Update on Windows Small Business Server 2011

As you have heard Microsoft officially announced the launch of the next version of Windows Small Business Server. I wanted to take this opportunity to update you with the launch of Windows Small Business Server 2011 and Windows Small Business Server Essentials.

Milestones and Dates
Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard edition and Windows Small Business Server 2011 Premium Add-On were released to manufacture on 12 December 2010. Corp are making the final steps to bring the product to the market so that our customers can acquire throughout our large network of partners. We are currently finalising international versions, delivering the product to distribution channels and supplying it to our OEM partners so that they can begin pre-installing the software on new servers.

Starting in early January, customers will find SBS 2011 Standard and Premium Add-On in Volume Licensing, and from mid-January customers will be able to download a trial copy from our website. Finally, the products will be available in TechNet and MSDN before the end of the December.

General availability and our launch activities for SBS 2011 Standard are scheduled for mid-March when we also expect to be closer to RTM of Windows SBS 2011 Essentials (Aurora).

Product & SKU overview
Designed and priced for small businesses, Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials and Standard provides an affordable and easy-to-use solution to help secure and protect customers’ business data, manage and share their documents, and support the applications they need to run and grow their business. With SBS 2011, customers can organize and access their business documents from virtually anywhere, with centralized storage and remote access, while easily connecting to the cloud-based applications they need to make your business more productive.

Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials
Windows Small Business Server, 2011 Essentials is the ideal first server for small businesses with up to 25 users who want an easy-to-use solution to protect, organize, and access and share business data from virtually anywhere and easily connect to the cloud.

Key Benefits
• Daily automatic backups of clients and servers
• Organize and access files from virtually anywhere
• Easily connects to online services for e-mail, collaboration and line-of-business applications

Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard
Windows Small Business Server, 2011 Standard is the ideal on-premise solution for small businesses with up to 75 users. SBS 2011 Standard delivers enterprise-class technology in an affordable, high performance all-in-one solution designed to meet the needs of small business customers at various stages of growth..

Key Benefits
• Enterprise quality functionality and productivity capabilities (Windows Server 2008 R2, Exchange Server 2010, SharePoint 2010)
• Affordable and easy to deploy, use, and maintain
• Complete, network-wide security and backup with integrated state of the art data protection and recovery technologies.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

NEWS : We now Supply HP 3PAR® Utility Storage!!

3PAR® is the global leader of utility storage, highly virtualized, multi-tenant, tiered storage arrays built for public and private cloud computing.

HP 3PAR® Utility Storage is the only enterprise storage platform that delivers 100% of the agility and efficiency required by virtual and cloud data centers.

• Efficient: Reduce acquisition and operational costs by 50%.
• Autonomic: Increase storage management efficiency by 10x.
• Multi-tenant: The new Tier 1 Storage for cloud computing.

If you have any questions then we will be more than happy to help, please contact us
Please check back regularly or subscribe to the blog for more information on HP 3PAR®

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

December HP Networking Reseller Times

NEW – Up to 22% off SMB Switches
Right now, your customers can benefit with up to 22% off the HP V1405 and V1410, unmanaged switches for plug-and-play connectivity, and HP E2510 for full management capabilities. All our special offer switches deliver the simplicity and reliability your customers want. Choose now from a highly cost-effective unmanaged solution or a more robust infrastructure.
Click here for more information

Offer valid until 31st December 2010

NEW - Partner for Growth – good news from HP Networking
Partner for Growth continues to allow HP to profitably partner with our channel. Effective immediately we have made two exciting changes:

• For a pilot period of two months only (December 2010 to January 2011) we have opened up PfG to all Preferred Partners.

• The PfG deal threshold for HP Networking has been LOWERED from £50,000 to £20,000

Terms and conditions apply, please speak to your HP Networking account manager.

NEW - Double Points on HP Accelerate
For the month of December, HP Networking is offering double points on all HPN products on HP Accelerate, HP’s rewards programme for resellers.
So what are you waiting for, get selling and get claiming! If you are already registered on Accelerate, just continue to log into your account and claim for sales as usual. If you are new to Accelerate, please go to www.hp-accelerate.com to register.

