The article will provide a reader with information on how Cisco can offer TelePresence benefits.

Shafkat Shahzad, M.Sc – Senior Technical Content Manager

Use the Power of In-Person Collaboration
How do you promote bigger ideas and better innovation? Make it easy for your experts to put their heads together. Cisco TelePresence offers the easiest, most dynamic way for dispersed teams to get together. It’s where talent and technology meet.

Not only can you bring experts together to solve problems on the fly, but you can also use the power of TelePresence to unify your supply chain, provide highly engaged customer service, train remote teams, and more. Think beyond the boardroom. Transform your business processes with Cisco TelePresence.
Cisco TelePresence helps you:
Make the Best Use of Employee Time
Frequent video participants report saving at least two hours weekly, with one-third reporting at least one day saved per week.Telepresence solutions have helped them save money, improve work-life balance, increase their competitive advantage, and bring people closer together.
Speed Decision Making
Accelerate business-critical decision making, shorten sales cycles, reduce time to market, and create new forums for collaboration.
Cut Travel Costs
Many customers reduce their business travel by 30 percent or more when implementing TelePresence. In fact, the cost of two international business trips will pay for a video conferencing system. Trygvesta, a large Nordic insurance company with 2 million customers, reduced travel from 180 to 130 trips per month, saving at least $120,000.
Consider the Opportunity Costs
The true cost of travel is not just a plane ticket and hotel. Time on the road could be spent being more productive, bringing new products to market, reducing repair time, or meeting with more clients. Use the Business Advantage Calculator to see how video can benefit your business in particular.
Transform Business Processes
TelePresence makes it easy for teams to collaborate, innovate, and resolve issues. Now you can bring those benefits to customer service, supply chain management, and training; redefine best practices; and accelerate ROI even more.

Be Greener
Here is another way to reduce CO2 emissions: 100 employees using video once a week instead of commuting would save the equivalent of a forest the size of five football fields.

The Business Value of Telepresence
Organizations the world over are experiencing the transformational impact of faster decision making, stronger working relationships, cost control and improved productivity delivered by Cisco TelePresence.

Not Just for the Boardroom
Telepresence is no longer just for the boardroom. What once was thought of as a technology out of reach for many is more accessible than ever. The innovative applications and ways that people are now using the technology are endless.

Transform your Business
Video and telepresence are known to scale knowledge, unify the organization and provide better work/life balance for employees. With Cisco TelePresence, you can…
• Reduce travel costs—HSBC saved US$604K in one month.
• Make decisions faster—Statoil resolved issues in weeks not months.
• Transform your business—Volkswagen cut repair times in half.
• Be greener—Telekom Austria saved 2,000 days in business trips.

After reading the article a user would have learnt about the Telepresence benefits that Cisco can present.

By Matt Bentley,

The other very common way to limit debug output that Cisco has provided to us is a condition. This is commonly used for interfaces and with IPsec. For example, if you wanted to enable a broad debug for a specific IPsec/crypto peer, you would enable a debug crypto condition to match that peer first, and then enable the broad debug. Rather than applying to all IPsec peers, that broad debug then applies only to that specific peer.

As you might guess, you’re going to want to use a fair amount of caution when removing a condition if you leave the original broad debug in place! You can see what debug conditions are running with the “show debug condition” command. For an interface, you can apply a condition that only enables the debug for traffic transiting the interface whose condition you specify.

Depending on how worried you are about losing access to a device when running a CPU-intensive debug, you can set a timed reload, or perhaps open another session, and have the ‘undebug all output’ command typed so all you have to do is hit enter on the second terminal session to stop things. It’s nice to know you’ve got some options here!

Another thing to keep in mind with debugs is that in general, a debug is only going to show information about data/decisions that hit the CPU of the router. If something is truly being switched in hardware, it may be difficult to see it. This is why it’s generally a lot harder to use debugs effectively on a switch. Switches will more often use a SPAN session to mirror traffic passing through the switch to another port, for further analysis with a tool like Wireshark. But, that is a different discussion altogether.

