Hard Disk Drives - Todays storages for desktops, laptops, servers

IDE or PATA

PATA (Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment) 
These hard disks used to be the standard for all desktop computers. You might know them better as IDE or EIDE drives. IDE and EIDE refer to the type of interface that is used to connect the hard disk to your computer.  It uses the underlying AT Attachment (ATA) and AT Attachment Packet Interface (ATAPI) standards. To connect, they use a 40 or 80 wire ribbon cable that connects to the motherboard inside your PC. As the PATA technology improved, more speed was needed and therefore more data transferred. This is why some disks use 40 wires and some use 80.  Parallel ATA cables have a maximum allowable length of only 18 in (457 mm). Because of this length limit the technology normally appears as an internal computer storage interface. You will also find smaller 2.5 inch IDE or PATA disks inside laptop computers too.

SATA Connector

SATA (Serial ATA) 
Compared to a PATA disk, the connections on the SATA ones are totally difference. That goes for the data connection as well as the power connector. In the computer industry, speed is the factor that most people crave. SATA disks were created to supply high amounts of data at very quick rates. The later models of PATA disks have a similar fast transfer rate, but the newer, slimmer design of the SATA drives allows for better use of technology and therefore provides quicker hard disks. Also, they use less power too, which is a requirement for most modern computers and operating systems. The advantage of the SATA is that it has the capability to provide point to point channel communication between mother board or the main board and the drive. Where as in the Parallel ATA that can be termed as the PATA the architecture of the master slave combination is supported on a single cable for the two drives it supports. The speed of the data transmission is about 1.5 giga bits per second or 150 mega bytes per second. This is a unidirectional. Eventually the SATA II was introduced in the year of 2003 that has the speed of about 3 giga bits per second or 300 mega bytes per second. The Parallel ATA hard disk drive uses the flat cable that has the width of around 18’’. But in the case of the Serial ATA a four wire cable is used that has a length of one meter.

SCSI

SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) 
The SCSI acronym stands for Small Computer Systems Interface and is pronounced "skuzzy". You could think that SCSI hard disks are similar to PATA one, but they differ in a few ways. The SCSI disks need a special controller to make them work. Where as a SATA or PATA drive will connect direct to the computer motherboard, this kind needs it's own controller to make them work. They both offer fast data transfer, but the SCSI models spin at a faster rate and are therefore quicker at sending and receiving data. It would be more common to find a SCSI hard disk inside a server rather than a desktop PC though. Their higher data rates and error correction capabilities make them perfect for using as part of a disk array. Although the SCSI type are considered to be more reliable, they also tend to wear out quicker due to the high speed that the disks spin at. SCSI is most commonly used for hard disks and tape drives, but it can connect a wide range of other devices, including scanners and CD drives. Up to 8 or 16 devices can be attached to a single bus.

Solid State Drive

SSD (Solid State Drives)
These drives are the future of computing storage - mainly because they have no moving parts. Conventional hard disks like the ones we have already discussed, consist of a spinning set of "platters" and a head that moves back and forth reading data as it spins past. The SSD drives are more akin to a USB memory stick and have no moving parts, therefore being more stable and less likely to break. In terms of a SSD, it refers to the fact that the primary storage medium is through semiconductors rather than a magnetic media such as a hard drive. The only downside with these disks at the moment is the price. As they are relatively new, the cost often outweighs the benefits.

This provides three distinct advantages:

·         Less Power Usage

·         Faster Data Access

·         Higher Reliability

4th Genearation Internet (4G) - will it change our lives?

Gone are the days when we use to wait for loading a single web page in internet browser. Now you got the improved technology, high-end computers and faster internet connection. Till today we were and still using 2G mobiles and mobile connections. But now in India we are moving slowly towards 3G (still far behind) than other countries, they are using 4G already. We will have to till mid 2012 (might more but not less) for 4G for us.

Imagine every device we will be using will have 4G in it, from anytime you will be connected to the internet from all types of electronics devices. For corporates 4G will help lot and will cut down the cost of traveling as well communication, its gonna definitely change our life.

Let's talk about how mobile broadband will change non-PC devices. Think about digital cameras and multimedia players. You will no longer have to download files to a computer, since these new devices can instantly connect to the Internet. It's like having a small computer contained within your portable gadget. This will also make GPS systems more reliable, as they can access live updates in real time

 The future is looking exciting! Best of all, you don't have to worry about paying insanely high prices for this technology. You can ask for Internet services and pay only for the Internet you use.

What change you want to see with 4G in you life...any guesses.

Please comment and share your ideas. Will 4G change the way we use our electronics devices today?

Internet Protocol Version 6 - IPv6

IPv6 or Internet Protocol Version 6 is the next generation protocol for the Internet. It's designed to provide several advantages over current Internet Protocol Version 4 (or IPv4). The main motivation for the redesign of the Internet Protocol was IPv4 address exhaustion, anticipated after the Internet experienced broad acceptance outside of the academic and research environments that created it. IPv6 is designed by IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) Both IPv6 and IPv4 define network layer protocol i.e., how data is sent from one computer to another computer over packet-switched networks such as the Internet.

