I've posted ab out Adtran Netvanta and cisco routers in the past. I'd like to add another manufacturer to small b ut prestigious list of router manufacturers that I've posted my 2cents about.
I recently had to configure two Enterasys 1805 branch routers that were to be installed by the customer in a point to poi nt configuration. This customer had just recently added another office a state away and was looking to get that new office on the main corporate LAN. They also have a VoIP application so not only was their regulate end-user data going to be connected b ut also their ip based phone systems .
The Entarasys was ordered and purchased by the customer and shipped to my office to be configured. Once configured, they were to be shipped back to the customer and they would do the physical cabling and installation.
The model was heavy in weight which I tend to like in networking equipment because it gives a feeling that the device is not just a cheap peice of plastic garbage. Although, I must add that lightness does not mean the the device will not work or is junk. I'm just a little old school and like the feel and sense of reliability from the weight of metal. An example of light not necessarily meaning not effective or reliable is the Adran NetVanta 3200 series. That device is very light but works very well.
The interface is industry standard which means that it looks and feels like Cisco. Con configuration of the WAN interfaces differed slightly and took a little adjusting to get going . The 1805 come with a fixed LAN interface and a NIM slot that can handle to Network Modules. I of course in each of the two routers used up one for the point to point connection. They have firewall and VPN features of which I used neither. They have SNMP for monitoring and their speed was very decent. While looking o nether web site , I found the data sheet for the using and one of the things that I found interesting and have not easily found from other manufacturers is the MTF (Mean Time Before Failure). for this unit it was rated at 72 ,000 hours - not bad at all.
It was a very inexpensive router and fairly easy to configure and get going. The only complain I have for this unit is the no shutdown command did not have the desired results. What I was looking to do and I'm fairly certain that I've done it on Cisco routers before , is issue a no shut command on the router's interfaces so that after they've been shipped back to the customer they could plug them into a live T1 and the interface and protocol would come right up as active. The routers did not do this so the customer had to login using the provided console cable and run the command.
Overall I give the router a thumbs up.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Friday, December 22, 2006
Remote Desktop Screen-Share
Remote Support Software
I found this a site that provides an online remote support solution: Wait...before you click away. I know everyone knows the name brands of remote support software that provide you with computer remote access over the web, but this one although it doesn't have an IT household name does the job like the others. In fact, it let let's technical support and IT pros provide remote assistance software for their end-users on the cheap. No, it's not just another executable with an IP address compiled into it for downloading.
Dynamic Remote Support System
They have a bit more dynamic on-demand remote support system that let's you make changes to your own configuration if you need to. So let's say you get one of the other brands of computer remote control packages for remote tech support software with screen-sharing that works over the web that has a static configuration and then you change ISP providers. Your out of luck. Sure you could have Dynamic DNS setup and that's good to but that's another piece of software running on your system and other id to maintain and another point of failure. Yes, point of failure. If you switch from cable, let's say, to DSL or visa versa, you have to get a new program. One can argue that you do not because of DDNS, but what if you want to provide online computer remote support software from another network. Use 4remotesupport for remote desktop access support to resolve the issue at https://www.4RemoteSupport.com . Now you have to get that same service running on the other network and the next and the next. Their system, although it works just fine with DDNS, it doesn't need it. When you sign-up for an account you get a login to their site, not unfamiliar as many site have this, and a user page.
Configurable Networks Settings
On that user page you configure your networks settings. That's right, for many of you who have looked into software like this it's the same information you provide to the other site that have a static remote support solution. But the big difference here is that you don't wait for your pc remote support executable to be changed and of course to get charged again. It's on the fly. Change you config and instantly the same customer that you had provided on-demand pc remote support for just a while ago from another network now is connecting to the new network. You may be thinking that you need to have all your users go to their site to get remote assistance over the web from you. No, not at all. They have an executable program too that you get at no additional cost and it's dynamic too. Pretty Cool!! I'm going to work with it some more and post back with more information.
Adtran Netvanta 3200 Routers
I configured a few more Adtran Netvanta 3200 routers this past week.
I know I already have a post about these routers but I have to do it again. It's been some time since the last post and several firmware and software updates have made their way into this excellent product by Adtran since then.
I had to replace two Cisco routers with the Adtrans for reasons I won't go into because it really not important. These Netvantas came with firmware version 13.2. I thought the last batch at version 12 were good, Adtran topped it with some nice additions and the GUI, at least at that time, seemed to work even faster than before. I sus[past there were some hardware Updates as well like CPU and supporting ASICs.
They have some really nice features and I noticed that BGP was listed as a protocol plus HDLC protocol which means they can inter-operate with Cisco routers using Cisco proprietary protocol. Their live stats are great too. Although through command line you would have to keep repeating the command, through the GUI they just refresh and the data is actually good important information. They even display the operating temperature. They are a breeze to configure and get up and running. I was able to do both of them within an hour. I was swapping out live routers in a point to point configuration.
This customer didn't;t require QoS even though there was VoIP going over the T but the last time I had an encounter with these networking units it was for QoS purposes and VoIP and they really did the job.
Good work Adtran!!
Oh, did I forget to mention they cost a fraction of what comperable Cisco networking gear costs and you get support too - in english.
I know I already have a post about these routers but I have to do it again. It's been some time since the last post and several firmware and software updates have made their way into this excellent product by Adtran since then.
I had to replace two Cisco routers with the Adtrans for reasons I won't go into because it really not important. These Netvantas came with firmware version 13.2. I thought the last batch at version 12 were good, Adtran topped it with some nice additions and the GUI, at least at that time, seemed to work even faster than before. I sus[past there were some hardware Updates as well like CPU and supporting ASICs.
They have some really nice features and I noticed that BGP was listed as a protocol plus HDLC protocol which means they can inter-operate with Cisco routers using Cisco proprietary protocol. Their live stats are great too. Although through command line you would have to keep repeating the command, through the GUI they just refresh and the data is actually good important information. They even display the operating temperature. They are a breeze to configure and get up and running. I was able to do both of them within an hour. I was swapping out live routers in a point to point configuration.
This customer didn't;t require QoS even though there was VoIP going over the T but the last time I had an encounter with these networking units it was for QoS purposes and VoIP and they really did the job.
Good work Adtran!!
Oh, did I forget to mention they cost a fraction of what comperable Cisco networking gear costs and you get support too - in english.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Re: Mail server report - another desktop email trojan.
The guys who program viruses and trojans and all other sorts of malware and adware are very clever. Don't get me wrong, I don;t condone what they do and actually despise it. It's a thorn in my side as I try to about my job, every now and then I'll get someone who has just polluted their computer system with one of the adware type of programs that either creates pop-ups gallery or has slowed down their desktop so bad they could barely do anything productive.
Some of the worst one out there make the computer almost useless.
These types just don't make sense to me. If they have the talent or skill to put together software that could download to systems automatically and open browsers and go to web pages they want the unsuspecting computer users to go to, why make a computer useless with junk. Make money with this talent. Why annoy people?
The latest incanation I've seen was just today. It's not actually a new one but a variation of the same old tired method of trying to infect desktops all around the world. It's the simple email a zip attachment that contains a computer virus routine. What makes this and other like it interesting is that the subject and body of the messages are made to look like they are really legitimate. This one had a subject that read:
Re: Mail server report
Well, this matches the usual bland email subject found in most server based or monitoring type applications and could fool many users. The body could also get people ot believe that it's a legitimate email. It mentioned things about risk and your computer should be updated and the attachment had a name that was similar to a Microsoft Knowledgebase file name. All of these coupled together has probably got a lot of people running the attachment thinking it's going to help them.
