Business Continuity Made Easy!
Continued from June 2006

Company Review (see June 2006)
Step 1 - Continuous Communication (see June 2006)
Step 2 - Offsite Backup for Critical Data
Step 3 - Collocated or Dedicated Servers
Consultation with Business Continuity Planner
Step 4 - Business Continuity Workspace

Step 2 Offsite Backup for Critical Data
Establish a Game-plan to Ensure Safety of Critical Data

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery planning is always a balancing act between the risk involved and the cost to mitigate that risk. Every business should, from time to time, perform an evaluation of the business processes and environment to assess risks. One of the greatest forms of risk for businesses today is data loss, or the inability to access data for extended periods of time.

When evaluating your business environment for data loss risk, it is important to realize that not all data is weighted equally. So as you look at the balancing act of risk vs. cost, you may want to consider different backup strategies for different data sets.

In the diagram, above you can see a grid depicting the relative Availability needs and Importance of data within an organization. I've broken it into 5 general categories for this discussion, although ultimately your business will have to position each data type on the graph based on your particular needs.

• Regulatory Compliance
  Many businesses (healthcare, financial, government) are subject to regulatory compliance for their data storage. If your business data falls into a regulated category, then you should be careful to follow the appropriate guidelines to ensure that the information is stored safely, securely and is free from risk.
  
  
• Critical Data
  This category includes data that is both of high importance and requires high availability. Other than data subject to compliance, this is the most important category and requires the most care. The backup plan that you choose should allow both frequent backups (to optimize the recovery point) and easy to administer backup (to optimize the recovery time).
  
  
• Essential Data
  Essential Data is important to the company, but is not referenced very often. With this type of data you want a very reliable and secure solution, but speed to recover is not the most critical component.
  
  
• Important Data
  The lion's share of the current data within your company falls into this category. This includes data that is used and updated on a regular basis, but is not critically important to the fundamental operation of the company. The backup strategy for Important Data should ensure that this data can be restored quickly to avoid a disruption to general work processes.
  
  
• Non-critical Data
  Out of date information should be offloaded using a long-term archiving strategy. While this data may need to be referenced at some point in the future, the time constraints are usually low so it is best to select a low cost storage option with an emphasis on reliability rather than speed to recover.

Important elements to understand in a Backup Strategy:

• Recovery Point Objective
  The easiest way to understand a RPO, is to realize that if you currently backup to tape after hours and you have a failure at 4:30 p.m. the next day, you can expect to lose an entire day's worth of work. Ideally, a backup solution will be performed during business hours - perhaps several times per day to optimize the recovery point.
  
  
• Recovery Time Objective
  If a recovery is necessary, the recovery time objective is the time necessary to complete all of the actions between the realization of an issue all the way through the data restoration.
  
  
• Incremental Block-Level Backup
  Tape backup is performed at the file level, which means a single change in a large database or file requires the entire file to be backed up. Incremental Block-Level backup is a disk-to-disk backup method that takes a point-in-time snapshot of the drive and only backs up the blocks that have changed. This allows more frequent backups, and reduces the amount of data being transmitted and stored.

• Retention Time
  Your retention time will differ greatly based on the type of data and your business drivers. Some businesses require only a very short retention time (24-48 hours) while other might need to be able to access point-in-time views of the data for months or years.
  

LightEdge Managed Backup
LightEdge has recently launched a managed offsite backup service which has been specifically designed with our customer's needs in mind. Clients with servers residing within the LightEdge data center can use the service to reliably backup their data to a storage device either within the data center, or to an alternate data center for additional risk mitigation. Clients with premises based servers can actually perform incremental block level backups over their connection to LightEdge.

Overview of the LightEdge Managed Backup product:

• Incremental Block-Level Backup - allows frequent backups during the day with no disruption to workers, minimizes data traffic by only sending the block-level changes instead of the entire file
• Disk-based - includes web-based administration tools to set, monitor and analyze backup processes
• Secure - stored within a secure, private data center environment on enterprise-grade storage equipment from Network Appliance
• Scalable - rather than buying storage equipment sufficient to handle future growth, the LightEdge Managed Backup solution actually grows with you with our Scale-on-Demand pricing

Next month: Step 3, Offsite Servers - Collocated/Dedicated Servers

Scott Riedel
Product Marketing Manager

What is QoS?
QoS (Quality of Service) is a way that for a network to identify, prioritize and route data packets according to an established protocol. In a VoIP implementation, packets related to voice are very time sensitive. For business grade VoIP implementations, packets carrying voice signaling and audio data are very sensitive to loss and delay.  Proper treatment for these packets in terms of loss and delay means the difference between gibberish and a call indistinguishable from a traditional land line.

