With our IT management services, nothing will get in the way to make sure you are a happy client.

5.  A Guaranteed Accurate Invoice. Every invoice from us is spelled out in detail and completely accurate. We guarantee it. There will be no billing surprises since your IT management services bill will be pre-approved by you.

The Accidental Hacker

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A couple of weeks ago I was helping a client with an issue with their VPN.  Basically, a vendor that they use for support of a vertical application could no longer remotely connect to their server.  After investigating the issue and making sure that I could VPN into their network, I called the Software Vendor.  I merely stated,”I am calling from company XYZ and you said that our VPN was not working.” This is where it gets interesting.  I ask the vendor if they are able to connect now that we confirmed the VPN worked, so they tested and informed me that they still could not connect.  I asked the technician if he could open telnet and try to connect to the IP address over port 1723.  He did not know how to do this and I was eager to resolve the problem, so I quickly asked, “Do you mind if I connect to your computer and try to troubleshoot the problem?”  To my astonishment the technician said, “Sure”.  I guided the gullible technician to logmeinrescue and proceeded to walk him through letting ME onto HIS computer.  Once on his computer I tried to pull up telnet but it was Windows 7 and by default there was no telnet application available.  I then asked if I could download Putty so that I could test the telnet ability.  He said, “Go for it.”  I was again astonished at the disreguard for the control he was giving me.  I then confirmed through the use of Putty that telnet was immediately getting dropped.  I speculated that it was their firewall blocking PPTP outbound.  He checked  with an IT guy that was strolling by and confirmed that they were blocking outbound PPTP.  They asked for the IP address so that they could add it to the firewall, so I told them the external IP address of the firewall they were trying to connect to.  Now the icing on the cake, the IT guy uses the computer that I am remote controlling to access their CISCO ASA.  He logs into the web management of the ASA and proceeds to create the rule to allow the PPTP to get through.  Now I am mesmerized by the lack of security.  I even corrected the IT guys spelling on the firewall.

Now that the exciting turn of events are over, I reflect on what happened.  How easy was it for me to get on their network?  Pretty easy.  All I needed was 3 pieces of information:

  1. I needed to know the name of the company who was in need of support.
  2. I needed to know the Key Line if Business Application and the company who made it.
  3. I needed to know the problem.

These 3 things are pretty easy to determine and even ask for and easily get the information about.

This is called Social Hacking.  All I needed was a good attitude, frinedly personality, and a few bits of info and I was able to get on their network.  The point here is that it should not be that easy to get on their computer since I called them. It is not like the called me asking for help.  I called them to give help.  They thought the problem was way down stream at their clients firewall.

Simple rule, never give donations to someone that calls you, always call them to give donations AND never accept techincal support remote control from someone that called you to tell you about a problem that you have that you don’t even know.

By the way, once they added the rule to the firewall, the VPN worked.

My Top 10 So Far in 2010

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This past year I have spent much time trying to work more efficiently and find excellent solutions for my clients that will not break the bank.  In my pursuit I have tested Linux and Windows software.  Some have been duds and others have been GOLD.  Below you will find my top ten for 2009 and receive David Shoffitt’s seal of approval.

XenServer – http://www.citrix.com

Wow.  Let me say it again, WOW.  Citrix has released a wonderful Virtualization Solution with a robust HyperVisor that allows companys to start a virutalization initiative at NO COST, provided that you have the hardware to run it on.WHen we first started trying it out we ran it on a PC class machine with a Core2Duo at 2.4 GHz.  We ran 6 servers on the small computer with no speed problems.  We then migrated them to an enterprise class environment.  We also converted 2 baremetal machines to virtual in the process all at no cost.  Let me say again WOW.  We have no need for VMWare at our business because we have a enterprise class solution at again no cost.  There are some added features that you can get that cost money like enhanced Storage Link Technologies, and email alerts and notifications, and rapid server provisioning which still would come in at a fraction of the cost of VMWares solutions. Cost :Free

True Crypt – http://www.truecrypt.org

I use this software on my laptop.  It works great!  I use preboot authentication so that if someone were to steal my laptop they would have to know a password that is well over 20 characters before they could access the files or even boot the computer.  My data issafe.  You can also create virtual HardDisks on your computer that are encrypted if you just want to encrypt some data but not all data.  I recently had corrupted my OS on my computer and was able to plug my HardDrive into another computer to recover my files.  The harddrive was not readable until I used the TrueCrypt software on my PC and mounted the drive as an encypted volume and then I was able to read it.  Very Powerful product. Cost :Free