I believe there should be some real penalties for people who are caught doing these things. There must be some liability for the actions they take. They hurt people by spreading these types of programs around.
Some of the worst one out there make the computer almost useless.
These types just don't make sense to me. If they have the talent or skill to put together software that could download to systems automatically and open browsers and go to web pages they want the unsuspecting computer users to go to, why make a computer useless with junk. Make money with this talent. Why annoy people?
The latest incanation I've seen was just today. It's not actually a new one but a variation of the same old tired method of trying to infect desktops all around the world. It's the simple email a zip attachment that contains a computer virus routine. What makes this and other like it interesting is that the subject and body of the messages are made to look like they are really legitimate. This one had a subject that read:
Re: Mail server report
Well, this matches the usual bland email subject found in most server based or monitoring type applications and could fool many users. The body could also get people ot believe that it's a legitimate email. It mentioned things about risk and your computer should be updated and the attachment had a name that was similar to a Microsoft Knowledgebase file name. All of these coupled together has probably got a lot of people running the attachment thinking it's going to help them.
I believe there should be some real penalties for people who are caught doing these things. There must be some liability for the actions they take. They hurt people by spreading these types of programs around.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
VLANs without trunking on the router.
I have a customer, a law office, that is moving to a new location. As part of their move their considering purchasing new desktops and servers. I've picked everything out and they're going to have a uote this coming week.
One of the things they are doing in addition to the move is to subnet space in their new office space. They're moving to a location that has more room than they need so they thought it a good idea to rent out the offices they're not using to non-competing attorneys. They want to offer them a desk with a fully function computer with internet access.
I need to allow the three offices that will be rented to have internet access through the same connection as my customer but they are not to be able to access the servers or other equipment on the LAN.
This is what I'm going to try and it's worked before. I'm going to get a manageable switch that has the capability to do VLANs. I'll setup each of the renters in their own vlan, and my customer who owns the network with their vlan. I'm going to try to to this without changing out the router to try and keep the project within budget. Than means that I'm going to gamble a little that I could repeat what I've done before. Put the router's connection to the lan in all three vlan groups and each of the routers and my customer in their own vlan and without access to the other.
If all goes well then all of them will share internet access but not be able to see each others computers or files and I didn't have to get a router with trunking capabilities.
One of the things they are doing in addition to the move is to subnet space in their new office space. They're moving to a location that has more room than they need so they thought it a good idea to rent out the offices they're not using to non-competing attorneys. They want to offer them a desk with a fully function computer with internet access.
I need to allow the three offices that will be rented to have internet access through the same connection as my customer but they are not to be able to access the servers or other equipment on the LAN.
This is what I'm going to try and it's worked before. I'm going to get a manageable switch that has the capability to do VLANs. I'll setup each of the renters in their own vlan, and my customer who owns the network with their vlan. I'm going to try to to this without changing out the router to try and keep the project within budget. Than means that I'm going to gamble a little that I could repeat what I've done before. Put the router's connection to the lan in all three vlan groups and each of the routers and my customer in their own vlan and without access to the other.
If all goes well then all of them will share internet access but not be able to see each others computers or files and I didn't have to get a router with trunking capabilities.
Friday, July 07, 2006
Cable Run?
Did a survey for a long underground cable run today. This is usually not my space but I can do this. A customer has just purchased a building next door to their main business office. They already have underground conduit installed and they are ready to sun some cables. The run appears to be under 300 feet so CAT 5 for computer data will work out ok for them although fiber isn't much more expensive.
Another run that will be installed for this customer is for the voice system. Probably a 25 pair run for all thier extension (all 4 - wow) using the same under ground data pipe.
What an easy survey. If they could all be that easy it would be great. I'm going back though since I forgot to inquire about their wireless access point needs. From what I saw of their new office space, the whole building will be covered with a single unit. They have a large outdoor area that may need to be covered as well. I'll be going back to find out. I enjoy fuguring out wiresll computer access points for outdoor pplications but alway get boggled down with anntenas. I'm going to try and streamline the process this time.Going right for overcoverage with too much emphasis on the cost. The goal is to cover without customer complaints about signal strengh so they have to pay more - period.
Another run that will be installed for this customer is for the voice system. Probably a 25 pair run for all thier extension (all 4 - wow) using the same under ground data pipe.
What an easy survey. If they could all be that easy it would be great. I'm going back though since I forgot to inquire about their wireless access point needs. From what I saw of their new office space, the whole building will be covered with a single unit. They have a large outdoor area that may need to be covered as well. I'll be going back to find out. I enjoy fuguring out wiresll computer access points for outdoor pplications but alway get boggled down with anntenas. I'm going to try and streamline the process this time.Going right for overcoverage with too much emphasis on the cost. The goal is to cover without customer complaints about signal strengh so they have to pay more - period.
Changing a PC Power Supply
This is a boring post as it concerns a part of the computer that hasn't received media attention or reached the glamorous recognition some of the other PC components have - it's the power supply.
After all of these years in the field I still do what would be considered boring or beneath stature jobs. I don't care, the pay is the same. Another reason that a task such as this is that it's simple. Changing a desktop computers power supply takes a low amount of mental energy that it's almost relaxing. It's mostly a physical labor thing with just a few minor technical points to remember. If they all go as smooth as the this one then bring them on I say.
This was an old PC and it was using an AT style power supply, not even an ATX. One of the basic differences between the AT and ATX is the motherboard connectors. The old on came out without a hitch and the new one when in with even less trouble. The power button lined up right away and the whole thing was wrapped up in 20 minutes. All jobs should go this way.
After all of these years in the field I still do what would be considered boring or beneath stature jobs. I don't care, the pay is the same. Another reason that a task such as this is that it's simple. Changing a desktop computers power supply takes a low amount of mental energy that it's almost relaxing. It's mostly a physical labor thing with just a few minor technical points to remember. If they all go as smooth as the this one then bring them on I say.
This was an old PC and it was using an AT style power supply, not even an ATX. One of the basic differences between the AT and ATX is the motherboard connectors. The old on came out without a hitch and the new one when in with even less trouble. The power button lined up right away and the whole thing was wrapped up in 20 minutes. All jobs should go this way.
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
XP Media Center Edition Can't Join Domain
Surprise, Surprise! (at least for me it was)
Media Center Edition of XP can't join a domain. This was a big surprise for me today. I though there were two flavors of XP and they were home and pro. Well there;s another version that floating around. I still don't know what makes this one special except for the name and the reason it would be opurchased instead of pro or home. I never had to install this version or even run the last setup steps on a new desktop. Today I had a customer that had just bought a new Dell system and needed the cnew desktop joined to the domain and the user's "stuff" moved over from their old system to the new. The old system is a story too. It turns out that they thought the computer just wasn't working anymore and that's how the computer problem had been expressed to my service department.
I go to the customer's office to check o nthe computer to see if there was enough life in it to get the data I needed off. The computer booted up just fine but when the user tried to log in, the hourglass just stayed on the screen literally forever. The system was looking for a Novell server to authenticate the user against. The Novell server had been removed and the user had not rebooted since then so they didn't come across this problem earlier. I dumped the novell client and the computer was logging in just fine. They were surprised to hear this but the user wasn't giving up the new desktop so easy and still wanted the new one.
