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Did you hit every branch on the way down? |
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Written by Paul Ffelan
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Monday, 08 February 2010 10:13 |
Windows Server 2008 R2 and BranchCache
Driven by challenges of reducing the costs and complexity of Branch IT, organisations are seeking to centralise applications. However, as organisations centralise applications, the dependency on the availability and quality of the wide-area network (WAN) link increases. The increased utilisation of the WAN link is a direct result of centralisation, as is the degradation of application performance. Recent studies have shown that despite the reduction of costs associated with WAN links, WAN costs are still a major component of enterprises' operational expenses. In the UK the development of centralised computing has been hindered by poor broadband speeds and a lack of understanding. However with low cost bonded broadband solutions and "Branch Cache" technology in the latest Microsoft Servers the answer is here.
BranchCache in the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 operating systems can help increase network responsiveness of centralised applications when accessed from remote offices, giving users in those offices the experience of working on your local area network. BranchCache also helps reduce WAN utilization. When BranchCache is enabled, a copy of data accessed from intranet Web and file servers is cached locally within the branch office. When another client on the same network requests the file, the client downloads it from the local cache without downloading the same content across the WAN.
BranchCache can operate in one of two modes:
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Distributed Cache. Using a peer-to-peer architecture, Windows 7 client computers cache copies of files and send them directly to other Windows 7 client computers, as needed. Improving performance is as easy as enabling BranchCache on your Windows 7 client and Windows Server 2008 R2-based computers. Distributed Cache is especially beneficial for branch offices that do not have a local server.
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Hosted Cache. Using a client/server architecture, Windows 7 client computers cache content to a computer on the local network running Windows Server 2008 R2, known as the Hosted Cache. Other clients who need the same content retrieve it directly from the Hosted Cache. The Hosted Cache computer can run the Server Core installation option of Windows Server 2008 R2 and can also host other applications.
The following diagram illustrates these two modes:
BranchCache can improve the performance of applications that use one of the following protocols:
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HTTP and HTTPS. The protocols used by Web browsers and many other applications, such as Internet Explorer or Windows Media, among others
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SMB (including signed SMB traffic). The protocol used for shared folders
BranchCache only retrieves data from a server when the client requests it. Because it is a passive cache, it will not increase WAN utilization. BranchCache only caches read requests and thus will not interfere with a user saving a file.
BranchCache improves the responsiveness of common network applications that access intranet servers across slow links. Because it does not require any infrastructure, you can improve the performance of remote networks simply by deploying Windows 7 to client computers, deploying Windows Server 2008 R2 to server computers, and enabling BranchCache.
BranchCache works seamlessly alongside network security technologies, including SSL, SMB Signing, and end-to-end IPsec. You can use BranchCache to reduce network bandwidth utilization and to improve application performance, even if the content is encrypted.
Please call Care Micro on 0845 1226898 or email us via our Contact Us page for all your network maintenance needs.
Care Micro: We're lovers of completely upgradable network topology |
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Last Updated on Monday, 08 February 2010 10:23 |
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Microsoft Online Services from CMSL how much could you save? |
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Written by Web Manager
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Thursday, 04 February 2010 23:33 |
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See how much you could save!
Microsoft Online Services gives your business the powerful productivity capabilities of Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft Office SharePoint® Server, Microsoft Office Communications Server, and Microsoft Office Live Meeting -all hosted online and all up and running quickly and easily without the upfront costs of an on-premises deployment
The suite of productivity tools enables your workers to communicate and collaborate effectively, while enabling your IT team to focus on more business-critical tasks. And with services hosted by Microsoft, you can have peace of mind knowing that experts are managing your IT and that your services will be available when you need them.