UPDATE - HP Networking Trade-in Program now includes A, E and V Series
HP Networking trade-in program allows your customers to claim cash back in exchange for their old networking and wireless equipment when purchasing new HP networking equipment – this now includes A, E and V Series! Not only is this a great cost saver but we’ll even collect and recycle all products returned so it’s great for the environment too!
For further details see www.hp.com/uk/tradein

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

December HP Server and Storage offers

In order for you to have your own copy of this months offers, We can now offer them in a easy downloadable PDF for you.










Please click the image above to open the PDF.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

December 2010 - HP Server and Storage offers.

HP Free Blade Enclosure Offer
Customers can save up to £23,020 with this month’s HP BladeSystem promotion.
Customers purchasing enough qualifying HP BladeSystem servers to fill half an enclosure, the enclosure and a pair of qualifying interconnects will get the cost of the enclosure and one of the interconnects back via cashback. That’s a saving of up to £23,020.

... but there's more!! - Attach Proactive Select HP Care Pack and claim an additional £700 cash back with the HP BladeSystem offer.

Terms and conditions apply, see www.hp.com/uk/freebladeenclosure for details.

HP ProLiant G7 Options Offer
Purchase at least £1,000 of qualifying ProLiant G7 Options alongside a qualifying G7 Top Value server and claim £200 Cashback.

HP StorageWorks P2000 G3 Launch Promotion
The HP StorageWorks P2000 G3 has arrived!
Offering great capacity to tackle large storage needs the new P2000 is a flexible solution for small or large customers and comes at a great price. Following the release of the new P2000 G3 Modular Storage Array Systems, HP are offering customers the chance to claim a free ProLiant DL360 or DL380 G7 Server with any purchase of a qualifying P2000 G3 System.

If you have any questions then please do not hesiate to contact us

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

HP ESS Software bundled support is changing!

HP are changing the support thats bundled with their ESS software.

So what is exactly changing?

• iLO and Insight Control licences to include 3 year 24x7 telephone support & updates rather than 1 year

• The HP VMware licences currently available with both 1 year and 3 year bundled support will have the 1 year bundled support SKUs discontinued.

Why make the changes?
Matches software support to hardware warranty
For iLO/IC, purchase of support past 1st year is usually overlooked
For VMware, improves customer experience as 3yrs update entitlement automatically seen on VMware portal.

What benefit does it provide for the customer?
For iLO/IC, no surprises, access to software updates continues (average of 3 updates per annum). Essential for maximising usage and associated cost saving.

For VMware, continuous access to software updates on VMware portal, no reliance on HP/VMware entitlement synchronisation. Note: For lowest Total Cost of Ownership, support term should still be extended to 4 or 5 years with relevant Care Pack

When will the change happen?
Applies to products purchased in the UK and Ireland from 1st December

Will there be new product numbers?
No, product numbers and associated Care Pack numbers will stay the same.
Prices and some local product descriptions will change for the UK and Ireland only.
(For VMware no price or product changes, just current 1yr 9x5 licence SKUs made unavailable).

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

Reminder - Start your Microsoft Journey with Westcoast

Join Westcoast and Microsoft at one of our events and discover how a better understand of Microsoft can boost your business.

Westcoast and Microsoft are hosting a series of events to help you sell more Microsoft, With new afternoon sessions to help broaden your Microsoft knowledge even further, you will leave confident when selling Microsoft to your customers.

The Westcoast and Microsoft Events Timetable
Please Click the below links to register,

• MLSS Including Academic - 20th January 2011 London
• MLSS Including Academic - 3rd February 2011 Sheffield
• MLSS Including Academic - 8th March 2011 Nottingham
• MLSS and Virtualisation - 17th April 2011 London

Here are the outlines of the sessions below.

MLSS and Virtualisation
The morning of this event is focused on improving your understanding of Microsoft Licensing and will allow you to sit your MLSS exam and become accredited as a Microsoft Licensing Sales Specialist. Achieving this accreditation will ensure customers see you as a trusted Microsoft advisor, and will help boost your bottom line.
In the afternoon there is the NEW Virtualisation session where you will be shown the benefits of virtualisation and the opportunities this opens up.