So there I went. I un-boxed and hooked it up to the network a bright new keyboard and mouse and powered it up. I started clicking through the setup screens and rebooted. I started to then clean up programs using add/remove through the control panel removing things I now were just useless on this desktop computer for this customer. The time came to join the domain. Surprise. The join domain option in computer properties was greyed out. The system was coming up as XP pro. I checked the numbers and sure enough it was coming up as XP. But it wasn't. No where on the system itself did it say XP pro.
If it doesn't say XP PRO then it ain't pro . . .
It said media Center Edition. This was a big clue of course staring me right in the face. A little more research revealed that this version of XP, like the home edition, can't be joined into a domain. I hit some forums and there seemed to be some rumor that the only way it can be done is during installation. The customer didn't get the CD either with this new PC so they are going to order a new CD and use the old computer until then.
Media Center Edition of XP can't join a domain. This was a big surprise for me today. I though there were two flavors of XP and they were home and pro. Well there;s another version that floating around. I still don't know what makes this one special except for the name and the reason it would be opurchased instead of pro or home. I never had to install this version or even run the last setup steps on a new desktop. Today I had a customer that had just bought a new Dell system and needed the cnew desktop joined to the domain and the user's "stuff" moved over from their old system to the new. The old system is a story too. It turns out that they thought the computer just wasn't working anymore and that's how the computer problem had been expressed to my service department.
I go to the customer's office to check o nthe computer to see if there was enough life in it to get the data I needed off. The computer booted up just fine but when the user tried to log in, the hourglass just stayed on the screen literally forever. The system was looking for a Novell server to authenticate the user against. The Novell server had been removed and the user had not rebooted since then so they didn't come across this problem earlier. I dumped the novell client and the computer was logging in just fine. They were surprised to hear this but the user wasn't giving up the new desktop so easy and still wanted the new one.
So there I went. I un-boxed and hooked it up to the network a bright new keyboard and mouse and powered it up. I started clicking through the setup screens and rebooted. I started to then clean up programs using add/remove through the control panel removing things I now were just useless on this desktop computer for this customer. The time came to join the domain. Surprise. The join domain option in computer properties was greyed out. The system was coming up as XP pro. I checked the numbers and sure enough it was coming up as XP. But it wasn't. No where on the system itself did it say XP pro.
If it doesn't say XP PRO then it ain't pro . . . It said media Center Edition. This was a big clue of course staring me right in the face. A little more research revealed that this version of XP, like the home edition, can't be joined into a domain. I hit some forums and there seemed to be some rumor that the only way it can be done is during installation. The customer didn't get the CD either with this new PC so they are going to order a new CD and use the old computer until then.
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Adtran Netvanta 3200
The Netvanta router from Adtran are accessable remotely using either a telnet session and through a web browser. They can be accessed quite easily on a local area network but for access from the internet, they need to have enabled acces from the wide area network optioned enabled.
In an earlier post I had a customer who had a point-to-point T1 connection between two offices. One of the offices in in NYC and the other is in the Bronx (unfortunately I had to go to the Bronx twice for this customer). They were doing VoIP between their two ofices with a couple of NEC Aspire phone systems. The problem was getting the quality of voice up to a nice level even though we had QoS enabled and configured correctly on both routers.
We checked their local area network for problems and the circuit itself - driving verizon people crazy (don't feel bad for them). I even tried different flavors of quality of service configurations and also enabled diffserv and packet tagging on the phone systems. Also monitored bandwidth usage. Nothing helped. No metter what we did, the voice was horrible whenever they started a download. Adtran couldn't helped with this problem. I like and admire Adtran's tech support as they are ver very good and often helped me get out of trouble. But this time they overlooked this solution.
Here is the solution. If you know of anyone, or it's you yourself reading this, with a couple of Netvanta 3200 routers trying to do quality of service and it just is not working our right then check that wieghted fair queuing (WFQ) is enabled on the router and not FIFO.
Once I enabled this option the quality was great.
In an earlier post I had a customer who had a point-to-point T1 connection between two offices. One of the offices in in NYC and the other is in the Bronx (unfortunately I had to go to the Bronx twice for this customer). They were doing VoIP between their two ofices with a couple of NEC Aspire phone systems. The problem was getting the quality of voice up to a nice level even though we had QoS enabled and configured correctly on both routers.
We checked their local area network for problems and the circuit itself - driving verizon people crazy (don't feel bad for them). I even tried different flavors of quality of service configurations and also enabled diffserv and packet tagging on the phone systems. Also monitored bandwidth usage. Nothing helped. No metter what we did, the voice was horrible whenever they started a download. Adtran couldn't helped with this problem. I like and admire Adtran's tech support as they are ver very good and often helped me get out of trouble. But this time they overlooked this solution.
Here is the solution. If you know of anyone, or it's you yourself reading this, with a couple of Netvanta 3200 routers trying to do quality of service and it just is not working our right then check that wieghted fair queuing (WFQ) is enabled on the router and not FIFO.
Once I enabled this option the quality was great.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Data wall jacks not working?
I went to a customer's office today on a call about a wireless problem. Once I got there of course other issues they were having came were remembered. One such problem was regarding two wall network wall jack that were "not working". I figured this would be an easy problem to fix, I started it before the more mysterious and dangerous wireless access point problem.
I checked both of the wall jacks with my laptop and they weren't working like they said. Not even a link light - forget about not getting an IP address. I toned them out to see if they even ran to their data room and they both did. But, of course, there was not patch cord going from the patch panel were the wires terminated to the data switch. I plugged two cables in and tested again. Both ports now linked u pthe the LAN fine. The customer paid for this. I guess to me and other in the support world this was a no brainer. I really think that if the customer had applied some simple troubleshooting skills and basic knowledge they could have avoided the bill. Oh and by the way, they wanted to start arguing that my company did the cabling and therefore they should not get billed. Go figure.
Now about the wireless problem. This has a few more twists in the plot than the wall jack problem did.
I checked both of the wall jacks with my laptop and they weren't working like they said. Not even a link light - forget about not getting an IP address. I toned them out to see if they even ran to their data room and they both did. But, of course, there was not patch cord going from the patch panel were the wires terminated to the data switch. I plugged two cables in and tested again. Both ports now linked u pthe the LAN fine. The customer paid for this. I guess to me and other in the support world this was a no brainer. I really think that if the customer had applied some simple troubleshooting skills and basic knowledge they could have avoided the bill. Oh and by the way, they wanted to start arguing that my company did the cabling and therefore they should not get billed. Go figure.
Now about the wireless problem. This has a few more twists in the plot than the wall jack problem did.
Friday, May 26, 2006
Adtran Netvanta 3200
My company has a customer who has a point-to-point leased line ( a T1) between their two offices. In each office we have installed an NEC Aspire phone system. These systems are capable of doing VoIP for station to station transfer between the two locations. This solution has been done many times before successfully. The router that terminate the T1 at each end are the Adtran Netvata 3200 series routers.
Modular Access Router - Single Slot/Single Ethernet
The NetVanta 3200 is an access router designed for cost-effective Internet access, corporate Frame Relay, point-to-point connectivity, and Virtual Private Networking (VPN) for applications requiring bandwidth from 56k to dual-T1s. Residing in a standalone desktop chassis with a plastics enclosure, the NetVanta 3200 is a single platform that offers one interface slot and one 10/100Base-T Ethernet LAN port. The modular NetVanta 3200 will house a variety of Network Interface Modules (NIMs) and includes a Statefull Inspection Firewall, QoS for delay sensitive traffic like VoIP, NAT and DHCP, and all managed with a familiar Command Line Interface (CLI).