The Internet, being a best-effort medium, does nothing to differentiate data packets, sending each packet without preference or prejudice. As such, voice data packets routed over the internet may become delayed or lost causing call latency and stutter.

While most VoIP providers are transporting voice packets over the public Internet, LightEdge routes all Voice-over-IP calls via private connections through the LightEdge managed network and ultimately to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). By managing the network from end-to-end, we are able to offer Quality of Service or QoS. During heavy traffic periods, LightEdge is able to adjust data flow and give priority to voice packets. By doing so, call quality remains at business-grade levels.

LightEdge News

The Need for Speed - up to 40 Mbps
If your employees are constantly bumping their heads on bandwidth limitations, then you may be interested in a new type of connectivity available through LightEdge. This connection, called Metro Ethernet, allows LightEdge to rapidly and cost-effectively deploy fiber grade Ethernet services of up to 40Mbps without the expense of constructing fiber all the way to a customer's premises.

An Ethernet-based transport is established by utilizing up to 8 copper pairs from our network. The connections are provided with redundant circuits to ensure service is available despite a circuit failure. By using ECC error correction along with copper bonding, the service is able to recover seamlessly from the failure of individual circuits.

What does this mean to you? Cost-effective, high bandwidth connectivity to allow your company to better utilize LightEdge services such as Managed Backup, Voice-over-IP and Hosted Applications.

Metro Ethernet is available in many of the LightEdge markets, but at this time is sensitive to the distance from the LightEdge facility. To learn more about Metro Ethernet, or to determine if your company is a candidate for this service, contact your Territory Account Manager or call 877-771-3343.

Service Expansion means Better/Less Expensive VoIP for Ames, Iowa City and Dubuque
The recent addition of paired Cisco media gateways to the network infrastructure has allowed LightEdge better VoIP representation in Ames, Iowa City and Dubuque. The result is actually three-fold - expanded coverage, reduced costs and exceptional call quality and reliability in these three markets. This service expansion effects both Converged Access and Hosted PBX Voice-over-IP services.

Strategic Expansion in Peoria Market
Following the recent partnership with Internet Express, LightEdge has strategically selected Peoria as a target market for Voice-over-IP and other managed services. This will make LightEdge unique in offering a broad spectrum of managed services through a completely private and managed network.

Improvements to Phone Routing
LightEdge has recently changed the call routing message to allow one-touch access to the appropriate party within our organization. In this process we have created distinct routing numbers for many specific areas of our technical support department. It is our goal to reduce your hold time by routing your call to the right customer service representative the first time.

• LightEdge employee menu, press 1
• Sales, press 2
• Implementation support, press 3
• Network and Internet support, press 4
• Phone support, press 5
• Hosting and Storage support, press 6
• Security support, press 7
• Accounting, press 8
• Receptionist, press 0 or hold the line

Move Request Form
If your business is relocating, please advise LightEdge of this move as soon as you are able. To ensure a smooth transition of services from one location to another, our customer service team will need between 15 and 45 days to complete the necessary changes.

Soon a form will be available on My.LightEdge.com - until then, this form can be used to let our staff know that you are moving.

Move Request Form

EdgeBCC Disaster Recovery Workspace FAQ's

Q. What is Disaster Recovery workspace?
A. When your business experiences a business disruption due to natural disaster or other process interruption and your facilities cannot be utilized by employees for a period of time, disaster recovery workspace through LightEdge Solutions and the EdgeBCC can be utilized to ensure business continuity. DR workspaces are provisioned with desktop computers and VoIP handsets for your use through the interruption period.

Q. What is a declaration fee?
A. Once an incident occurs, a business "declares" the need to use the EdgeBCC facility. Upon the declaration of the incident, EdgeBCC staff prepares the facility for your needs and ensures that your staff has the tools that they need to work through the incident. The fee for declaration is 1x the company's monthly fee. The fee for usage is 1x the monthly fee per day.

Q. How can our company test our DR plan?
A. It is fully expected that your company will want to periodically test your BC/DR plan by running exercises with systems or staff. The EdgeBCC allows you 2 days/year for <20 DR Seats and 4 days/year for >20 seats. Additional days can be made available for 1x the company's monthly fee per day.

Q. What is the configuration of the Disaster Recovery workspace?
A. The disaster workspace is broken into over 300 individual workstations. Each work surface is 24" deep by 48" wide. 52" fabric covered panels help to deaden the ambient phone noise. Workstations are provisioned with 17' LCD displays, keyboard, mouse and VoIP phone on the desk, with the CPU located on the floor.