MLSS including Academic
The morning of this event is focused on improving your understanding of Microsoft Licensing and will allow you to sit your MLSS exam and become accredited as a Microsoft Licensing Sales Specialist. Achieving this accreditation will ensure customers see you as a trusted Microsoft advisor, and will help boost your bottom line.
In the afternoon there is the NEW Academic session where you will learn about Academic licensing and the selling opportunities it presents.

If you have any questions please contact us.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

NEWS : Microsoft Server 2008 going obsolete.

The launch version of Server 2008 and Server 2008 SP2 will become obsolete on 31st of December.

For more information on the current part numbers please contact the Microsoft Team

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

HP Networking - Reseller Discount Promotion

All these special offer switches are specially designed for small and growing networks, to deliver the simplicity and reliability you want.

Whether you need a highly cost-effective unmanaged solution or a more robust infrastructure, pick the solution that’s right for you” By giving up to 30% off.

This promotion runs from the 15th November 2010 to the 31st December 2010.

Part Number	HP Networking Switch	Reseller Discount
JD866A	HP V1405-5 Switch	30%
JD867A	HP V1405-8 Switch	30%
JD858A	HP V1405-16 Desktop Switch	30%
JD986A	HP V1405-24 Switch	30%
JD869A	HP V1405-5G Switch	25%
J9559A	HP V1410-8G Switch	25%
J9560A	HP V1410-16G Switch	25%
J9561A	HP V1410-24G Switch	25%
J9019B	HP E2510-24 Switch	25%
J9020A	HP E2510-48 Switch	25%
J9279A	HP E2510-24G Switch	20%
J9280A	HP E2510-48G Switch	20%

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

Windows Small Business Server 2011

Since Microsoft announced the availability of the beta version of Windows Small Business Server Code name “Aurora” and Windows Small Business Server “7”, both products have been downloaded more than 9000 times through both the partner and customer community.

Today as Microsoft moves forward with these new releases, Microsoft is announcing the final names, licensing and estimated availability for the next generation of the Small Business Server family currently in public preview.

• Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials (formally Windows Small Business Server Code Name “Aurora”) is ideal as a first server for small businesses, providing a cost-effective and easy-to-use solution to help protect data, organize and access business information from virtually anywhere, support the applications needed to run a business, and quickly connect to online services such as Office 365, hosted e-mail, collaboration and CRM. Windows SBS 2011 Essentials can be used by up to 25 users and requires no CALs for user access. Microsoft intends to deliver an affordable entry level pric to meet the needs and budget of small businesses. Windows SBS 2011 Essentials is expected to release in H1 2011

• Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard (formally Windows Small Business Server “7”) is designed and priced for small businesses with up to 75 users, delivering enterprise-class server technology in an affordable, all-in-one solution. Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard helps protect business’ information from loss by performing automatic daily server backups and greater productivity through on-site features like e-mail, Internet connectivity, internal Web sites, remote access, and file and printer sharing. Licensing for Windows SBS 2011 Standard is consistent with previous versions of Windows SBS 2008 Standard, which required both a Server License, plus CALs for each user. Windows SBS 2011 Standard is expected to release in December 2010.

• Windows Small Business Server 2011 Premium Add-on, consists of an additional server that provides support for SQL Server based LOB applications and access to Window Server 2008 R2 technologies in a cost effective solution for a small business environment. The Windows SBS 2011 Premium Add-on includes Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard, and SQL Server 2008 R2 for Small Business and can be added to both Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials and Standard editions. The Premium add-on provides the ability to run a vast number of line-of-business applications on an additional server and the capacity to make more informed business decisions with rich analysis and reporting technologies. It is ideal for role based deployments such as LOB application support, Remote Desktop Services, Backup domain controller, and Virtualization though Hyper-V. The decision to move to an add-on model was taken to provide our customers with more flexibility and deployment options providing the ability to purchase additional servers either up front or as needed. While access to the Windows Server components for the Windows SBS 2011 Premium Add-on will be covered by the Windows SBS 2011 CAL model, users will still require Premium Add-on CALs for access to SQL Server. The Premium Add-on will also be available with the release of Windows SBS 2011 Standard in December.

• To learn more about Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard, download the datasheet.

• To learn more about Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials, download the datasheet.