The command line of the router is familiar. It has the look and feel of cisco routers. This makes using the CLI easy and comfortable for anyone familiar with configuring cisco router.
NetVanta 3200
Modular Access Router - Single Slot/Single Ethernet
The NetVanta 3200 is an access router designed for cost-effective Internet access, corporate Frame Relay, point-to-point connectivity, and Virtual Private Networking (VPN) for applications requiring bandwidth from 56k to dual-T1s. Residing in a standalone desktop chassis with a plastics enclosure, the NetVanta 3200 is a single platform that offers one interface slot and one 10/100Base-T Ethernet LAN port. The modular NetVanta 3200 will house a variety of Network Interface Modules (NIMs) and includes a Statefull Inspection Firewall, QoS for delay sensitive traffic like VoIP, NAT and DHCP, and all managed with a familiar Command Line Interface (CLI).
The command line of the router is familiar. It has the look and feel of cisco routers. This makes using the CLI easy and comfortable for anyone familiar with configuring cisco router.
Adtran Reliability
Adtran in my opinion makes some of the best most reliable equipment. Their support is top notch and never let you down. I've only had a problem with their tech support when they have been backed up. Besides this occurring once or twice their technical support staff is top notch.
The NEC communicate with each other over the point-to-point T1 just fine. but when a download is initiated from either side to the other, the voice is terrible. After upgrading the operating systems on both Adtrans, which I have to say was a breeze, I had more quality of service tools at my disposal. After trying various methods to smooth the voice quality there was no fixing it. The reason I found that the quality of the VoIP is so bad is providers line is bad. In particular, it seems it's the transmit pairs at one of the locations. This will be a long drawn out fight with the service provider for sure. They have tried to blame the customer premises equipment but I'm steadfastly standing behind the Netvanta router.
The NEC communicate with each other over the point-to-point T1 just fine. but when a download is initiated from either side to the other, the voice is terrible. After upgrading the operating systems on both Adtrans, which I have to say was a breeze, I had more quality of service tools at my disposal. After trying various methods to smooth the voice quality there was no fixing it. The reason I found that the quality of the VoIP is so bad is providers line is bad. In particular, it seems it's the transmit pairs at one of the locations. This will be a long drawn out fight with the service provider for sure. They have tried to blame the customer premises equipment but I'm steadfastly standing behind the Netvanta router.
Remote Support Software -:- PC Remote Control
Saturday, May 13, 2006
U.S. Mac users receive best support
Source: MACNN
May 8, 2006
A new report suggests that U.S. Mac users receive the best tech support compared to other free technical support systems. The Consumer Reports National Research Center found that only 55 percent of consumers who contacted technical support had their problem solved, drawing from surveys of 20,000 users with computer problems in the US, according to Macworld UK. Users said that most manufacturers provided "dismal" free tech support, with the exception of Apple's support for desktops/laptops and IBM's support for laptops. "Apple's support for desktops and laptops and IBM (Lenovo) for laptops. Apple solved 76 percent of survey respondents' problems, and IBM (Lenovo) solved 64 percent." Compaq was rated the worst free tech support, solving only 38 percent of desktop problems for respondents, while 15 percent of users with problems didn't even bother to contact the manufacturer's support due to negative previous experiences.
May 8, 2006
A new report suggests that U.S. Mac users receive the best tech support compared to other free technical support systems. The Consumer Reports National Research Center found that only 55 percent of consumers who contacted technical support had their problem solved, drawing from surveys of 20,000 users with computer problems in the US, according to Macworld UK. Users said that most manufacturers provided "dismal" free tech support, with the exception of Apple's support for desktops/laptops and IBM's support for laptops. "Apple's support for desktops and laptops and IBM (Lenovo) for laptops. Apple solved 76 percent of survey respondents' problems, and IBM (Lenovo) solved 64 percent." Compaq was rated the worst free tech support, solving only 38 percent of desktop problems for respondents, while 15 percent of users with problems didn't even bother to contact the manufacturer's support due to negative previous experiences.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Invensys Introduces World’s First 'Enterprise Control System'
Source:Yahoo News
Mon Apr 17, 8:00 AM ET
(PRWEB) - Foxboro, MA (PRWEB) April 17, 2006 -- Invensys today introduced the world’s first industrial system that goes beyond the plant or other industrial operations to provide a true enterprise view. The new InFusionTM enterprise control system combines industry-leading capabilities from across Invensys with advanced enterprise information and integration technologies from both Microsoft and SAP to dramatically reduce integration costs. With InFusion technology, most existing plant floor and enterprise systems can now be cost-effectively integrated into a common system. In conjunction with a suite of new performance services, Invensys’ InFusion system will help industrial enterprises more effectively align plant operations and maintenance departments with the business to optimize overall asset performance management.
Mon Apr 17, 8:00 AM ET
(PRWEB) - Foxboro, MA (PRWEB) April 17, 2006 -- Invensys today introduced the world’s first industrial system that goes beyond the plant or other industrial operations to provide a true enterprise view. The new InFusionTM enterprise control system combines industry-leading capabilities from across Invensys with advanced enterprise information and integration technologies from both Microsoft and SAP to dramatically reduce integration costs. With InFusion technology, most existing plant floor and enterprise systems can now be cost-effectively integrated into a common system. In conjunction with a suite of new performance services, Invensys’ InFusion system will help industrial enterprises more effectively align plant operations and maintenance departments with the business to optimize overall asset performance management.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
VERCLSID.EXE
A recent Microsoft security update is causing problems on desktops. The desktops seem to freeze or hang when users click on My Recent Documents or My Computer or just using Explorer. The olny way to stop the process is to end the task using task mananger. There may even be multiple instances of the program running.
The verclsid.exe is a binary that was added to the system32 folder. It's supposed to check the DCOM class id of the executed or initiated program. This has a known problem. A work around that I used this morning was to rename the file:
The microsoft security update is MS06-015 (908531). More information on the verclsid.exe can be found at Microsoft's site.
The verclsid.exe is a binary that was added to the system32 folder. It's supposed to check the DCOM class id of the executed or initiated program. This has a known problem. A work around that I used this morning was to rename the file:
- Start a command prompt
- go to the system32 directory
- type in ren verclsid.exe verclsid.old
The microsoft security update is MS06-015 (908531). More information on the verclsid.exe can be found at Microsoft's site.
Friday, April 14, 2006
Paradyne 3160 Channelized Voice and Data
Paradyne 3160 setup in a channelized voice and data point-to-point configuration.
My company had had a telephone installation job. This was pretty much an ordinary install. The company that was having the phone system installed was a long time customer who had purchased two systems from us. The one system that was installed in their old building was done so about 10 to 15 years ago. The other, in their new warehouse and office location, was installed about 3 to 4 years. It was time to replace the old system.
The phone techs that were on site were pretty good so when I got the call at about 9:30PM and saw who it was, I was surprised and curious as to what the problem could possible be. It turns out that on one side of the point-to-point T1 connection an Adtran Total Access 750, that I installed years ago, was removed and replaced with a Paradyne for the new phone system. They were able to configure the two systems through the paradyne to the point were the voice was working but the data, IP, wasn't working. The other side of the T1 was an Adtran TSU 600 unit which was unchanged - 8 channels voice and the rest of the DS0s were for data.
The voice was working but the data was not. He was on server on the new unchanged side and could not reach any computer desktop in the main and the same held true for the main side to the remote. I tried assisting them remotely by trying to talk them through the screens. I didn't have desktop remote access over the internet to configure the unit. Access to the paradyne was through the front panel only at this time I had to take a trip in.
