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FDV Comm is your “ONE STOP SOLUTION”…
Network Design & Installation  *  Server & Desktop Support  *  WAN, VPN, Remote Access  *  Backup Solutions  * Disaster Recovery  *  Network Security & Virus Protection  *  Custom Software & Web Applications  *  VoIP Phone Systems

Network infrastructure consulting, planning, implementation and support:
Our engineers have seen and supported a wide variety of business networks. We can optimize your existing infrastructure and advise you on the best way to upgrade or add new functionality.

  • Network Devices: Router, Switch, Wireless Access, NAS, SAN
  • Network Security: Firewall, Web Content Filtering, Antivirus & Spam
  • Server Support for Windows and Mac OS Server Environments

Specific Server Functions: File Sharing, Email & Web Hosting, Microsoft Exchange Collaborative Tools, Accounting Systems, SQL Database, CRM, Blackberry & Handheld Devices, Remote Access via WAN, VPN, and Remote Desktop solutions, Proprietary or industry specific hardware and software

 

 

On-Site and Remote Administration of Network, Servers, & Desktops:
We believe in the value of on-site support and regular checkups. Through proactive maintenance, administration, and remote monitoring of your network and servers, we catch network and server problems early to minimize downtime. FDV Comm provides subscription customers with:

  • Scheduled on-site support on a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly basis
  • Remote monitoring of your network and servers
  • Remote network & system administration for servers and desktop computers
  • Support for all hardware and software on your network including 3rd party software

 

 

Network Security:
There is always a security risk present when you connect to the internet. To ensure that your business is safely online we:

  • Provide a general security assessment
  • Install and properly configure routers & firewalls
  • Keep software patches & system updates current
  • Systematically update virus protection on all servers & workstation

Data Backup Options:
There are various ways to backup data and types of media to backup to. Factors that determine how you backup include the amount of data, portability, archiving, and frequency of access

 

Tape Backup:
Tape backup is the tried and true method. Magnetic tape storage such at DAT, DLT, & LTO, are reliable, hold large amounts of data, and are good for archiving. Generally the backup takes place at night with the tapes being changed every morning. Normally the tapes are rotated on a weekly or monthly basis, with an occasional tape taken offsite for archiving. For very large amounts of backup data (generally over 500GB) an autoloader can implemented. This allows a single backup to span multiple tapes without having to manually change the tapes.

 

Popular tape backup formats include:
DDS: DAT tapes with varying native capacities from 4GB to 20GB
DDS-4: DDS tapes with a capacity of 20GB (40GB compressed)
DAT72: DDS tapes with a capacity of 32GB (72gb compressed)
DLT & SDLT: Proprietary format developed by Quantum with capacities ranging from 40GB to 800GB
LTO: An open alternative to DLT with capacities ranging from 100GB to 800GB

 

Hard Drive Backup:
Inexpensive external hard drives (USB or FireWire) have made backups to external hard drives an option for many. This is a simple and cheap solution for small businesses or individual computers. Some drives come equipped with backup software or a simple 1-button backup solution. While there is a high risk of failure (all the data is consolidated on a single external drive), there is a very slim chance that both the primary hard drive and the external drive will fail at the same time. It's not recommended for mission critical applications but it's much better than no backup.

 

RAID Arrays:
RAID is not a dedicated backup solution, but rather a method of linking multiple hard drives together for improved performance and redundancy. If one of the hard drives fails, there is another drive with duplicate data so that nothing is lost. There are different "RAID Levels" that determine how the data spans the hard drives:

 

RAID 0 (Striped): Blocks of data are stored alternately between two drives. This increases performance and gives you full use of the available disk space, however, it's bad for redundancy and actually increases your risk of losing data if one of the drives fails RAID 1 (Mirrored): Each block of data on 1st drive is "mirrored" on the 2nd drive. This gives you a complete, on-the-fly copy of all your data. In the even of a primary drive failure, the backup drive takes over and continues functioning with no loss of data and no immediate down time. RAID 5: Somewhat of a combination of RAID0 & RAID1. RAID 5 offers excellent redundancy at a relatively low cost. RAID 5 requires a minimum of 3 drives and, theoretically, you can add an unlimited amount of additional drives to the array. Each additional drive represents additional storage and increased protection against data loss. Many RAID-5 controllers support hot-swapping of drives, allowing an admin to replace a defective drive without any downtime or data loss.

 

Virtualization and Virtual Machine Backups:
Virtualization allows an exact image, or copy, of an entire computer to be backed up. This creates a copy of everything, including low level system software and hardware interaction. In the event of a complete system failure, the image can be loaded onto another computer and run as a "Virtual Machine" as if nothing had changed. This minimizes downtime while the physical computer is being rebuilt and reconfigured. This is much more economical that having an identical spare computer on hand for mission critical servers. It also solves the issue of hardware conflict and failure when trying to restore the operating system and critical system state (such as Active Directory information) to a different computer that it was originally installed on. Virtualization is support in the latest version of Symantec System Recovery.

 

Backup Software:
Windows Backup (NT Backup) Since the release of Windows NT, microsoft has included basic backup software (NTBackup) with their operating systems. While not full featured, it can backup the System State, Active Directory, and Microsoft Exchange Information Store. NT Backup is a great backup solution for small offices with basic backup needs. Click here for more information on using NT Backup for Exchange.

 

Symantec Backup Exec:
Probably the most commonly used backup software is Symantec Backup Exec. Backup Exec offers a full range of backup features and scheduling conveniences, as well as compatibility with a wide range of backup hardware. Backup Exec will also work across networks, backing up multiple servers or backing up data from laptops on the fly. One of the most valuable features of Backup Exec is its interaction with Exchange, giving it the ability to restore an individual email from an individual mailbox. Symantec also offers a product called System Recovery which is specifically designed to backup an entire computer in the event of a system failure and offers a virtualization option.

 

FDV Communications Inc strongly recommends a backup & data recovery solution for everyone, individual or business. We can develop and implement a backup solution that best fits your business.
Call us at 407.702.5706 or contact us online for more information.