So now that you have a solid handle on why debugs are useful, how to log the data from them, as well as a few of their basic features and caveats, we can look at some of the most commonly used debugs. As always, the best debug is going to depend on what issue you’re seeing and what you’re trying to find out.

One commonly used debug is the “debug ip routing” command. This debug is going to show you why a router is changing the routing table. Don’t get confused here and think that this command will show you every packet routed through the router. That’s a different command we’ll cover later.
Debug ip routing shows why the router is changing the routing table. For example, let’s say you are learning a certain destination prefix (1.2.3.4/32) via both OSPF and EIGRP. For some reason, the OSPF route is taking precedence, and you want to know why. The debug ip routing command is just the ticket. It’s going to show you exactly when and why the routing table is being changed for 1.2.3.4/32.

Another great debug is the debug ip packet command. This is the command that will show you every packet passing through the router. One caveat here is that for anything to show up in a debug, it’s got to have to hit the CPU! So, if you have a mechanism like route-cache or CEF turned on for the input interface of the traffic you are interested in, you are not going to see it. You will need to disable that temporarily.

I should note here that you want to do this with some deference. In general, it’s not going to cause an issue but it is something to be aware of. This command is a great time to use one of the conditions we spoke about earlier to limit the impact. Otherwise, you have the potential that the router is going to try to print every single packet of output to the location you’ve specified it to go. And unless there isn’t a lot of traffic at all, this will cause some serious problems!

Another couple of good debugs are “debug crypto ipsec” and “debug crypto isakmp”. Both are related to – you guessed it – crypto! Usually this means VPN tunnels, but anything you configure with a crypto command in the running-configuration is generally going to be picked up here. ISAKMP includes Phase 1 negotiation and IPSEC includes Phase 2 negotiation – so be aware of this. Again, if you have a ton of IPsec tunnels, a crypto condition matching the specific peer you are interested in prior to enable the isakmp/ipsec debugs is something you will want to consider.

Another good debug is “debug ip bgp”. There are a whole host of sub-options beyond debug ip bgp – but in general this will show information about BGP routing updates being sent/received for a given prefix. As BGP is the most widely used and easily has the most complex metric of any routing protocol you can configure on a router, this can be an invaluable troubleshooting tool after you’ve banged your head up against why a certain route isn’t showing up, when you know it should.

One other good thing to remember when you’re searching for the perfect debug command: Cisco likes to hide some of the really great ones under the “debug ip” subcontainer. OSPF is one such example. If you do a “debug os” and don’t see anything, you will find it under the “debug ip ospf” container. Again, I can’t really stress how much you need to use the question mark when first using the Cisco debug capability. There is simply no way you can remember them all.

After you have enabled a debug, one of the first things you might want to check is whether or not the CPU of the router has changed significantly in the past few seconds. If it is doing OK, you can probably be pretty well assured that everything is going to be just fine.

The debug spanning-tree commands are very helpful when troubleshooting instability relating to spanning-tree. I should note that exceptional care and caution should be used when enabling these debugs, as it is pretty easy to lock yourself out of the router since it prints out so much debug output.
For example, if you have 300 VLANs configured, each of which is receiving and/or sending a BPDU every 2 seconds, this is a tremendous amount of output. This is another classic example of a time when you’d want to use a debug condition to limit the output such as “debug condition vlan xx” for the specific VLAN you are interested in. Debug spanning-tree bpdu shows the information that the spanning-tree algorithm uses to decide what ports will be root versus designated versus blocking, the spanning-tree root selection, and a whole host of other data.

By Matt Bentley.

Many people shy away from enabling debugging of any kind on a Cisco router. As usual, the reason for shying away from something is lack of understanding. This article attempts to provide an objective look at debugging, listing the risks and how to minimize them, as well as some commonly used debug commands.