What techs almost had it right, and they tried.
The Paradyne, when configured for voice and data needs:
My company had had a telephone installation job. This was pretty much an ordinary install. The company that was having the phone system installed was a long time customer who had purchased two systems from us. The one system that was installed in their old building was done so about 10 to 15 years ago. The other, in their new warehouse and office location, was installed about 3 to 4 years. It was time to replace the old system.
The phone techs that were on site were pretty good so when I got the call at about 9:30PM and saw who it was, I was surprised and curious as to what the problem could possible be. It turns out that on one side of the point-to-point T1 connection an Adtran Total Access 750, that I installed years ago, was removed and replaced with a Paradyne for the new phone system. They were able to configure the two systems through the paradyne to the point were the voice was working but the data, IP, wasn't working. The other side of the T1 was an Adtran TSU 600 unit which was unchanged - 8 channels voice and the rest of the DS0s were for data.
The voice was working but the data was not. He was on server on the new unchanged side and could not reach any computer desktop in the main and the same held true for the main side to the remote. I tried assisting them remotely by trying to talk them through the screens. I didn't have desktop remote access over the internet to configure the unit. Access to the paradyne was through the front panel only at this time I had to take a trip in.
What techs almost had it right, and they tried.
The Paradyne, when configured for voice and data needs:
- The port that connects to router must be set to V.35 (at least this is the most common configuration)
- If port 1 then that port must be assigned to NET in the configuration. The same applies if port 2
- Once the above is complete then additional options are available to configure the data channels.
- In the channel configuration under voice, the channels that are for data must be set to RBS - this one is the gocha.
Monday, April 10, 2006
EliteSolutions
EliteSolutions Personal Remote Access
Elite Solutions Now EliteSolutions has got the right idea. Why drive to or spend a ton of hours over the phone trying to support computers remotely. Just get some software that lets the support personal remotely access the system and get to work and get done faster. This will free him or her up to get more done. This is the basic reason why elitesolutions uses online remote support software. This is snippet form their support homepage. It says it all. Good work Elite Solutions. "With rising costs for service calls many IT Companies will simply increase service rates and or find other billing techniques to offset those rising costs. At EliteSolution we believe that all other business alternatives need to be explored before raising services rates. At EliteSolution we recognize that the simple raising of rates is not always the best solution as often this does not ensure that a business will remain competitive."Tuesday, April 04, 2006
VPN Client Administration - Remember the early days of VPNs
This article is from March of 2001.
In previous columns, we have discussed protocol issues and alternatives facing ISPs that offer remote access VPN services, ranging from authentication to addressing. Here, in the final installment of this series we open Pandora's box—VPN client administration.
Lisa Phiffer VP Core Competence, Inc. [March 15, 2001]
For the most part, Virtual Private Networking is a new technology, playing the same old remote access security tunes. Distributing desktop software, configuring it properly, and keeping it up-to-date is a time-consuming, never-ending administrative chore.
ISPs that offer residential Internet access are all too familiar with support costs associated with dial-up networking, mail client, and web browser configuration. Fortunately, these applications are factory-installed on most Windows PCs and include auto-update features. But remember the old days, when subscribers had to install and configure third-party TCP stacks?
In some respects, IPsec clients stand today where TCP stacks stood a decade ago. In 1998, at InternetWorld IW Labs, we started testing early IPsec gateways with paired client software. These clients operated as "shims" or virtual adapters, inserting themselves into the middle of packet processing. Client install/remove problems were commonplace. Configurations exposed esoteric security parameters like crypto algorithms and secret keys to end-users. Centralized client policy and software administration tools were virtually non-existent. Multi-vendor interoperability was—well, drafty, at best. The bottom line—VPN client administration took a bigger-than-anticipated bite out of ISPs return on investment.
With maturity comes reliability Fortunately, IPsec clients have matured considerably during the past three years. Base standards stabilized. Testing against reference implementations improved interoperability. Software kinks were resolved with time and field experience. However, testing complex network software with every permutation of Windows OS, service pack, and modem/adapter is a challenge.
Today, many remote access vendors—including Check Point, Nortel Networks, and Indus River—continue to refine their own IPsec clients. But an increasing number of equipment manufacturers—including Cisco, Lucent, 3Com, and Nokia—outsource IPsec client development by OEMing SafeNet's Soft-PK.
Today's IPsec clients are not bullet proof, but compatibility issues are declining. A study conducted by Lucent NetCare cited overall VPN product immaturity as a significant barrier to deployment, but found that technology issues—top challenges just three years ago—had been surpassed by organizational issues in 1999. This study predicted that process and procedural issues would continue to grow in importance as VPNs become more integrated into network infrastructures.
Simplified installation More robust software is one more nibble into the technical support cost cookie. Streamlined client installation and update is another. Today's IPsec clients require fewer parameters. Through smart defaults, canned policies, and automated policy updating, client installation has become easier and less error-prone. Let's consider a few examples.
eTunnels mails each user a one-time URL to download VPN-On-Demand client software. Each time this IPsec client connects to the company VPN, it must first use SSL to obtain security parameters from the eTunnels Network Server (eNS). Centralized control, simple authentication, and topology assumptions greatly simplify client configuration, but at the cost of flexibility.
IPsec gateways like the Cisco VPN 3060 and Symantec PowerVPN Server automatically pushes administrator-defined policies to IPsec clients each time they connect. Users simply enter gateway hostname and credentials. However, stronger authentication presents the same old challenge: IKE shared secrets are easily mistyped and X.509 certificates are not intuitive to the average end-user.
Check Point's VPN-1 offers automatic version checking to assist in managing client software distribution. Should software updates be automatically pushed for consistency, or applied ad hoc? If ad hoc, how do you ensure client-gateway version synchronization? These procedural decisions still fall to the VPN administrator.
Scalable policy administration In any large deployment, efficient management and monitoring tools are essential. Policy-based management systems simplify administration of site-to-site VPNs. But sheer volume and frequency of change make remote access administration a tougher nut to crack.
ISPs that offer managed remote access services set the bar even higher. These providers require highly scalable client management systems that support multi-level security policies, delegated user administration, and version control for hundreds of customers, each having perhaps thousands of users.
Vendors like Check Point and WatchGuard market tools specifically designed for managed VPN providers. For example, Check Point's Provider-1 multi-domain policy server can compartmentalize users, rules, and logs for each customer, with automated policy backup and restore. WatchGuard's NOC Control Center provides real-time and historical monitoring, logging, notification, and reporting for managed customer VPNs from one central console.
Over the next few years, we expect to see considerable evolution in large enterprise and carrier-class policy management systems. This past week, Check Point introduced its Next Generation management interface, equipped with a visual policy editor, automated client updates, and predefined policies. Cisco also announced its VPN Security Management (VMS) system—an integrated manager that spans 3000 series concentrators, 7000 series routers, and PIX firewalls.
Read more ...
In previous columns, we have discussed protocol issues and alternatives facing ISPs that offer remote access VPN services, ranging from authentication to addressing. Here, in the final installment of this series we open Pandora's box—VPN client administration.
Lisa Phiffer VP Core Competence, Inc. [March 15, 2001]
For the most part, Virtual Private Networking is a new technology, playing the same old remote access security tunes. Distributing desktop software, configuring it properly, and keeping it up-to-date is a time-consuming, never-ending administrative chore.
