SYSTEMS UPDATE Vol. 27 No. 5 SEP/OCT 2008 issue
MICA (P) 039/10/2008  ROC NO : 198102708D      

1. FIVE TIPS FOR SELECTING THE BEST MOBILE PRINTER
2. SAFENET SENTINEL UPDATE
3. DOING BACKUP ON WINDOWS 2008 SERVER
4. KVM SWITCH
5. MICRODOG ON PROMOTION
6. BACKING UP TO HARD DISKS

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1. FIVE TIPS FOR SELECTING THE BEST MOBILE PRINTER

Mobile printers have proven that they can increase productivity, reduce operating costs, improving cash flow and revenues, and enhance customer retention in a competitive market. But not all mobile printing solutions succeed. Some fail to provide the expected gains in productivity because of excessive downtime related to difficult operation, cumbersome maintenance, poor reliability. Some fail to provide projected returns because expenses associated with deployment, operation, and maintenance erodes cost savings.

These basic printer selection criteria are :

- Ease of use. Printers that impede the mobile workflow because they are inconvenient or difficult to use will limit productivity gains.

- Reliability. A printer that fails to operate as required or expected will limit productivity and will increase the total cost of a mobile solution.

- Power management technology. How long a printer battery lasts between charges affects both worker productivity and costs of ownership. Battery life is determined more by how well the printer manages power usage than by the battery capability.

- Ease of integration. Underestimating the complexity of printer integration can drive up the cost of implementation, eroding the returns a mobile printer can provide.

- Customer support. The level of support available from the printer supplier - both before and after the purchase - can greatly affect total cost of ownership (TCO) and ROI. A mobile printer supplier who is a partner in mobilizing workers, not merely a hardware manufacturer, offers the best chance for success in any given application.

See : http://www.printek.com/PDF/WhitePaper_5Tips_72006.pdf

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2. SAFENET SENTINEL UPDATE

SafeNet has updated Superpro 6.6 (Windows) and the Sentinel Protection Installer 7.5.0 (Windows). The SuperPro 6.6 includes protection against Device Sharing and Password Counter to prevent brute force attack. The Sentinel Protection Installer 7.5.0 includes support for Windows Vista (32 bit and 64 bit) and support for WIX Installer.

See : http://www.sysdgn.com.sg/newsletter/0810/sentinel.html

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3. DOING BACKUP ON WINDOWS 2008 SERVER

The Windows 2008 Server is quite different from the earlier versions especially on backup. First of all, it does not support tape drives. That means, it cannot backup to tape drives. It can backup to internal disk, external USB drive or Network Shares (NAS). The format is VHD (Virtual Hard Disk). It holds the entire virtual operating system and the application stack in a single file. Recovery of the server is by booting up the Windows Server 2008 DVD and the backup disk. For users upgrading to Windows 2008 Server, the backup configuration will need to be carefully evaluated.

See: http://www.sysdgn.com.sg/newsletter/0810/microsoft.html

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4. KVM SWITCH

KVM (an abbreviation for Keyboard, Video or Visual Display Unit and Mouse) is a device that allows a user from one set of keyboard, video and mouse control different servers and/or PCs. The trick is to switch these k, v and m from one server to another by selecting the server. The big advantage is the saving of space and ease of moving from one server to another. Most data processing centre have installed such KVM switches. For the smaller users, this should come in handy if there are two or more servers deployed.

See : http://www.sysdgn.com.sg/newsletter/0810/kvm.html

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5. MICRODOG ON PROMOTION

SafeNet and Systems Design has been running a series of advertisements from end September 2008 in Digital Life on application software protection from $19. Digital Life is a supplement that comes with Straits Times and published on every Wednesday. During this period, the SDK (Software Development Kit) will cost only $19 instead of the usual $100. The SDK has all the tools to assist the developer to protect the application software including the shell program and the key. In addition, any technical assistance using the SDK will be provided free of charge. The promotion ends on 31 December 2008.

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6. BACKING UP TO HARD DISKS\

With the price of hard disk plummeting, some users are considering doing backup to hard disks instead of tapes. A 500GB USB drive today costs about $200. To start off, it is good practice to have two USB drives - just in case one fails. For tape backup, there is something known as previous generation. So, a backup script has to be written so that the backup file is stored alternatively in different drives. A naming convention has to be setup so that one look at the directory or filename, the user can tell the backup date and time. A periodic copy (may be monthly or quarterly) has to be stored away from the two drives. This can be in the form of DVD if the files are small or probably another external drive if the files are bigger than 4GB. There are utilities to write to multiple DVDs if the size is greater than 4GB.

Whatever the media of backup is, the important thing to remember most is that in the event of the operational hard disk crash, the user is able to recover from the backup media with little hassle.
 

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