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- Default 5-GB mailbox per each user; mailboxes can be configured up to 25 GB
- E-mail, shared calendar, shared tasks, and contacts
- Spam filtering and antivirus capabilities via Microsoft Forefront Online Security for Exchange
- Support for Microsoft Office Outlook®, Outlook Anywhere, and Outlook Web Access
- Support for Windows Mobile® 6.0 devices and other Exchange ActiveSync® 12 devices
- Low-cost "deskless worker" offer for workers who use a PC and messaging services on a limited basis
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- Portal, collaboration, content management, site search, and forms capabilities
- Single location to share documents, contacts, calendars, and tasks
- Offline access to documents on the service from Outlook
- Roll-up views of calendars and tasks across multiple lists and sites
- Blog site templates that support article posting, reader comments, and RSS feed generation
- Low-cost "deskless worker" offer for workers who use a PC and collaboration services on a limited basis
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- Web client support for remote attendee flexibility
- Interactive application/desktop sharing and whiteboard tools
- Active speaker video switching, multi-party video, and multi-party VoIP/ audio
- Rich media presentations, native video conferencing, high-fidelity recording, and Web cam capabilities
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- Instant messaging with text based chat using Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 client
- Seamless presence awareness enabling users to check another user's availability on the network
- Presence information shared across Microsoft Office applications, including Outlook and SharePoint sites
- Users can connect directly to the service over the Internet without RAS or VPN connections
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Contact us to set up your Cost effective Online Services Today!
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Last Updated on Saturday, 06 February 2010 11:43 |
At Care Micro Systems we have been delivering our partner IT services to businesses just like yours since 1992.
Here on our website you will find a full description of the wide and growing range of services we provide to keep your business in business.
Please don't hesitate to contact us if you need any further information on any matter.
We'll be glad to lend you a hand.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Care Micro: IT's our business |
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Online Backup and Disaster Recovery Services |
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Written by Web Manager
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Friday, 02 May 2008 08:49 |
Getting you from pear shape to ship shape - quickly
Few individuals in an organisation face a tougher task than those responsible for online backup, and for business continuity and for disaster recovery. If you are responsible for this area of work in your organisation, you will know that businesses are constantly at risk from both natural and man-made disasters, either of which can have devastating impact and significantly material consequences.
The risks can range from a mundane hardware failure or human error, to the increasing threat of flooding and terrorist attacks. Any of these can lead to a denial of access to your place of work - your PC's desktop.
Your organisation's data and email service are increasingly more critical to your business success. So protecting your vital information with traditional tape backups is no longer feasible due to contunually increasing backup windows and the well-known and well-documented unreliability of restoring from tape..
Now, Care Micro can provide your organisation with a robust disaster management service with our comprehensive online back-up and restore solution. We work with our partners Backup Technology, the UK's leading online back-up and disaster recovery specialist, to deliver our joint solution which utilises the market-leading Asigra agentless backup software. As a result, protecting your critical data need not be complex or cost-prohibitive. The end result is a fully scalable, cost-effective, secure, automated, online back-up system solution. The system is extensible and flexible and is specially designed for businesses and enterprises like yours and suitable for data sizes between 10Gb and 100 Tb.
The successful partnership of Care Micro and Backup Technology has been built through offering the best combination of service, solution and support available in the UK. Care Micro and Backup Technology together will utilise your existing infrastructure and internet connections to deliver to you a fully-tailored back-up solution to meet your exact requirements and which will continue to meet your needs as your business grows.
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 10 February 2010 12:42 |
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Read more...
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We all know that accidents can happen, usually when they are least expected, least welcome or least helpful. We all know that most accidents are preventable and, although we may not like to admit it, in general most "situations" can be avoided. Take your business internet connection for example. We all like to think that it will always be there. But will it?
A careless bit of local authority roadworks, a technical fault within the telecoms network, an equipment failure at your premises - any of these could stop your connection. What effect would it have on your business? Could you still function? How much would it cost you? Your business relies heavily on your internet connection so much these days that the consequences of loss do not bear thinking about – email, web, vpn, voip, credit card authentication, online trading and so much more can stop in a second.
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Last Updated on Saturday, 11 October 2008 08:45 |
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