Drop Box – http://www.dropbox.com

This is a nice synchronization tool that allows you to synchronize a folder on your computer with other computers over the internet.  Very useful!  Also it will allow you to go to the website and download your files directly in case you are not around any of your subscribing PCs or laptops. Cost :Free

CloneZilla – http://clonezilla.org/

In my line of work it is almost a daily necessity to take a point in time fully restorable backup of a PC before you potentialy kill it with some update or possible fix to resolve a problem that would require you to rebuild the computer.  Well with this software you can reapidly redeploy a computer with its configuration prior to when you formatted it along with all of the partitions that were on the harddrive originally. I like the version based on Ubuntu. Cost :Free

Ultimate Boot CD – http://www.ubcd4win.com/

The Ultimate Boot CD is a must have for any technician.  It will empower you to be able to reset the local admin password if you ever forget it.  It will also allow you to browse the HardDrive of a computer that is broken and allow you to fix partition tables and even copy files to a network resource or USB Drive. There are many, many more utilities on this disk that are useful for a technician.  Cost :Free

RichCopy – http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2009.04.utilityspotlight.aspx

I often have the responsibility of moveing large numbers of files and large amounts of data from location to another and Windows File Copy rarely fits the bill.  What I have found is RichCopy which offers a large amount of options so that you can leverage multiple threads to copy more than one file at a time.  I love this tool and user atleast once a week! Cost :Free

USB to SATA –  http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2329300&CatId=3770

A wonderful tool that will allow you to hook your SATA or IDE HardDrive of another computer up to your computer via USB without having to open the case of your computer to use it..  Simple tool, great flexibility. Cost :~$20

CD Burner XP – http://cdburnerxp.se/

My favorite CD Burner application.  Can burn audio or data.  Can make ISOs and burn them too.  Everything I need a nice little package.  Cost :Free

FileZilla Server – http://filezilla-project.org/

FileZilla is a simple and robust FTP server that allows for Secure Encrypted FTP along with normal FTP.  The best thing about this software is that it comes with all the necessary bells and whistles to setup a small business FTP Server.  The big feature I would like to see would be Active Directory Lookups or LDAP Authentication.  Cost :Free

PrtScr – http://www.fiastarta.com/PrtScr

Nice and easy screen capture utility that allows you to do freeform captures and markups.  Cost :Free

Winter Wonderland

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Here in Fort Worth we are not too familiar with snow.  We usually get one or two days of ice per year and anything more than that is the end of the world.  This winter, however, has been somthing of an anomaly.  We had the first white Christmas in 83 years.  A couple of weeks ago, we had about 12 inches of snow.  My daughter and I made a snow girl in the front yard.  It was beautiful.

The problem is that we Texans don’t know how to handle snow or ice.  Everything shut down.  Businesses and houses lost their power, schools closed and the city looked likea  ghost town.  This kind of thing can be devastating for the economy.  In my business, managing client’s computer networks, we don’t have the luxury of taking a snow day.  We have clients around the country relying on us to keep their systems running and to provide help desk services no matter what the weather in Fort Worth is doing.

One of the tools that we rely on to work when we can’t get to the office is Citrix XenApp.  This software lets you run business applications from any computer with an internet connection as if you were sitting in the office.  In fact, if it’s properly configured, many user’s cannot tell that the program isn’t running on their local PC.  This software is amazing for when you’re on the road and you need to access your company’s database application.  Or perhaps your kid’s school called to say your child is sick – with this software you can be just as productive at home as at the office.

To find out more information or to see a demo of this product, give us a call at 817-224-2020.

iSad

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I was one of THOSE people who held my breath for the new apple tablet dubbed the iPad.  I won’t say I was obsessed with it, but I did follow the it awfully closely, devouring any kind of rumor about specs or leaks of its capabilities.  On the day of the launch, I had three tabs of my firefox open to different livebloggers who were at the event and I would cycle through them to see the product pictures or specs.

In the interest of full disclosure, The Strickland Group is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner.  I have worked with and advocated for Microsoft technologies for more than half my life.  I was an early adopter of Windows 95, Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows 7.  I used a Windows Mobile phone for years, though I have an iPhone currently.  I really wanted to love the iPad.

I think the iPad will be a great device for the average well-to-do consumer.  I’d even go so far as to say that when the common home user is looking to replace their XP laptop in a year or two, the iPad might be a good enough choice for them.  And at an entry point price of $499, it’s not too shabby.  If you were to buy it as a top of the line e-book reader and that’s all you wanted to use it for, it would be a great device.