ISPs that offer residential Internet access are all too familiar with support costs associated with dial-up networking, mail client, and web browser configuration. Fortunately, these applications are factory-installed on most Windows PCs and include auto-update features. But remember the old days, when subscribers had to install and configure third-party TCP stacks?
In some respects, IPsec clients stand today where TCP stacks stood a decade ago. In 1998, at InternetWorld IW Labs, we started testing early IPsec gateways with paired client software. These clients operated as "shims" or virtual adapters, inserting themselves into the middle of packet processing. Client install/remove problems were commonplace. Configurations exposed esoteric security parameters like crypto algorithms and secret keys to end-users. Centralized client policy and software administration tools were virtually non-existent. Multi-vendor interoperability was—well, drafty, at best. The bottom line—VPN client administration took a bigger-than-anticipated bite out of ISPs return on investment.
With maturity comes reliability Fortunately, IPsec clients have matured considerably during the past three years. Base standards stabilized. Testing against reference implementations improved interoperability. Software kinks were resolved with time and field experience. However, testing complex network software with every permutation of Windows OS, service pack, and modem/adapter is a challenge.
Today, many remote access vendors—including Check Point, Nortel Networks, and Indus River—continue to refine their own IPsec clients. But an increasing number of equipment manufacturers—including Cisco, Lucent, 3Com, and Nokia—outsource IPsec client development by OEMing SafeNet's Soft-PK.
Today's IPsec clients are not bullet proof, but compatibility issues are declining. A study conducted by Lucent NetCare cited overall VPN product immaturity as a significant barrier to deployment, but found that technology issues—top challenges just three years ago—had been surpassed by organizational issues in 1999. This study predicted that process and procedural issues would continue to grow in importance as VPNs become more integrated into network infrastructures.
Simplified installation More robust software is one more nibble into the technical support cost cookie. Streamlined client installation and update is another. Today's IPsec clients require fewer parameters. Through smart defaults, canned policies, and automated policy updating, client installation has become easier and less error-prone. Let's consider a few examples.
eTunnels mails each user a one-time URL to download VPN-On-Demand client software. Each time this IPsec client connects to the company VPN, it must first use SSL to obtain security parameters from the eTunnels Network Server (eNS). Centralized control, simple authentication, and topology assumptions greatly simplify client configuration, but at the cost of flexibility.
IPsec gateways like the Cisco VPN 3060 and Symantec PowerVPN Server automatically pushes administrator-defined policies to IPsec clients each time they connect. Users simply enter gateway hostname and credentials. However, stronger authentication presents the same old challenge: IKE shared secrets are easily mistyped and X.509 certificates are not intuitive to the average end-user.
Check Point's VPN-1 offers automatic version checking to assist in managing client software distribution. Should software updates be automatically pushed for consistency, or applied ad hoc? If ad hoc, how do you ensure client-gateway version synchronization? These procedural decisions still fall to the VPN administrator.
Scalable policy administration In any large deployment, efficient management and monitoring tools are essential. Policy-based management systems simplify administration of site-to-site VPNs. But sheer volume and frequency of change make remote access administration a tougher nut to crack.
ISPs that offer managed remote access services set the bar even higher. These providers require highly scalable client management systems that support multi-level security policies, delegated user administration, and version control for hundreds of customers, each having perhaps thousands of users.
Vendors like Check Point and WatchGuard market tools specifically designed for managed VPN providers. For example, Check Point's Provider-1 multi-domain policy server can compartmentalize users, rules, and logs for each customer, with automated policy backup and restore. WatchGuard's NOC Control Center provides real-time and historical monitoring, logging, notification, and reporting for managed customer VPNs from one central console.
Over the next few years, we expect to see considerable evolution in large enterprise and carrier-class policy management systems. This past week, Check Point introduced its Next Generation management interface, equipped with a visual policy editor, automated client updates, and predefined policies. Cisco also announced its VPN Security Management (VMS) system—an integrated manager that spans 3000 series concentrators, 7000 series routers, and PIX firewalls.
Read more ...
Sunday, March 12, 2006
If your curious about how Icons are created.
I have always been curious as to how icon files differ from regular images that we are used to seeing on the web and on our desktops.
I found a great page while looking for an Icon editor/creator. This page explains Icons very well. From task bar icons to shortcut Icons. It gives the size difference for MAC icons as well. They also describe the difference betwwen XP icons and Icons for previous desktop and server OS versions
"An icon is a graphic image, a small picture or object that represents a file, program, web page, or command. Icons help you execute commands, open programs or documents quickly. To execute a command by using an icon, click or double-click on the icon. It is also useful to recognize quickly an object in a browser list. For example, all documents using the same extension have the same icon.
That's almost all you need to know if you only use icons. But to create icons, which is the purpose of Axialis IconWorkshop, you need to more about them. What's the difference between a standard image and an icon image? What's the structure of an icon? How to create an icon which will display correctly on all screen configurations (size, colors...)? Can we save an icon to a file? Can we assemble several icons into one file? What about the new Windows XP icon format? "
Read the rest . . .
I have not tried their software yet but when I do I'll post how well it worked. I read that it integrates somewhat with adobe photoshop.
I found a great page while looking for an Icon editor/creator. This page explains Icons very well. From task bar icons to shortcut Icons. It gives the size difference for MAC icons as well. They also describe the difference betwwen XP icons and Icons for previous desktop and server OS versions
"An icon is a graphic image, a small picture or object that represents a file, program, web page, or command. Icons help you execute commands, open programs or documents quickly. To execute a command by using an icon, click or double-click on the icon. It is also useful to recognize quickly an object in a browser list. For example, all documents using the same extension have the same icon.
That's almost all you need to know if you only use icons. But to create icons, which is the purpose of Axialis IconWorkshop, you need to more about them. What's the difference between a standard image and an icon image? What's the structure of an icon? How to create an icon which will display correctly on all screen configurations (size, colors...)? Can we save an icon to a file? Can we assemble several icons into one file? What about the new Windows XP icon format? "
Read the rest . . .
I have not tried their software yet but when I do I'll post how well it worked. I read that it integrates somewhat with adobe photoshop.
The medical practice project is just about done.
Dual Channel DDR2 Shared Memory
Dell desktops with Dual Channel DDR2 Shared Memory.
Rolled out the 32 new Dell systems. Only three dells remaining in the their shipping containers. Those three were actually going to be just a perp for another support company to complete. They tie into their medical records software much more than all the other new computers and are better left to the group that support that software. WISE Decision!
As far as memory, these systems were ordered with 1 GB each. That's right, each end-user's desktop was ordered with 1 GB of RAM.
The type of RAM:
Dual Channel DDR2 Shared Memory
DDR2 is a new memory architecture that enables systems to improve performance and reduce power consumption. The amount of RAM you have determines how many programs can be executed at one time and how much data can be readily available to a program. It also determines how quickly your applications perform and how many applications you can easily toggle between at one time. Simply put, the more RAM you have, the more programs you can run smoothly and simultaneously. You could get this memory or the desktop dell's store at this link - http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/optix_gx620?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd
Friday, February 24, 2006
New computer roll out at busy medical practice.
OK. Some updates of what's been going on.