• To learn more about the Windows Small Business Server Family, download the family overview brochure.

• To download previews of Windows SBS 2011 Standard and Essentials, you can visit here.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

November HP Server and Storage offers

In order for you to have your own copy of this months offers, We can now offer them in a easy downloadable PDF for you.



Please click the image above to open the PDF.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

Event Reminder - Start your Microsoft Journey with Westcoast - 18th November MLSS and Virtualisation.

Join Westcoast and Microsoft at one of our events and discover how a better understand of Microsoft can boost your business.

Westcoast and Microsoft are hosting a series of events to help you sell more Microsoft, With new afternoon sessions to help broaden your Microsoft knowledge even further, you will leave confident when selling Microsoft to your customers.

The Westcoast and Microsoft Events Timetable
Please Click the below links to register,

• MLSS and Virtualisation - 18th November London

MLSS and Virtualisation
The morning of this event is focused on improving your understanding of Microsoft Licensing and will allow you to sit your MLSS exam and become accredited as a Microsoft Licensing Sales Specialist. Achieving this accreditation will ensure customers see you as a trusted Microsoft advisor, and will help boost your bottom line.
In the afternoon there is the NEW Virtualisation session where you will be shown the benefits of virtualisation and the opportunities this opens up.

If you have any questions please contact us.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

HP P4000 Half Price Expansion Offer 1st – 30th November 2010

Claim up to £6,775 Cashback!

Purchase a qualifying P4000 and claim the qualifying expansion option for half price*

Storage needs are changing in light of server virtualization, data growth, business continuity demands and cost pressures. Looking for storage that meets these goals and can be added easily into your infrastructure? HP StorageWorks P4000 G2 SAN Solutions are proven for virtual servers, client virtualization, database, email and business applications. With a pay-as-you-grow, all-inclusive pricing model (3-year support included) and intuitive storage management, this SAN is perfect for the budget-minded.

How to qualify
Purchase any one of the qualifying P4000 Systems, together with the qualifying expansion option between 1st and 30th November 2010, then complete this form and HP will refund the cost of the server. Please refer to the qualifying product table for further details.

This offer is limited to ONE claim per customer. Terms and qualifying products apply.

How to claim:

• Complete this claim form

• Attach proof of purchase to the claim form, with qualifying products and HP part codes circled and make copies for you records.

• Product must have been invoiced between 1st and 30th November 2010.

• Mail to: HP Claims Dept, PO Box 7393, Reading, RG27 7JJ. All submissions must be received by Friday 31st December 2010.
  

• You will then receive an email confirming the rebate due to you and your individual reference number within 7 days of posting. If you do not receive this email then please contacts HP at promotions@out-bound.co.uk.
  

• Cheques will be issued within 28 days of receipt of your correct invoice

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

P2000 Remote Snap replication and Disaster recovery

We get quite a lot of requests for more information on the Remote snap and Disaster recovery software features on the P2000 G3. Mainly the enquiry’s are around what you would need to do once a failure occurs and how to fail over to your DR site using the Remote Snap Software as this is not an automated feature.

I have taken the following information from one of HP's Technical Whitepapers on the "HP StorageWorks P2000 Array System Remote Snap Software" (You can download from HP here)

If the local site fails, the applications need to switch to the remote site. To bring up the remote site, do the following:

1. Convert the remote volume (destination volume) to an external view volume

• NOTE : During the conversion to an external view volume, the volume is rolled back, or synced, to a replication snapshot. By default, the volume syncs to the latest replication snapshot, but you can choose any of the previous replication snapshots. Any data that has not been replicated is lost. A destination volume can be converted to an external view via SMU or CLI.

2. The new external view volume, which now resides on the remote site, can be mapped to a LUN and used as you would use the original volume.

3. Switch the applications to this external view volume and continue using the application.

Once the failure has been addressed at local site, complete the following steps:

1. At the local site make the original source volume a destination volume using the set replication-external view CLI command or by selecting Destination Volume Overview > Provisioning > Set Replication External view from the SMU page.

Important: A destination volume cannot be mapped, so be sure to unmap source volume before attempting to make it a destination volume.

2. Replicate any data written to the remote volume to the original source volume. This can be performed in a single replication or in multiple replications. Host access to the original volume should be halted. This ensures that all data has been transferred properly.

