Microsoft announces launch of Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2
Microsoft announced the release of Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 and unveiled new pricing details for the product.
The system is designed for SMBs, providing users with enhanced security through the “Green Check” of software health and automated patch and update services for all Microsoft Update supported products in the network and improved flexibility with increased mailbox limits (from 16 GB to 75 GB) to allow for greater e-mail storage. SBS 2003 R2 customers can also take advantage of new mobility benefits when integrating with Windows Mobile-based devices, such as direct push technology, which enables near real-time access to Outlook information, in addition to password policy management and remote device wipe to help ensure data protection.
For SBS 2003 R2 Premium Edition customers, SQL Server 2005 Workgroup Edition provides an integrated data management and reporting solution. With features such as Management Studio; import/export; limited replication publishing; and back-up log shipping, it is designed for organizations that need a full-size database.
The system will be available for purchase starting in August and will be priced at US$599 ERP and Premium Edition at US$1299 ERP. Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 will also be available pre-installed through OEMs including Dell, HP, Gateway and IBM.
Cisco Systems expands Adaptive Security Appliance family
Cisco Systems announced two models in its Cisco ASA 5500 Series Adaptive Security appliance family: the Cisco ASA 5505, a solution designed to defend small businesses, remote offices and enterprise teleworkers and the Cisco ASA 5550, which extends gigabit-class threat protection and scalable IPsec and Secure Sockets Layer virtual private network (SSL VPN) services to large business sites. The two products are core components of the Cisco Self-Defending Network and their proactive threat defense helps prevent attacks from spreading throughout corporate networks.
The Cisco ASA 5505 offers a number of capabilities into its compact desktop form factor. Designed for providing security services for next-generation broadband environments, it delivers 150 megabits per second (Mbps) of firewall throughput and 100 Mbps of encrypted VPN throughput. Also, the Cisco ASA 5505 can act as a hardware VPN client for simplified management. It offers hardware-accelerated SSL VPN services, an integrated eight-port 10/100 switch that supports the creation of multiple security zones and two built-in Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) ports.
The Cisco ASA 5550 offers firewall and IPsec/SSL VPN services to support large-enterprise network environments. It can deliver more than 1.2 gigabits per second (Gbps) of firewall throughput and supports 200 virtual local-area networks (VLANs), so businesses can segment a network into numerous high-performance zones for improved security. It also offers scalable VPN services, supporting as many as 5,000 IPsec and SSL VPN clients per appliance. Using its integrated VPN clustering and load-balancing capabilities, businesses can cluster up to 10 Cisco ASA 5550 appliances, supporting a maximum of 50,000 concurrent IPsec and SSL VPN users.
Exanet unveils fully integrated continuous data protection product for enterprise NAS
Exanet announced its Continuous Data Protection product, offering full integration with clustered NAS platforms. ExaStore CDP allows an organization to recover critical data by giving administrators access to a virtually infinite set of data recovery points.
ExaStore CDP offers replication with the ability to capture block-level changes on a continuous basis, reducing capacity requirements by capturing only the portion of the files that has changed. ExaStore CDP enables transfers to a secondary disaster recovery system, as well as a simple roll back to any known good recovery point before the event. In both cases, the system enables a full reconstruction of the data from the CDP image, in combination with a previously replicated copy of primary data.
ExaStore CDP will be available through Exanet partners worldwide at the end of the third quarter 2006.