Specifically, IPv6 contains addressing and control information to route packets for the next generation Internet. We believe that the expansion of the Internet is important and upgrades are sometimes warranted. Gathering information concerning every aspects of IPv6 we would hope to provide knowledge about this technology so everyone can benefit. It is therefore also called the Next Generation Internet Protocol .

IPv6 is documented in several RFCs (or request for comments) starting from RFC 2460. Although IPv6 is the successor of IPv4, both protocol versions will continue to be data-oriented protocols for the Internet in the coming years.

IPv4 uses 32 bits for an Internet Protocol address, and can support approximately 4 billion addresses, IPv6 uses a 128-bit address and the new address space supports 2¹²⁸ (3.4×1038) addresses.

IPv6 does not implement interoperability features with IPv4, and creates essentially a parallel, independent network. Exchanging traffic between the two networks requires special translator gateways, but modern computer operating systems implement dual-protocol software for transparent access to both networks.

IPv6 Categories:

IPv6 addresses are broadly classified into three categories:

1) Unicast addresses A Unicast address acts as an identifier for a single interface. An IPv6 packet sent to a Unicast address is delivered to the interface identified by that address.

2) Multicast addresses A Multicast address acts as an identifier for a group/set of interfaces that may belong to the different nodes. An IPv6 packet delivered to a Multicast address is delivered to the multiple interfaces. 

3) Anycast addresses Anycast addresses act as identifiers for a set of interfaces that may belong to the different nodes. An IPv6 packet destined for an Anycast address is delivered to one of the interfaces identified by the address.

IPv6 Address Notation 

IPv6 addresses are denoted by eight groups of hexadecimal quartets separated by colons in between them.

Following is an example of a valid IPv6 address: 2001:cdba:0000:0000:0000:0000:3257:9652 

Any four-digit group of zeroes within an IPv6 address may be reduced to a single zero or altogether omitted. Therefore, the following IPv6 addresses are similar and equally valid:

2001:cdba:0000:0000:0000:0000:3257:9652
2001:cdba:0:0:0:0:3257:9652
2001:cdba::3257:9652

The URL for the above address will be of the form:

http://[2001:cdba:0000:0000:0000:0000:3257:9652]/

IT Facility Management Services of MegaTech Infoserve

 In Facility management services (FMS) MegaTech Infoserve ensures that the customer’s equipments are in best operational condition and that they are receiving services in a prompt and organized manner. We offer Facility management services to organizations that choose to outsource their facility management operations in lieu of maintaining their own facility management personnel and resources. FMS can be customized according to requirement of the customers IT infrastructure and customer requirements, hence Service Level Agreement (SLA) for the same could be customized for maximum uptime and prompt services.  

IT Facilities Management Services involve an effective combination of people, process and tools to ensure that your IT infrastructure is always up and running. Catering to the 24x7 service demands on your IT infrastructure, we undertake complete responsibility of ensuring availability and performance of your IT Infrastructure as per SLA. Our services are backed by over immense domain experience in providing products and services to various industries.

     Services we offer are :

•  Program Management   
• Preventive Maintenance
• Help Desk Management
• Server / Systems Management
• Desktop Management
• Network (WAN & LAN) Management
• Database Management
• Application Support
• Mail Management
• Asset Management
• Data Center Management
  
  
  Benefits of MegaTech Infoserve’s Facility Management Services :

  
  

  Allows you to focus on your core business

  Reduced cost of operation

  Guaranteed accessibility of systems

  Better uptime of IT infrastructure

  Application and tools for immediate deployment

  Operational efficiency of your IT operations
  
  
  For Details contact at megatech.infoserve@gmail.com or call us @ +91 98222 71106

Next-generation cloud productivity - Cloud Power

Productivity

Office 365 helps connect people in new ways. Users get all the productivity benefits of Microsoft Office along with the power of cloud services. Work together in real time, both inside and outside your organization. See other users’ availability and make it easier to stay connected and take advantage of social networking capabilities to tap into the knowledge base of your organization.*

Access Anywhere

With Office 365 your people can more securely reach the information they need – including email, documents, contacts, and calendars – in the office or on the go. That means having a virtual office, virtually anywhere.

PC, Phone, Browser

Office 365 is designed to work with the software, devices, phones, and browsers already in your arsenal. This gives your workers the power to access information and stay productive across all means of access while maintaining security and still keeping your existing business applications.

Works with what you know

With Office 365 there is no need for you or your staff to learn new software and different tools. It’s the same Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Office applications you use every day – now powered by and working seamlessly with our cloud services.With Office 365 there is no need for users to learn different software and new tools. People use the same Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Office productivity applications they use every day – now powered by and working seamlessly with cloud services.