I'll start with my long project - adventure is more like it. I've been rolling out new computers for a customer in Manhattan. They bought 32 new Dell systems that all needed to be setup on the domain and have the office software configured. Doesn't sound bad right? Well, it's a very busy medical practice and the computers are in all areas of the office including check-in check-out, the exam rooms the doctors' desktop PC systems. At the same time I'm handling their day-to-day computer troubles. Which include the regular daily type of support issues that goes on inside just about every modern office in the world. I can't log in whines, and MS Exchange issues, slowness issues on some of the desktops, integrating medical equipment like EKG tester thingies. They have a company that supports their medical software but I've been their so much I'v been taking care of the problems for them. They have PCAnywhere and 4RemoteSupport installed on most systems for on-demand pc remote control and are able to push it out to the new systems.
No modifications are required to be performed on the customer's or end-user's gateway router or firewall. You only have to make a small modification on your own local Internet gateway. Once your online remote support software to remote desktop control support account is activated successfully, just setup a simple TCP port forward on your Internet gateway router to the desktop you will be providing support from. That is usually your desktop but in the case of multiple technicians this can be setup for other computers on the local network. If you have multiple people providing tech-support within your office and you have several service accounts, then just use a different port number for each tech-support person. The numbers can sequential or picked ad-hoc. You could have two, three, or more remote support techs and each of which can provide separate web based desktop remote support through the web , even to multiple simultaneous end-users concurrently.
Dynamic 4RemoteSupport.com Remote Support Solution
There is no extra charge for configuration changes or software support. If your network conditions change, such as an ISP change, public IP address change, or your office location changes, you can easily modify to your web based software for remote support configuration to accommodate the new networking environment. We don't sell executable packaged with your IP address and port number. We designed our service to be adaptive to your remote pc support needs by permitting dynamic web based software changes and updates as required.
It's easy to see and setup your web based software for online desktop support account settings for computer remote control over the web that includes access on the LAN, on the web, and private WAN using the same account. Screenshots and other images can be found on the screenshots page. See a sample user account profile & 4RemoteSupport.com remote support configuration page screen shot. Similar to Microsoft RDC, administrators and tech-support will have full keyboard and mouse access to the system and along with that, full file system access to local drives and network shares. Anything accessible on the local area network will be accessible through the remote access. One main difference with Microsoft RDC is the user is able to see what is occurring on their desktop.
The user whom your trying to provide online remote pc support just enters a support code in the login field that's positioned right on our main homepage at https://www.4remotesupport.com for remote support and then clicks connect. We use a customized version of open source virtual network computing (VNC) that gets downloaded to the target computer and connects to your desktop viewer. Instantly you have real time access to the web based remote desktop and can view the entire screen on yours for web based remote control. VNC for many years has been and still is a reliable for 4remotesupport.com software for on-demand pc remote control software utility.
See your end-user's experience when they login for remote desktop support from you or other tech-support people.
I'll start with my long project - adventure is more like it. I've been rolling out new computers for a customer in Manhattan. They bought 32 new Dell systems that all needed to be setup on the domain and have the office software configured. Doesn't sound bad right? Well, it's a very busy medical practice and the computers are in all areas of the office including check-in check-out, the exam rooms the doctors' desktop PC systems. At the same time I'm handling their day-to-day computer troubles. Which include the regular daily type of support issues that goes on inside just about every modern office in the world. I can't log in whines, and MS Exchange issues, slowness issues on some of the desktops, integrating medical equipment like EKG tester thingies. They have a company that supports their medical software but I've been their so much I'v been taking care of the problems for them. They have PCAnywhere and 4RemoteSupport installed on most systems for on-demand pc remote control and are able to push it out to the new systems.
Web Based Desktop Remote Support
I walked into a situation where their even virus management console was not working and I could not even push out or manually install the agent software . I though this was problem with the new dell systems since they came pre-installed with a version of mcafee security center software already. I manually removed that version and tried to add the practices version but would always get an error. The antivirus software loaded but the agent would not. I'm happy to say however that I got the console working again and was able to push out the agent software to each of the desktops. I was expecting a long drawn out support session over the phone. But as it turns out the server needed a reboot. I rebooted the system early in the morning remotely so no one would even know it happened. I was taking a chance however since it could have not come up. It worked out, the server started and the software management console worked.Remote PC Control on the Web
The software for remote pc control through the web software they use came in handy already since I needed their assistance to get the first exam room's software working properly. It was the first time I had to setup the software from scratch. I tried working with the config from the old computer and did great but the thing I didn't know was I had to have another piece of medical software running, Logician by GE (general Electric), on first use for it to complete the config.Remote desktop control
I was so close but I'm glad I called and saved time. The remote IT support tech, Tony, just remote in to one of the servers. He was using some other online on demand computer remote control software for remotely accessing the server over the Internet then 4RemoteSupport.com for web based remote desktop control of the workstation. No IT tech support department of technical support company can be nearly as affective with web based software for online remote desktop support.Remote Computer Control
I like the software they use for web based computer remote control but I'm kind of favoring using PC Anywhere on all the desktops software for web based pc remote support on the web software of choice on the computers in the office. I could connect over the Internet using Microsoft Terminal Server then remotely access the computer systems on the LAN. For most internal networking local support especially of servers, Microsoft RDP is mots useful and available nearly all the time. With Microsoft Server 2003 and higher, it is installed by default. As long as it has been enabled in computer properties, it will be available. There is also the full blow terminal server but that requires licensing so it is not easily deployed to all server automatically. RDP or RDC on servers is a very license free version for servers that is great for administration.Online Remote Support Software
There's no required server hardware to buy and maintain, no special virtual machines:No modifications are required to be performed on the customer's or end-user's gateway router or firewall. You only have to make a small modification on your own local Internet gateway. Once your online remote support software to remote desktop control support account is activated successfully, just setup a simple TCP port forward on your Internet gateway router to the desktop you will be providing support from. That is usually your desktop but in the case of multiple technicians this can be setup for other computers on the local network. If you have multiple people providing tech-support within your office and you have several service accounts, then just use a different port number for each tech-support person. The numbers can sequential or picked ad-hoc. You could have two, three, or more remote support techs and each of which can provide separate web based desktop remote support through the web , even to multiple simultaneous end-users concurrently.
Web Based Remote Support Software
Dynamic 4RemoteSupport.com Remote Support Solution
There is no extra charge for configuration changes or software support. If your network conditions change, such as an ISP change, public IP address change, or your office location changes, you can easily modify to your web based software for remote support configuration to accommodate the new networking environment. We don't sell executable packaged with your IP address and port number. We designed our service to be adaptive to your remote pc support needs by permitting dynamic web based software changes and updates as required.
It's easy to see and setup your web based software for online desktop support account settings for computer remote control over the web that includes access on the LAN, on the web, and private WAN using the same account. Screenshots and other images can be found on the screenshots page. See a sample user account profile & 4RemoteSupport.com remote support configuration page screen shot. Similar to Microsoft RDC, administrators and tech-support will have full keyboard and mouse access to the system and along with that, full file system access to local drives and network shares. Anything accessible on the local area network will be accessible through the remote access. One main difference with Microsoft RDC is the user is able to see what is occurring on their desktop.
The user whom your trying to provide online remote pc support just enters a support code in the login field that's positioned right on our main homepage at https://www.4remotesupport.com for remote support and then clicks connect. We use a customized version of open source virtual network computing (VNC) that gets downloaded to the target computer and connects to your desktop viewer. Instantly you have real time access to the web based remote desktop and can view the entire screen on yours for web based remote control. VNC for many years has been and still is a reliable for 4remotesupport.com software for on-demand pc remote control software utility.
See your end-user's experience when they login for remote desktop support from you or other tech-support people.