However, despite all my efforts, I just don’t love the iPad. Sure, it’s not all bad – at least it’s got it’s looks.  Also, the websites they demoed rendered beautifully.  I believe it would be a pleasure to read the New York Times on the device.  But it’s what the thing won’t do that’s stands out for me.

  • No support for flash.  Are you kidding me Apple?  You’re going to release an device that “puts the internet in your hands” that doesn’t play flash.  Dumbfounded.
  • No camera.  Would have been an amazing video conferencing device.
  • No multi-tasking.  I can’t listen to pandora while I’m surf?  I can’t  pause a game I’m playing and go google something I just saw on TV? I can’t keep IM going in the background?

Oh well.  Holding my breath for iPad 2.0…

What is the Cloud and why should I care?

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It seems that everywhere I go I am being inundated with Cloud Computing.  It’s on radio talk shows, magazine advertisements, sitcoms, websites, and billboards.  Much like the marketing phase we all suffered through a couple of years ago where any product could be granted hipness by slapping an “i” or an “e” on the front of it’s name, marketing executives seem to think that any product can be transfored into cutting edge or revolutionary by placing the word “cloud” somewhere in the product’s name.  But what does this buzz word du jour really mean?  Why do I care if something is in “the cloud?”

At the most basic, cloud computing means that you can access data from your computer or phone where the data is hosted by someone on a server somewhere.  The server is in the cloud.  The beauty of cloud computing is that you don’t care who manages the servers, what software runs them or where they’re located.  The important part is that you can access your data or application very easily.

We all use the cloud in at least a limited sense.  For instance, Google.com is a cloud based app.  When you type in a search for best cheese curl recipe your query is sent of to banks and banks of servers somewhere.  You may be getting results from a server down the street or across the world.  It doesn’t really matter.  As far as we’re concerned, who cares what database system is processing my recipe request – as long as the answer to my question comes back fast and is the answer in the ballpark for what I wanted.

Although websites are the most obvious cloud application we run into, they’re not the only game in town.  At The Strickland Group, we’ve been using a cloud based backup product for a couple of years now.  It’s a server that sits on a client’s network and takes periodic backups throughout the day.  At night – or whenever the client’s off-peak internet bandwith hours are – this server compresses the day’s backups into one file, encrypts it with AES 256 bit encryption and sends it to a datacenter on the East Coast US.  From there the data is replicated to another datacenter on the West Coast.  This gives the client emergency disaster recovery capabilities if something happens to their server room.  This product has several other killer features such as the ability to create a virtual server from the most recent backups – if your mail server has a hardware issue, this device can build a virtual mail server that your employees can use without any action on their part until you can get the hardware issues repaired.  Really amazing technology.

Another up and coming cloud app is Cloud based antivirus.  This is a new slant on anti-virus software.  Essentially, your files are sent to the AV providers servers where they are scanned.  Your PC is not spending valuable CPU time scanning files because it’s all done on a server somewhere in the cloud.  You don’t have to keep virus definitions up to date, you don’t have to install the latest version, you don’t have to keep your computer on certain nights of the week so a scan will run.  All you really need is a very fast internet connection.

It will be interesting to see what comes of the cloud computing trend.  I think it’s safe to say that the buzz worthiness of the concept will wear off, but the technology of cloud computing is here to stay.  More and more of our online lives will be in the cloud.

Where did all the bandwidth go?

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Ever wanted to know how much internet bandwidth your company is actually using?  Does your internet come to a crawl at about the same time each day?  Do you really need as much bandwidth as you’re paying for or could you survive a slower connection?  How much internet traffic are we actually using.

Many of our clients were asking us these questions.  The problem of evaluating how much bandwidth a business needs can be quite a dilemma.  Of course, you can throw money at a big internet pipe, but what if your connection is sitting unused most of the time?  What if you could save a couple hundred dollars a month?

We’ve put together a bandwidth monitoring website to answer these questions for our clients.  This website analyzes the current traffic utilization for your connection every five minutets and then creates graphs of internet usage.  It will show statistics on inbound and outbound traffic over the course of time.  The graphs scale from hourly usage stats all the way up to yearly traffic stats.  We’ve been able to use this software to identify patterns in client’s bandwidth usage and resolve issues like computers downloading updates in the middle of the day instead of overnight, or users streaming video all day long.

If you’re interested in finding out more, call us at 817-224-2020.

Here are some examples of the graphs:

5 minute average

Monthly Average

 

Drill Down