Key benefits:

• Only set of cloud-enabled tools designed to be fully compatible with Microsoft Outlook, Word, PowerPoint and Excel
• Office Web Apps for viewing, editing and sharing documents in a browser
• Familiar communications and collaboration tools help transform interactions with colleagues, customers and partners
• Simple-to-use IT administration tools with consistent UI across all services

D-link Access Point

Network security threats for 2011 - By Mark Underwood

Below mentioned list summarizes a modest list of security threats that are likely to be overlooked in the coming year. The list thus adds to the mélange of worry-mongering, but at least the scenarios are plainly labeled as worst case scenarios.

1. Insider threat
Millions of dollars can be spent on perimeter defenses, but a single employee or contractor with sufficient motivation can easily defeat those defenses. With sufficient guile, such an employee could cover his tracks for months or years. Firms such as Symantec Vontu have taken a further step and characterized the insider threat issue as "Data Loss Prevention" (DLP). Also in this category are attacks on intellectual property, which tend to be overlooked in favor of more publicized losses.

2. Tool bloat backlash
Recent TSA changes to airport security demonstrate that the public's appetite for security measures has limits. The same is true for network security. As demands for more and more tools taking an increasingly larger percent of the IT budget mount, backlash is inevitable. Many tools contribute to a flood of false positives and may never resist an actual attack. There is a network security equivalent of being overinsured.

3. Mobile device security
There's lots of talk about mobile device security, but despite prominent breaches employing wireless vectors, many enterprises haven't taken necessary precautions.

4. Low-tech threats
Addressing exotic threats is glamorous and challenging. Meeting ordinary, well-understood threats, no matter how widespread, is less interesting and is thus more likely to be overlooked. Sandboxes, "test subnets," and "test databases" all receive second class attention where security is concerned. Files synchronized to mobile devices, copied to USB sticks, theft of stored credentials, and simple bonehead user behaviors ("Don't click on that!") all fit comfortably into this category. Network administrators are unlikely to address low tech threats because more challenging tasks compete for their attention.

5. Risk management
Put backup and disaster recovery in this category, but for many, having servers with only one NIC card or relying upon aging, unmonitored switches and exposed cable routing are equally good use cases. Sadly, most organizations are not prepared to align risks with other business initiatives. To see where your organization stands in this area, consider techniques such as Forrester's Lean Business Technology maturity for Business Process Management governance matrix.

6. SLA Litigation
Expectations for service levels are on the rise, and competitive pressures will lead some firms to promise service levels that may not be attainable. Meanwhile, expectations for service levels by the public continue to rise.

7. Treacheries of scale
There will be the network management version of the Quantas QF32 near-disaster. Consequences of failure, especially unanticipated failure, increase as network automation is more centralized. Failure points and cascading dependencies are easily overlooked. For instance, do network management tools identify SPOF? A corollary is that economies of scale (read network scalability) lead directly to high efficiency threats - that is, risks of infrequent but much larger scale outages.

Exchange Online

Messaging is now a mission-critical application for business―but delivering a feature-rich messaging service is challenging. Regulatory requirements are becoming increasingly complex. Merger and divestiture activities require rapid adjustment of service capacity. Good technical expertise is in high demand. And the “buy versus build” economics are changing.

A compelling solution to this challenge is Microsoft_® Exchange Online, ¹ a Microsoft-hosted enterprise messaging service based on Microsoft Exchange Server 2007. Exchange Online helps deliver the messaging protection your company demands and the anywhere ²access employees want. Exchange Online leverages our knowledge of Microsoft products, best practices developed with customers and partners, and experience operating Microsoft internal corporate messaging to deliver a world-class, mission-critical service. Microsoft handles setup, provisioning, ongoing maintenance and upgrades of your Exchange Server infrastructure, reducing your team’s IT workload and freeing IT resources to focus on core strategic initiatives that move your business forward

Microsoft offers a comprehensive messaging solution with a simple per-user monthly fee. Key features include:

· 5 gigabytes (GB) mailbox allocated for each user; mailbox size configurable to 25 GB

· Shared calendar, contacts, and tasks

· Microsoft Office Outlook_® connectivity, including Outlook Anywhere

· Browser-based Outlook Web Access

· Cost-saving "deskless worker" licensing for employees who use a company PC on a limited basis

· Virus/spam filtering via Exchange Hosted Filtering

· Push e-mail for Windows Mobile_® 6.0/Windows Mobile 6.1 devices

· E-mail synchronization for Nokia E series and N series and iPhone 2.0 devices

· Built-in business continuity and disaster recovery capabilities

· 99.9% scheduled uptime with financially backed service level agreements

· HTTPS connections to help keep Internet access more secure

· 24/7 Web form and phone-based Tier-2 support for IT administrators

· Sign In application for single sign-on capability

· Directory Synchronization tool to synchronize on-premise and Microsoft Online Active Directories

· Coexistence capability so some users can be on mail servers on-premises while others use Microsoft Online mail services

· Migration tools to help move your current mailbox data into the online environment

· Available in 20 countries