Q. What conference room or non-working space is available in the facility? 
A.  Two conference rooms, sized using calculations for normal occupancy, are available along with a breakroom. Based on use rates, additional temporary facilities may be brought in to accommodate our clients.

See Floorplan (PDF)

Q. What is included with the IP phone set?
A. Each phone comes with a seat/DID and is included as part of the fee for the phone. Additional features, such as, Call Center, Hunt Groups and Auto-Attendant can be made available at additional cost.

Q. How/when will the advanced phone features be configured?
A. If a customer has existing LightEdge voice service, all features will remain active through an incident. In the event of a disaster declaration, BCC contracted services will be turned up in the BCC center within 4 hours.

For customers that do not have LightEdge voice services - as much of the disaster call flow as possible will be permanently created on the LightEdge system in preparation of a declared disaster. When a disaster is declared the customer may be responsible for pointing their existing main numbers to the numbers provided by LightEdge. Call flow defined in the LightEdge contract will be configured with in 4 hours of declaration.

Q. How will the distribution of access cards to employees be handled?
A. Permanent cards are issued to customers with cage or rack space on a named basis. Customers with BCC workspace only will be issue temporary cards as follows:

• Customer must provide a list of authorized users of workspace
• At the time of a declaration (test or emergency), users are issued cards for access at the EdgeBCC facility for the duration of the declaration
• Each user must be in the current list and must present valid photo ID
• If a user is not in the list but needs access, EdgeBCC will need to contact a Customer authority to gain permission via phone (at least two numbers must be provided)

Q. What a printer be available?
A.  LightEdge will provide shared printers for the BCC. These printers will be accessible on the public Internet by customers using the BCC. Customer may provide their own printer and place it within one of the purchased cubes or in the space that they have purchased.

Q. Will a photocopy machine be available?
A. Yes, a copier is available at 10 cents per page

Q. Will there be a fax machine for the customer to use?
A.  Yes, at $1.00 per page. Dedicated analog lines can be made available for an additional fee. Customer must supply a fax machine to utilize a dedicated line.

The History of the LightEdge Private IP Network
In late 2003 and early 2004, LightEdge began to transform from a traditional Internet Service Provider to something much larger.  As broadband become commonplace, the company searched for new offerings that would leverage the network that had already been constructed.  At this time it was decided that the company would become a true single-source provider of all managed services including voice, storage, and hosted business productivity applications.  The existing infrastructure required a major overhaul to live up to the challenge.  With the future of the company in mind, an extensive multi-vendor, multi-technology design project was undertaken by the Network Engineering team.  The end result is a world class, private IP/MPLS network based on technology provided by Cisco.

IP has been a huge driving force in the movement to converge managed services to a common infrastructure.  This common ground allows businesses to deploy a single network and technology and reduce operating expenses associated with supporting multiple discrete systems and technologies.  Most applications developed today can be successfully delivered over an IP network. Similarly, huge breakthroughs in Voice-over-IP have made this technology a viable alternative to traditional TDM (Time Division Multiplex) telephony. 

As a recognized leader in IP QoS and MPLS technologies, Cisco technologies allow each converged service to use a common access link and backbone yet maintain predictable levels of service.  Without these technologies deployed in an appropriate manner, it would be impossible to offer Voice and data services over the same wire using the same underlying IP transport.

Once the decision was made to aggressively drive the company as a comprehensive managed services provider, it was necessary to completely overhaul the network to IP/MPLS.  The first step was to deploy Cisco termination routers that could provide IP QoS on customer access links which are the primary points of congestion for the majority of customers seeking converged services.  This first generation of QoS-enabled SMS’s (Subscriber Management Systems) were a combination of Cisco 7200 and 7500 routers.  These were installed in parallel to Existing Redback SMS’s which provide basic Business Internet and WAN IP services (non-QoS services).  In addition, Cisco SMS devices were installed at all Points-of-Presence and IP/MPLS was enabled over our backbone in all markets.  These systems helped LightEdge develop a competency in providing VoIP as an overlay to WAN or BI services using these new technologies.

At the same time, LightEdge invested in new 7600 series Routers for the Des Moines, Minneapolis and Quad Cities data centers.  These devices provide the foundation of our IP/MPLS backbone.  These Routers are also the transit points that connect LightEdge markets and also provide public Internet Egress for all Business Internet customers.