3. After all the data is replicated back to the local site, convert the source volume at the local site to the external view volume and then convert the remote volume to the destination volume. To set an external view volume to a destination volume on the system that owns the external view volume, set the external view to the other volume in the replication set.

4. Re-establish the replication set to the remote site. Continue using the scheduler for running remote replications in regular intervals.

I hope that this is has been helpful in understanding the steps invlolved for Disaster Recovery on the P2000 using the Remote Snap software, if you wish to read more then please download the Whitepaper here.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

For all you Mac users out there !! Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 released

We know that some of our readers use Mac machines, although its nothing to do with Servers, storage and the associated microsoft operating platforms, i thought i would post this up in case you didn’t know (Although i'm sure you do).

Today is the Launch day of Microsoft Office for Mac 2011.

I am sure you are aware of the functionality of Microsoft Office, However if you’re not then here is a link to the Microsoft website where it details information on Office 2011 for Mac (http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/why-office2011)

I have also listed the 4 Office for Mac part numbers below if you need these.

GZA-00136 – Office MAC 2011 Home & Student 1 user pack
W7F-00014 – Office MAC 2011 Home & Student 3 user pack
W6F-00063 – Office MAC 2011 Home & Business 1 user 1 installation
W9F-00014 – Office MAC 2011 Home & Business 1 user 2 installations

If you have any questions please do not hesiate to Contact Us

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

Useful "One Page" HP Networking Sales guide

We thought it would be a good idea to start posting useful Sales guides that we come across for you to use. This is to help counteract any objections or questions that your customers may have if you are trying to push a HP solution into a customer.

HP Networking Sales guide (Click to Download)

This particular sales guide covers a very basic overview of HP networking. It’s a useful one page document which covers the following topics..

• HP Networking range,
• The different networking solutions that HP offer,
• Industry Tips,
• Responding to Objections

We hope that this will be useful, please comment if you wish to see more material like this?

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

Would you like the chance to win a LED TV With HP Networking?

HP Networking Solutions and the HP Converged Infrastructure helps organizations harness their network's potential to fuel competitive advantage today and into the future. HP's networking solutions are now more robust than ever before following the recent acquisition of 3Com, with its broad product line.

Play our Spot the Difference quiz and be in with a chance to win a LED TV to really see the difference!

Remember! You will only get a ticket in the draw to win an LED TV if you answer all of the questions correctly.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

New Release !! HP StorageWorks 1/8 G2 LTO-5 Ultrium 3000 SAS Tape Autoloader (BL536A)

This new unit has all the usual 1/8 Autoloader features but boasts an LTO 5 drive which means up to a max capacity of 3TB per tape (2:1 compression) and 1.6TB uncompressed.

You will need to purchase a SAS controller card for your backup server (462828-B21) and cable (AE470A). As per usual with HP 1/8 Autoloaders if you want to install them into a rack then you still have to purchase the rack kit (AH166A).

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

HP introduces new streamlined customer registration process for VMware

VMWare registration always causes a heap of confusion and a bit of a pain, so HP is introducing a new streamlined customer registration process for VMware OEM software products purchased from HP, starting Oct 5th, 2010.

This new process includes:

• Two Step Registration and One Download Site:

• Required registration with HP to receive Partner Activation Code (PAC) and support entitlement.

• Register the PAC at VMware license portal to access both software download and licenses.

• New Registration Site – HP webware (click)

• New Entitlement Certificate – customers will now be receiving an Entitlement Number that entitles them to their VMware Partner Activation Code (PAC) – which they will receive upon registration at the HP Webware site.

• Shortened response time for orders – Entitlement certificate will be print to order.

• Improved entitlement serviceability – This process enables better tracking of customer support entitlement and PACs thus HP can more effectively and readily handle software support needs and software entitlement issues.

As part of this new process, on October 5, 2010, HP created a brand new set of part numbers for their current VMware products. There will be no change to the embedded support offerings, fixed care pack and services, product entitlements nor will this impact our existing customers. No impact to Enterprise License Agreements (ELAs) or sales from SLMS. HP will continue to honor existing part numbers for 2-months until Nov 30th, 2010.
Please begin using the new part numbers as soon as possible.