A common misconception about debugs is that in order to use them, you have to completely understand them. Fortunately, getting something useful from the majority of debugs available on a Cisco router isn’t rocket science. Perhaps the best explanation I have heard about debugs recommended thinking of them as an intern pouring over the blueprints for the rocket and trying to see if he can find anything that looks slightly abnormal.

Then, with some constructive Googling, it is usually not all that difficult to get yourself pointed in the right direction.

Debugs really give you a look “under the hood” as to what the router is doing. Rather than waiting and hoping that the route finally shows up, or the tester on the conference bridge tells you it’s working now, a debug can allow you to see everything.

A lot of engineers execute a change on a device, and then wait and wonder what the router is doing. Debugging often shows the logic and coding of the router at work as it takes incoming information and performs certain actions based on that. You can get a much better idea as to why something is happening and how to get what you want to happen occur.

Since the level of debugging is in such great detail, of key importance is to make sure you are enabling the right debugs so you get the information you need. Turning on too many debugs makes it impossible to go through the information. You want to be as specific as possible when you turn on debugs, for both performance and ease of interpretation purposes.

Before we get into turning on debugs, we should first look at how to minimize any potential impact turning on a debug might have – because it can have some unintended consequences if you are not careful. For a deeper look into debugging routers, check out the CCNA certification course offered by Intense School.

With debugs, you obviously need a place to see the information generated by the debug. Where this is depends on where the router is configured to print the debug output. They include the console port (if you are connected to the router via the console), the VTY/AUX lines, to a syslog server, and to the buffer of the router.

When choosing where you want the debug output to go, you should remember a couple things. Is to the destination going to prevent you from turning it off? For example, if you’re connected via a console port, and you enable a debug that prints every frame passing through the router, it’s likely going to be very difficult for you to turn off that debug. You will also leave yourself wide open to potentially affecting production traffic – and that is never a good thing.

Secondly, is the destination going to allow you to review it later? A scrolling debug is great, but if your logging buffer wraps after 200 lines, you’re likely not going to be able to get a good idea of what is going on, especially given the amount of output some debugs are capable of generating.
As a general rule, the debug output will go to one of two places: either the logging buffer of the router (visible with the “Show log” command) or a syslog server.

If you choose the logging buffer option, you want to make sure of two things. First, the logging buffer level should be set to debugging. By default, a Cisco router will only send messages of a certain severity generated by the router to the logging buffer. Also, you want to make sure your buffer is big enough. There is a single command that can set both of these options – Logging buffered debugging. The default severity sent to the syslog server is XX.

If you are going to send the output to a syslog server, you must use the “logging trap debugging” command. Otherwise, only XX severity messages get sent to the syslog. Again, you should be aware here that it requires CPU cycles for the router to package up all the output into IP frames and get it off to the syslog. Be wary if you are enabling debugs with exceptionally large amounts of data.
With all this being said, enabling a debug is actually not all that difficult. As you might guess, switching on a debug occurs with the word “debug” on the router. All this is done from privileged mode – you don’t want to be in config mode when you do this. The honest truth is that highly experienced engineers have a few debug commands they have memorized, but remember: the question-mark is your friend!

The hierarchical nature of the Cisco configuration commands is fairly closely mirrored in the debugs. For example, you might debug why a static route (e.g. “ip route” command) isn’t getting installed with the “debug ip routing” command. Find a command you think will work and maybe the first time you use it, do some strategic Googling to see if there are big warnings on Cisco’s website about that causing extreme CPU load, for example. Cisco even puts out an entire debug command reference which you should be able to find for the version of IOS you are running.

When enabling debugs, Cisco has fortunately given us a couple of good ways to limit the impact and amount of data generated by what would otherwise be significantly taxing commands. These options are not available on most debugs, but are there for some of the most commonly used ones. Perhaps the two main ones are access-lists and conditions.

Access-lists are pretty straightforward: you define the specific component of the larger debug you are interested in, and the router displays only information for the debug for that specific component. For example, if you are trying to see how a router is routing packets to a specific destination, you would first define the prefix you are interested in – let’s say destination 1.2.3.4 – in an access-list. Then, you match that access-list in the debug command. It would look something like this:

access-list 1 permit 1.2.3.4
debug ip packet 1

In today’s dynamic market, organizations are looking to cloud and managed services to accelerate growth and lower costs. But not all services are equal. How do you decide who to trust for the performance, reliability, and security you need?