Saturday, February 04, 2006
Lucent and Siemens - Remote Technical Support Service
LiveLink
Not surprising that dial-up is still a tool in their arsenal since they've been using dial-up to systems for as long as they've been supporting their equipment and services.
Remote Technical Support Service
Remote support for rapid response, diagnosis, and resolution
NetworkCare and eSight are service marks of Lucent Technologies. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are properties of their respective owners. This document is for planning purposes only and is not intended to modify or supplement any specifications or warranties relating to Lucent Technologies products or services.
Lucent Technologies Worldwide Services Remote Technical Support (RTS) Service helps you optimize the availability and performance of your networks. This cost-effective service features highly skilled and experienced system engineers who can deliver remote support via phone or modem for rapid response, diagnosis, and resolution of system issues and outages.
For Lucent data products, engineers can answer your questions about system problems and provide software updates to clear faults. In addition, support for Siemen's data products provides access to the Web-based eSight."
See the link at the top of the post to see the rest.
UTSTAR
A little bit about UTSarcom first...
UTStarcom is a global leader in the manufacture, integration and support of IP-based, end-to-end networking and telecommunications solutions. The company sells converged broadband wireless and wireline products, an integrated IPTV solution, and a comprehensive line of handset and customer premise equipment to operators in both emerging and established telecommunications markets worldwide.
Their support options were impressive enough for an entry. Commworks provides the services.
You could find out more about their support services. They have a nice professional range of support services.
https://login.utstar.com/Login.cfm
Overview
CommWorks is focused on preventing problems before they
occur. By providing you with high quality products, advanced
planning services, expert implementation assistance, and flexible
training options, we significantly reduce the risk of encountering
performance problems during ongoing network operation. The
inherently complex nature of today's multi-vendor IP networks
demands that you have immediate access to expert configuration
and troubleshooting assistance.CommWorks Remote Technical Support Services are designed for
the specific needs of today's network service providers. Rather
than a traditional multi-tier support structure, CommWorks
provides a single tier engineering team who have direct access to
CommWorks R&D. When you call CommWorks for assistance, you are directly connected to an engineer with expertise in your application, instead of being routed to an administrative queue or forced to leave voice mail and hope for a call back.
CommWorks Remote Technical Support provides:
ØGlobal, around-the-clock access to networking experts
ØA team of highly trained engineers who deliver consultative support to anticipate and resolve issues before they occur
ØExpert problem isolation, performed using an up-to-date laboratory dedicated to customer support operations
ØEscalation path to Research and Development – our support engineers interact directly with the engineers who designed the product
ØISO 9000 certified service development and delivery processes
ØCustomized support optionsDeliverablesKey DeliverableDescriptionRemote Technical SupportRapid resolution of mission-critical problems or questions with in-depth technical knowledgeSoftware UpdatesEnhance and extend equipment life by staying current with the latest updates to your system releaseOnline SupportComprehensive online software and documentation libraries, knowledgebase access, and other support tools accessible from the TOTALservice Online web siteDedicated Remote Technical Support. An assigned support engineer who serves as an extension of your in-house staff, a single point of contact for all of your support needsCustomized SupportManage your support needs with a solution that is custom-tailored for your specific requirements.
UTStarcom is a global leader in the manufacture, integration and support of IP-based, end-to-end networking and telecommunications solutions. The company sells converged broadband wireless and wireline products, an integrated IPTV solution, and a comprehensive line of handset and customer premise equipment to operators in both emerging and established telecommunications markets worldwide.
Their support options were impressive enough for an entry. Commworks provides the services.
You could find out more about their support services. They have a nice professional range of support services.
https://login.utstar.com/Login.cfm
Overview
CommWorks is focused on preventing problems before they
occur. By providing you with high quality products, advanced
planning services, expert implementation assistance, and flexible
training options, we significantly reduce the risk of encountering
performance problems during ongoing network operation. The
inherently complex nature of today's multi-vendor IP networks
demands that you have immediate access to expert configuration
and troubleshooting assistance.CommWorks Remote Technical Support Services are designed for
the specific needs of today's network service providers. Rather
than a traditional multi-tier support structure, CommWorks
provides a single tier engineering team who have direct access to
CommWorks R&D. When you call CommWorks for assistance, you are directly connected to an engineer with expertise in your application, instead of being routed to an administrative queue or forced to leave voice mail and hope for a call back.
CommWorks Remote Technical Support provides:
ØGlobal, around-the-clock access to networking experts
ØA team of highly trained engineers who deliver consultative support to anticipate and resolve issues before they occur
ØExpert problem isolation, performed using an up-to-date laboratory dedicated to customer support operations
ØEscalation path to Research and Development – our support engineers interact directly with the engineers who designed the product
ØISO 9000 certified service development and delivery processes
ØCustomized support optionsDeliverablesKey DeliverableDescriptionRemote Technical SupportRapid resolution of mission-critical problems or questions with in-depth technical knowledgeSoftware UpdatesEnhance and extend equipment life by staying current with the latest updates to your system releaseOnline SupportComprehensive online software and documentation libraries, knowledgebase access, and other support tools accessible from the TOTALservice Online web siteDedicated Remote Technical Support. An assigned support engineer who serves as an extension of your in-house staff, a single point of contact for all of your support needsCustomized SupportManage your support needs with a solution that is custom-tailored for your specific requirements.
REMOTE DRiVE
REMOTE DRiVE v1.1 Easy access
REMOTE DRiVE is the Emergency-Disk-Access tool No. 1 for Windows NT/2000 and Windows XP. If Windows NT/2000 or Windows XP machine fails to boot and you need important data very fast you can use to copy them with a very high speed over a serial or a parallel link cable. Additional you can run User Manager, CIA Unerase, REGEDIT, or CHKDSK on the remote drive or delete defect driver in the HOST-Systemdirectory. The HOST and CLIENT machines must be connected with a standard parallel link cable or null-modem serial cable.
Included User Manager for Windows NT/2000/XP allows you to change lost or forgotten administrative password (as well as for any other user), unlock account and shows detailed information about all users which are present on your system.
REMOTE DRiVE is a two part solution. The REMOTE DRiVE HOST is a single boot floppy that can be created within the REMOTE DRiVE CLIENT. The HOST offers the CLIENT to mount any partition like FAT / FAT32 or NTFS.
The REMOTE DRiVE CLIENT is a pure Windows application that is installed on the administrator's computer whth Windows NT4/2000 or Windows XP.
Here's how it works.
REMOTE DRiVE is the Emergency-Disk-Access tool No. 1 for Windows NT/2000 and Windows XP. If Windows NT/2000 or Windows XP machine fails to boot and you need important data very fast you can use to copy them with a very high speed over a serial or a parallel link cable. Additionally, you can run User Manager, CIA Unerase, REGEDIT, or CHKDSK on the remote drive or delete defect driver in the HOST-Systemdirectory. The HOST and CLIENT machines must be connected with a standard parallel link cable or null-modem serial cable.
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The link to their WOL freeware is
http://www.matcode.com/wol.htm
Wake-on-LAN Version: 1.0 free!!!
This small command line utility makes possible to switch on a computer from a second one by sending a "Magic Packet". Both of computers can be located on the same LAN or on the different LAN segments.
Requirements to use the WOL (Wake-On-LAN)
An ATX motherboard with an onboard, 3-pin "WOL" connector.
An ATX power supply that meets ATX 2.01 specifications.
A network card that can support WOL with its cable to the motherboard properly installed.
In the BIOS Power Management, you must enable the LAN Wakeup option.
How to use MC-WOL
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