With a dedication to continuous evolvement of both our technical infrastructure and our product offerings, LightEdge is destined for growth.  Recent acquisitions along the I-80 corridor have further solidified LightEdge with a dominant place as a premier telecommunications provider by adding over 36 Central Office Points-of-Presence to our regional backbone in just the past 6 months.  This enables LightEdge to compete with LECs like Qwest and SBC, as well as CLECs like MCI, Verizon, AT&T and Sprint within our markets.  Ultimately, LightEdge is positioned as one of the few Managed Service Providers that can truly provide a carrier class, end-to-end solution that includes Voice, Data and IT Applications.

Lunch and Learn Sessions
The Lunch and Learn format is a free, informal gathering to share information on a topic. There is no sales pressure and no expectations. Our goal is simply to promote better understanding of technical topics that could impact your business and give you the "competitive edge".

Next Lunch and Learn Topic:

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery for the SMB
This Lunch and Learn discussion covers the topic of Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery specifically from the perspective of a small and medium-sized business. With barely enough resources to cover daily business operations, SMBs rarely think about the possible fallout from a business interruption.

This discussion will focus on business practices that effectively provide some level of risk management, but can also impact daily productivity. In this regard, SMBs can mitigate some risk elements while implementing activities that provide a real value to daily business operations.

Look for this Lunch and Learn in September

For more information on Lunch and Learn topics, locations and dates, refer to the LightEdge Events Page or contact your Territory Account Manager.

Events

Product Updates

• Metro Ethernet - up to 40 Mbps
  Cost-effective, high bandwidth connectivity is now available in select LightEdge markets. If you have high bandwidth needs but have been unwilling to pay for a fiber run, then this may be the solution for you. Contact your LightEdge representative for availability.
  
  
• Mobile Wireless Functionality for Hosted Microsoft Exchange - LightEdge has added functionality for wireless mobile access to Microsoft Exchange for Active-sync enabled devices. This includes most Windows Mobile and Palm devices. The additional functionality is included in Hosted Exchange at no additional cost. This functionality will be available before the end of June. Contact LightEdge Solutions to learn more.
  
  
• Disaster Recovery Workspace - The EdgeBCC offers small and medium sized businesses the opportunity to continue their critical business processes despite a business interruption. LightEdge is beginning to work with businesses on "letters of intent" for seats in the disaster recovery workspace at EdgeBCC. These workstations are provisioned with desktop computers and VoIP handsets. If you are interested in learning more about the DR Workspace, contact LightEdge Solutions.
  
  
• Business Continuity Center Rack-space/Cage-space - With the ability to withstand 200 mph winds and redundant power supplies, the EdgeBCC offers businesses unparalleled protection for their technical infrastructure. Businesses interested in Rack-space or Cage-space within the EdgeBCC should start working with their Territory Account Manager now to ensure that space is available in November.

For information on new products and services, contact our
sales department at 877-771-3343 option 2 or info@lightedge.com.

Current LightEdge Promotions

Hosted PBX VoIP Productivity Bundle
$1,499 down/$699 per month
The VoIP bundle is a full phone replacement for small businesses. The package includes up to T1 Internet Access, 5 hosted PBX seats, 5 Polycom phones, one auto attendant, fax line and Cisco router. Each seat includes 500 minutes of outbound domestic long distance calling.
Click here for more

Converged Access Trunk Bundle
$469 per month with no upfront costs
Prepare for the future by eliminating your telcom lines and converging your voice system with your data/Internet connection. Converged access does not require new phones or retraining for your staff. Infinite scalability is provided by creating a hybrid system with Hosted PBX seats. Once your voice and network systems are converged, you can gradually migrate to a fully hosted system.
Click here for more

Hosted Microsoft Exchange
One Month Free
Get all of the benefits of Microsoft Exchange without the infrastructure, maintenance and cost of a premises-based solution. Hosted Exchange through LightEdge is so much more than just e-mail - it allows remote e-mail accessibility through the web, schedule collaboration for better productivity, spam and virus filtering and active directory integration - all in a completely managed environment.
Click here for more

Managed Backup and Recovery
One Month Free
Your business clearly suffers when you have periods of data downtime. LightEdge Solutions' Managed Backup and Recovery allows you to backup your critical data to an offsite data center at multiple times during business hours for quick and easy recovery.
Click here for more

Voice and Web Conferencing
2 week Free Trial
Experience the ease and control of Reservationless, On-Demand Voice and Web Conferencing. With your free trial you can set up virtual meetings instantaneously. On-Demand pricing means there are no monthly service charges. You only pay for what you use.
Click here for more

For information on current LightEdge Promotions, contact our
sales department at 877-771-3343 option 2 or info@lightedge.com.