Shafkat Shahzad, M.Sc – Senior Technical Content Manager

When you rely on Cisco Powered, the industry standard for cloud and managed services, you know:

• Your services are built and delivered on proven, Cisco validated architectures

• Your provider has met strict qualifications for delivering Cisco Powered services

• Every service you consume has been third-party audited Accelerate Your Business Count on Cisco Powered cloud and managed services to help you accelerate business with agile services designed to complement your existing capabilities. Why Cisco Powered Save Time with Best-in-Class Services Enable employees to collaborate and work the way they want with industry-leading cloud services for hosted collaboration, infrastructure as a service, and managed services.

Services Portfolio Partner with the Best Providers offering Cisco Powered services meet rigorous certification criteria. Their Cisco Powered services are audited by an independent third party to assure they meet Cisco’s configuration and performance standards. Accelerate Your Business When choosing cloud or managed services to complement your premises-based solutions, you want to be sure that the technology powering your services leads the industry in performance and scalability.

Cisco Powered services give your organization the agility to blend cloud and managed services with premises-based solutions. This way, you can efficiently implement and consume new services without diverting your focus from your core business. No other cloud and managed services offerings bring together best-in-class technology and market leadership with: • Proven Cisco validated architectures • Rigorous partner certifications • Third-party audits of provider solutions and services • Documented scalability through independently-validated architecture tests • End-to-end security: from network, to data center, to applications • A company wide and partner commitment to open standards • One of the highest percentages of R&D investment-to-revenue Quickly adapt to business changes, accelerate your business opportunities, and meet or exceed the performance of on-premises solutions with Cisco Powered services.

Faster Time to Value Flexibility in selecting and consuming new services is essential to growing your business. Cisco Powered services help you minimize the complexity of the entire technology lifecycle with easier service procurement and activation, faster and broader adoption, higher productivity. Assured Performance When you choose Cisco Powered services, your business and IT organizations are able to collaborate to ensure that your services deliver the capabilities and performance necessary to enhance productivity. Ease of deployment and flexible provisioning make it possible to scale the services as your organization changes, and at the pace of your business. Continuous Innovation By keeping you connected with leading technology, Cisco Powered services give you a powerful advantage over your competition.

In addition to minimizing your upfront investment, you can more quickly and cost-effectively scale services and benefit from new capabilities than if you had to build out your own infrastructure. Superior Expertise Partners offering Cisco Powered cloud and managed services undergo rigorous certification and a third-party audit of their solutions. Your services will be deployed over proven architectures with superior levels of professional service, security, and support. The partner certification criteria and process includes validating the availability of 24-hour support, ITIL certification, and deployment of Cisco validated reference architectures.

The article will provide a reader with information on Cisco RV220W Network Security Firewall.
High-Performance, Highly Secure Connectivity for the Small Office
The Cisco® RV220W Network Security Firewall lets small offices enjoy secure, reliable, wired and wireless, broadband connectivity – to the Internet, other offices, and employees working remotely. This high-performance wireless router helps improve productivity by providing fast access to the large files and rich media applications your employees use every day.

Shafkat Shahzad, M.Sc – Senior Technical Content Manager

Designed to provide greater flexibility for highly secure, remote connections, the RV220W supports both IP Security (IPsec) and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) VPN, often referred to as hybrid VPN. IPsec VPN enables other offices to connect just as if they were physically connected to the primary business network. SSL VPN, which allows secure connections through any web browser, is application-specific, offering a means of extending controlled access to business partners and others, without compromising critical data.
To help further safeguard your network and data, the Cisco RV220W includes business-class security features and optional cloud-based Web filtering. Setup is simple, using a browser-based configuration utility and wizards.

