S2s Ltd is a UK provider of network consulting and implementation services
that needed data protection to ensure business continuity, even in the event of a server breakdown.
s2s was previously using disk-to-tape to back up all the various systems the business was running on.
Backing up and recovering data was not only a very complicated and time-consuming process, it was also very unreliable. When retrieving data
from the tapes, once they had been delivered back to s2s, a lot of the data from the tapes was irretrievable.
SecurStore’s online solution automatically transfers data offsite in real-time, eliminating the risk of having backups located onsite in case of a disaster or loss of data during transportation to an offsite location. Data is transmitted and stored offsite in a state of the art data centre on a reliable disk subsystem, which is in turn duplicated and backed up onto a second disk sub-system located apart from the primary disk sub-system.
Due to the nature of the business, s2s runs on a variety of operating systems. Most of its servers are Linux-based and some of them are Mac-based,
because many s2s employees use Apple Macintosh machines. It also has the obligatory Windows applications and operates with a SAN architecture. SecurStore also needed to take into account the fact that most of the s2s servers are virtualised and that s2s already had a NAS (network-attached storage) system in place.
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Filled Under: Data Recovery

To pass the CCNA exam and earn this important certification, you’ve got to know switching inside and out. While you’re learning all the basic switching theory, make sure to spend some time with the one of three switching modes Cisco routers can use.

Store-and-Forward is exactly what it sounds like. The entire frame will be stored before it is forwarded. This mode allows for the greatest amount of error checking, since a CRC (Cyclical Redundancy Check) is run against the frame before it is forwarded. If the frame contains an error, it is discarded. If there’s no problem with the frame, the frame is then forwarded to its proper destination.

While store-and-forward does perform error checking, the delay in processing the frame while this error check is run results in higher latency than the other modes you’re about to read about. The latency time can also vary, since not all frames are the same size.

Cut-through switching copies only the destination MAC address into its memory before beginning to forward the frame. Since the frame is being forwarded as soon as the destination MAC is read, there is less latency than store-and-forward. The drawback is that there is no error checking.

There is a middle ground, fragment-free switching. Only part of the frame is copied to memory before it is forwarded, but it’s the first 64 bytes of the frame, not just the destination MAC. (Why? Because if there is a problem with the frame, it’s most likely in the first 64 bytes.) There is a little more error checking than cut-through, but not as much latency as with store-and-forward.
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ATSC

ATSC (Advanced Television Systems Committee) is a group formed in 1982 that developed the ATSC Standards for digital televisions in the United States and in many other countries such as Canada, South Korea, Mexico, and Honduras. The abbreviations are also known to refer to the ATSC Standards itself.

ATSC Standards is a digital television format which will in the long term replace the current NTSC television system, as is the case in United States by February 17, 2009 and in Canada by August 31, 2011. These new high definition standards produce a display resolution better than approximately six times its predecessor — it shows off a lucrative 16:9 wide screen images up to 1920×1080 pixels in size. Not to forget, other different image sizes are still supported so that a maximum of six standard definition channels can still be broadcasted.

Sound wise, the ATSC is capable of a “theater quality” audio as it adopts the Dolby Digital AC-3 format, which also produces the 5.1 channel surround sound.

When broadcasting with the ATSC and an analog signal, two separate channels are required as the ATSC requires an entire channel for itself. As virtual channels can be remapped to any other number from 1 to 99, ATSC stations will often associate with one of the NTSC channels or all stations will use the same number.

Also, like many other systems, the ATSC is an interwoven standard, and is also heavily patented as it includes elements from MPEG, AC-3 audio coding, and the 8VSB modulation.
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Filled Under: Communications

Whether you are an amateur or a professional, gadgets play an essential role in the life of a spy. Although there are some tools and gadgets which are only designed for specific situations that you may encounter as a spy, there are other gadgets which can be useful to you every single day. If you are a spy and don’t have these five gadgets, you are missing some valuable tools from your arsenal:

1) Portable Bug Detector-As a spy, you are responsible for not only obtaining information, but also keeping privileged information completely secret. Whether you are concerned about a phone, room or car bug, a portable bug detector can provide you with the security you need. Portable bug detectors are extremely easy to operate, and allow you to quickly decide whether or not it is safe to divulge confidential information in your current environment. Best of all, portable bug detectors are easy to conceal, which means that you can take one everywhere you go.

2) Room Bug-Although you need a portable bug detector to protect yourself, the primary job of a spy is surveillance. In order to do this, you need to know what other people are talking about. The best way to accomplish this is with a room bug. You can place a room bug in any environment, and then listen to the conversation from a secure location. Because they can only be picked up by radio scanners, Ultra High Frequency (UHF) room bugs are your best option.
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Like most web developers or SEO professionals, I use a vast array of tools to get the job done. I use a combination of desktop and web applications, some purchased and some free. Everyone I know has downloaded a free copy of Mozilla Firefox, but few realize that by installing some of the 1,500 free extensions they can eliminate the need for most of the other applications they currently use. Below are my 13 favorite extensions for web professionals (in no particular order):

HTML Validator (http://users.skynet.be/mgueury/mozilla/) – validates web pages to the W3C HTML standards with a simple green check in the corner of the page if the page validates, a red check if it doesn’t, and a yellow exclamation point if there are warnings. It also includes an enhanced view of source code that allows you to see where errors are within the code.

FireFTP (https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/684/) – free, secure, cross-platform FTP client that provides easy and intuitive access to FTP servers. This eliminates a piece of software for those of you who use a separate program for FTP.

Professor X (https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/2823/) – lets you view header information without having to view source code. The page “slides” down and Professor X shows you the contents of the page’s head element, including Meta, Script and Style content.

NikkelWHOIS (https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/2646/) –view the WHOIS information for any page by clicking the button on the top-right of the browser.
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Filled Under: Software

People have more flexible time due to wireless network. Thanks to the invention of wireless. People can now work from home while taking care of their kids or doing house works. No more stress from traffic jam anymore. Is this great?

Well, there is something you should realize. Working from home while using a wireless local area network (WLAN) may lead to theft of sensitive information and hacker or virus infiltration unless proper measures are taken. As WLANs send information over radio waves, someone with a receiver in your area could be picking up the transmission, thus gaining access to your computer. They could load viruses on to your laptop which could be transferred to the company’s network when you go back to work.

Believe it or not! Up to 75 per cent of WLAN users do not have standard security features installed, while 20 per cent are left completely open as default configurations are not secured, but made for the users to have their network up and running ASAP. It is recommended that wireless router/access point setup be always done though a wired client.

You can setup your security by follow these steps:
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Filled Under: Network

Casino Games

The best way to refresh our mind when we are bored is by playing games, that’s completely my opinion. But that’s just the truth, every time I’m bored, stuck and could not continue to do any task, playing games is my solution. Whatever the game is, I could erase my pain and I could back to work again. When it comes to play a game, I have to talk about my favorite game; online casino games.

The reason I love playing online casino games in fact I could do it on daily basis is not only the simplicity but I could challenge other players on the internet. It’s like I could show off my ability in playing casino games to other people worldwide.
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Filled Under: Tips