Features
• High-performance Gigabit Ethernet connections, internally and externally, plus a built-in wireless-N access point, speeds file transfers to improve productivity
• 4-port 10/100/1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet switch
• Selectable, dual-band wireless radio helps reduce interference to improve wireless performance
• Hybrid VPN (IPsec and SSL VPN) features enable secure access for other offices, employees working remotely, and business partners
• Proven firewall, support for separate virtual networks, and strong wireless security help protect the network and business assets
• Intuitive, browser-based device manager with setup wizards makes installation and use easy
Cisco Limited Lifetime Warranty for Cisco Small Business Products
This Cisco Small Business product comes with a limited lifetime hardware warranty with return to factory replacement and a 1-year limited warranty for fans and/or power supplies. In addition, Cisco offers telephone technical support at no charge for the first 12 months following the date of purchase and software bug fixes, as available, for the warranty term. Product warranty terms and other information applicable to Cisco products are available at www.cisco.com/go/warranty.
Cisco Services
Cisco Small Business products are supported by professionals in Cisco Small Business Support Center locations worldwide who are specifically trained to understand your needs. The Cisco Small Business Support Community, an online forum, enables you to collaborate with your peers and reach Cisco technical experts for support information.
Cisco Small Business Support Service
The optional Cisco Small Business Support Service offers affordable, 3-year peace-of-mind coverage. This subscription-based, device-level service helps you protect your investment and derive maximum value from Cisco Small Business products. Delivered by Cisco and backed by your trusted partner, this comprehensive service includes software updates, extended access to the Cisco Small Business Support Center, and expedited hardware replacement, should it be required.

After reading the article, a user would have gained knowledge about Cisco RV220W Network Security Firewall

Many critics and consumers have come out proclaiming Sony’s latest phone to be the greatest or among the best developed of all time. With a redeveloped android suite and boasting significant power, the phone is easily one of the best on the market at this moment in time. The specs on the Xperia Z make even better reading-so let’s take a look.
Specs:

•1080p full HD 5-inch screen.
•2gb ram
•16gb built in storage. Supports micro-SD cards.
•CPU: 1.5 GHz quad-core Krait (1.5 GHz Qualcomm APQ8064+MDM9215M Quad Core)
•13.mp camera. 1080p recording for all videos.
•Shatterproof and waterproof. Slimline design-weighs 146grams.
•Has built in audio jack (3.5mm), supports all major connectivity’s and supports latest android jellybean software.

The Xperia Z is a gloriously sleek looking phone. Perhaps the most remarkable technical feat of the phone is the ram. Let’s put that in perspective; the Playstation 3 supports 256 mb ram. The new Sony PS Vita handheld has a meagre 512mb ram. Obviously a phone will do more and support multiple programmes simultaneously at once. The ram on the Xperia Z is nearly double that of the latest Iphone 5. In fact specs-wise, the Xperia Z betters the latest Iphone in just about every way. Regardless if you are using your phone for basic SMS and calls, or for browsing the ‘net and play on websites like Bingogodz, the Xperia Z promises to deliver.

What is really good about the Xperia Z? It boasts convenience and quality. Being shatterproof, waterproof and powerful at the same time makes it a convenient phone considering the damage that phones incur. Combining looks, power and convenience, it makes a good sale to those that are heavily reliant on phones.

The camera is particularly good for a mobile phone bridging the gap ever further between phones and digital cameras. There is a front camera also but stands at 2.2mp. However, it supports 1080p video recording which is good for 2.2mp quality videos.

The android apps and software run smoothly. Multiple apps can be run at once and switched at once also with a button highlighting each app in use. This smooth transition between apps ensures a seamless experience.

Overall from the brief outlay of how the Xperia Z works, I would say that the phone is technologically advanced for a phone with its powerful ram in particular a technical feat. It is arguably the best phone on the market available and one in which combines beauty and power.

The Xperia Z, powerful, beautiful and waterproof?

The Cisco 4451-X Integrated Services Router revolutionizes the delivery of application-aware services in a branch-office environment. This new member of the Cisco ISR Family provide extensive Layer 7 services hosted internally to the branch office while maximizing operating expenses(OpEx) savings.

Shafkat Shahzad, M.Sc – Senior Technical Content Manager

The Cisco 4451-X offers a multicore CPU architecture running modular Cisco IOS® XE Software that dynamically adapts to the changing needs of your branch-office environment. The separation of the control and data planes provides the ability to deliver application-aware network services while maintaining a stable platform and a high level of performance during periods of heavy network load. With the ability to integrate application-aware services and the ability to scale performance without a complete equipment upgrade, the Cisco 4451-X offers exceptional total cost of ownership (TCO) savings and network agility through the intelligent integration of market-leading security, unified communications, and application services.
The Cisco 4451-X offers encryption acceleration, voice- and video-capable architecture, application firewall, call processing, and embedded services. In addition, the platform supports a range of wired connectivity options such as T1/E1, T3/E3, and fiber Gigabit Ethernet. This platform offers superior performance and flexibility for network deployments across large enterprise offices.
Key Business Benefits
Cisco ISRs provide superior services integration and agility. Designed for scalability, the modular architecture of this platform enables you to evolve and adapt with your growing business needs. Table 1 lists the business benefits of the Cisco 4451-X.
Platform Architecture and Modularity
The Cisco 4451-X is architected to meet the application demands of today’s branch offices with design flexibility for future applications. The modular architecture is designed to support increasing bandwidth requirements, time-division multiplexing (TDM) connections, and fully integrated power distribution to modules supporting IEEE 802.3af Power over Ethernet (PoE) and 802.3at PoE Plus (PoE+). Table 2 lists the architectural features and benefits of the Cisco 4451-X.
Cisco IOS XE Software
The Cisco 4451-X delivers innovative technologies running on industry-leading Cisco IOS XE Software. Cisco IOS XE Software is designed to provide modular packaging, feature velocity, and powerful resiliency. Developed for wide deployment in the world’s most demanding enterprise, access, and service provider networks, Cisco IOS XE Software releases support a comprehensive portfolio of Cisco technologies. New innovations span multiple technology areas, including security, voice, high availability, IP Routing, IP Multicast, quality of service (QoS), IP Mobility, Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), VPNs, and embedded management.

The Cisco 4451-X enables a full range of existing and emerging video services, with scaling improvement to support Cisco TelePresence® conferencing, security, and session control. Cisco Unified Border Element extends these capabilities for business-to-business telepresence communications.
The Cisco 4451-X supports the new Cisco High-Density Packet Voice Digital Signal Processor Module (PVDM4), which has been optimized for concurrent voice and video support. The PVDM4 modules support all voice-gateway functions of earlier generations of PVDMs, and add higher density and more processing power to support emerging rich-media applications. The Cisco 4451-X supports one onboard ISC slot supporting one PVDM4 module.

Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express and Survivable Remote Site Telephony
The Cisco ISRs inherently provide optional unified communications services within the Cisco IOS Software, delivering the advantage of server hardware reduction and lower energy costs at the branch office. Cisco Unified Communications Manager Express (CME) provides the broad range of IP private-branch-exchange (PBX) and key-system features integrated into the router for branch offices. Cisco Survivable Remote Site Telephony (SRST), also inherently available in Cisco IOS Software and an option on the Cisco 4451-X, helps ensure that branch-office employees have uninterrupted telephony services and features, even if the connection to a centralized Cisco Unified Communications Manager is disrupted.

As a small business owner, getting the most out of your limited IT infrastructure is paramount. Certainly at a time when faced with a real catch 22 situation, that of IT budgets shrinking but the need for IT increasing as online visibility means everything to enterprise as a lead generation tool. This is increasingly prevalent today, in an era of digital media, simply because professional and social lives are being transformed by the power of technology.

It is here that innovative business leaders are finding competitive advantages for their online businesses through cutting-edge IT outsourcing. This enables them to be seen and heard above competitors in their industry, responsive to customers’ needs and instinctive to fluctuating market patterns.

To achieve this they deploy virtual servers that run VMware or similar software solutions. These optimised virtualisation infrastructures provide the following exponential benefits:

1) Consolidating IT infrastructure within a VMware environment reduces server sprawl and creates platform dependency that drives a holistic approach to operational workflow, collaboration and stakeholder empowerment.

2) Keeps control of your own hardware and software dependencies in a virtual capacity by accessing operating systems, applications and hardware across resilient, high-speed networks that are performance optimised at all times.

3) Reduces the TCO of hardware, energy bills and resource overheads that can burn IT budgets rapidly. With a virtual server infrastructure, workload optimisation can be maintained without the expense of traditional IT outlay.

4) Improves the reliability and scalability of your businesses service. Establishing process continuity through a virtual environment that scales operations around the capabilities of IT. All without downtime, performance bottlenecks, security breaches, etc.

5) Delivers a flexible approach to virtualisation that your unique business needs to facilitate every type of stakeholder. Building an IT infrastructure around VMware and virtual hosting creates a fluid yet resilient online platform for your needs as a dedicated platform.

6) In conjunction with an optimised hardware stack, VMware provides the most robust software solution for server consolidation. One that is unsurpassed for speed, agility and functionality for total end-user confidence.

7) Integrating VMware SaaS with a virtual server PaaS via a reputable hosting provider, delivers best in class IaaS. Hosted VMware offers a single point of control as opposed to running complex, often conflicting multi-vendor deployments.

8) Managing a single point, single vendor approach to virtualisation enables a business to accelerate provisioning of services and operational performance around informed personnel and dedicated expertise. This enables you to concentrate on other roles and responsibilities.

9) Outsourcing IT to a virtual infrastructure maximises workflow efficiency. In conjunction with VMware, your business can maintain performance scalability around an ever-available service, whatever the constraints on budget, resources and time.

10) Customisable and automated, VMware maintains the constant upkeep of a virtual environment, minimising downtime, reducing the impact of migrations and dynamically governing server resources so that they aren’t wasted on repetitive tasks.

With an optimised online platform, visionary leaders are taking their businesses forward with next-generation technologies that increase the ability to stay ahead of the curve (competition, customers, and regulators.) VMware is the most powerful virtualisation software for this task, optimally provisioning cutting-edge servers, networks and storage capacity. Running an optimised virtual server with VMware reduces administration overheads greatly, thus improving dramatically performance workflow around a consolidated, virtual IT stack.

Virtual machines provide complete systems integration of operating systems and software applications that need to run multiple workloads for multi-disciplinary purposes, all at the same time. They need to do so without disruption or downtime. It is here that VMware vastly improves the scalability of business operations through a simplified virtual infrastructure, single point of control, accelerated provisioning tools and automated processing. All of which maximises ROI that is so critical to SME longevity in challenging economic times.

Single Point Setup provides a unique centralized method to administer and manage the Cisco WAP121 Wireless-N Access Point with Single Point Setup and Cisco WAP321 Wireless-N Selectable-Band Access Point with Single Point Setup. Using one access point on a network of multiple WAP121 or WAP321 access points, Single Point Setup provides a single view of the whole WLAN to replicate configuration, security, and management across all access points. Once a wireless cluster is created, Single Point Setup facilitates channel planning across the wireless network, reducing radio interference and increasing bandwidth and performance.

Shafkat Shahzad, M.Sc – Senior Technical Content Manager

Single Point Setup Benefits
 ● Configure, manage, and better secure the wireless network from a single point rather than configuring each access point individually; this can save time and money for both network setup and maintenance
 ● With a web-based GUI and setup wizard, configuring a single access point and propagating the configuration to all the networked access points is further simplified and can even be done remotely. This means setup and administration of the WLAN can be performed from home, a remote office, or while on the road
 ● Expand the WLAN quickly and easily as your capacity requirements change and evolve, reducing operational costs
 ● No additional hardware or software is required to manage your wireless network, reducing capital investment
 ● Channel planning is also managed within a cluster, reducing radio interference and increasing bandwidth and coverage for optimal network performance
 ● Group up to four access points with the WAP121 and up to eight access points on the WAP321. Mixing a cluster of WAP121 and WAP321 access points is not possible today, but separate clusters easily integrate and interoperate on the wireless LAN. This can enable the implementation of advanced features such as secure guest access in one area with WAP321, while using the more basic WAP121 elsewhere for more simple functionality and lower cost.

Cisco Single Point Setup is a simple, multi-device management technology that allows you to deploy and manage a group of WAP121 or WAP321 Access Points as if it was a single access point. This can save staff time and can ensure the wireless configuration is consistent across all access points in the group.

Single Point Setup is easy to enable. It can be accessed through the web-based, Configuration Wizard or by going to the “Clustering” menu option in the access point device GUI. Simply check the “Enable” box and add the “cluster” name. The cluster name prevents random access points from joining the cluster.

Additional access points can easily join an existing cluster. Simply utilize the web-based wizard on the individual access points to join an existing cluster. When enabled, channel management allows for optimization of the channel plan among the access points within a cluster. The access points can automatically change channels if a there is an opportunity to improve signal quality. This can be done automatically or at a defined schedule to minimize any impact to business.

The article will provide a reader with information on Cisco’s small business 100 series wireless access points including features and Cisco WAP121 Wireless-N Access Point with Single Point Setup.

Shafkat Shahzad, M.Sc – Senior Technical Content Manager

Cisco Small Business 100 Series Wireless Access Points combine business-class features with the reliability and performance needed for small business networks. The Single Point Setup feature makes deployment of multiple access points easy and cost effective.

They offer:
• Simplicity: Access points offer easy installation, intuitive web-based configuration, and integrated Setup Wizard.
• Fast, highly secure Wireless-N connectivity: Standards-based 802.11n enhances throughput and range for bandwidth-intensive applications.
• High-speed LAN connectivity: Fast Ethernet LAN interfaces help enable quicker downloads and also support bandwidth-intensive applications.
• Expandability: Using client bridge mode, expand a wired network wirelessly to a second Ethernet network at high speed.
• Scalability: Expand your wireless coverage by deploying multiple access points using Single Point Setup controllerless technology.
Cisco Small Business 100 Series Wireless Access Points also offer native support for IPv6, and a standards-based design that helps to ensure compatibility with other Ethernet or wireless devices. Integrated Power over Ethernet (PoE) simplifies deployment of access points, IP phones, IP cameras, and other network devices without a nearby power outlet or the cost of installing additional outlets.

Other benefits include:
• Energy efficiency: Energy-Efficient Ethernet and the power-saving radio scheduler help significantly cut power consumption.
• Highly secure guest access: Access points support separate “virtual” networks.
• Superior quality of service (QoS): Access points prioritize network traffic.
• Cisco Limited Lifetime Hardware Warranty: Get protection for your investment

Cisco Small Business 100 Series Wireless Access Points: Features
Enhanced Coverage, Security, etc.

With high-speed Wireless-N connectivity, Cisco Small Business 100 Series Wireless Access Points provide up to 10 times the coverage and 15 times the speed of Wireless-G networks. Small businesses can deploy wireless coverage over large areas with point-to-point and point-to-multipoint bridging using a wireless distribution system (WDS), or add more access points to expand the wireless coverage area using Single Point Setup controllerless technology.
The access points also offer advanced business-class security features to fortify your WLAN with Wi-Fi Protected Access II (WPA2), rogue access point detection, and 802.1X with RADIUS authentication.

Other features include:
• Backward compatibility with 802.11b, and 802.11g network devices
• Integrated Power over Ethernet for lower deployment costs and easier installation
• Comprehensive Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) capabilities for advanced network management
• Sleek, elegant design with flexible mounting options (ceiling, wall, or desktop)
• Internal antennas optimized for superior performance