As a testament to more improvements in this program we will be in introducing electronic delivery on December 1, 2010 with following benefits:

• Faster, easier, more efficient order fulfillment.

• Better tracking for customers in need of help for entitlement, support and lost Partner Activation Codes (PAC).

• Physical delivery will continue to be available for customer needs.

More information on electronic delivery coming soon.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

Reminder - Start your Microsoft Journey with Westcoast

Join Westcoast and Microsoft at one of our events and discover how a better understand of Microsoft can boost your business.

Westcoast and Microsoft are hosting a series of events to help you sell more Microsoft, With new afternoon sessions to help broaden your Microsoft knowledge even further, you will leave confident when selling Microsoft to your customers.

The Westcoast and Microsoft Events Timetable
Please Click the below links to register,

• MLSS and Virtualisation - 18th November London
• MLSS Including Academic - 20th January 2011 London
• MLSS Including Academic - 3rd February 2011 Sheffield
• MLSS Including Academic - 8th March 2011 Nottingham
• MLSS and Virtualisation - 17th April 2011 London

Here are the outlines of the sessions below.

MLSS and Virtualisation
The morning of this event is focused on improving your understanding of Microsoft Licensing and will allow you to sit your MLSS exam and become accredited as a Microsoft Licensing Sales Specialist. Achieving this accreditation will ensure customers see you as a trusted Microsoft advisor, and will help boost your bottom line.
In the afternoon there is the NEW Virtualisation session where you will be shown the benefits of virtualisation and the opportunities this opens up.

MLSS including Academic
The morning of this event is focused on improving your understanding of Microsoft Licensing and will allow you to sit your MLSS exam and become accredited as a Microsoft Licensing Sales Specialist. Achieving this accreditation will ensure customers see you as a trusted Microsoft advisor, and will help boost your bottom line.
In the afternoon there is the NEW Academic session where you will learn about Academic licensing and the selling opportunities it presents.

If you have any questions please contact us.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

October HP Server and Storage offers

In order for you to have your own copy of this months offers, We can now offer them in a easy downloadable PDF for you.



Please click the image above to open the PDF.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

New Release !! HP 450GB and 600GB Small form factor Hot plug Hard drives

Hp have added another couple of SFF drives to their range.
A very useful 450GB and 600GB offering.

Here are the part numbers.

581286-B21 - HP 600GB 6G SAS 10K rpm SFF (2.5-inch) Dual Port Enterprise Drive
581284-B21 - HP 450GB 6G SAS 10K rpm SFF (2.5-inch) Dual Port Enterprise Drive

If you have any questions please do not hesiate to contact us.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

HP Networking E2610 Switch and Gbic Offer

If your customer purchases any E2610 series switch they can purchase a Mini Gbic for £1!
Offer runs from the 1st – 31st Oct 2010

Here are the qualifying part numbers.

Switches
J9085A HP E2610-24 Switch
J9086A HP E2610-24-PPoE Switch
J9087A HP E2610-24-PoE Switch
J9088A HP E2610-48 Switch
J9089A HP E2610-48-PoE Switch

Mini Gbic
J4858C HP X121 1G SFP LC SX Transceiver

If you have any questions please do not hesiate to contact us

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

HP ProLiant Microserver Introductory Offer

Microsoft Operating System for FREE or 3 year Next Business Day Support for only £20

Offer runs from the 1st – 31st Oct 2010

Moving to a first server network just got easier! Designed specifically for small and micro businesses, HP ProLiant MicroServer is the key to eliminating the constraints that restrict your business’ growth. Rather than accept technology that’s too small to get the job done or too big to manage efficiently, HP MicroServer provides Just Right IT - with the right feature set in the right form factor at the right price.

Free Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation Operating System
With this offer, purchase your ProLiant Microserver together with HP Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation, 3 year HW Support and a DVR-ROM between 1st and 31st October 2010, complete the claim form and HP will refund the cost of the Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation.

OR

Free Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation Operating System Offer 2
With this offer, purchase your ProLiant Microserver together with HP Microsoft Foundation OS, 3 year HW Support and a DVR-RW between 1st and 31st Oct 2010, complete the claim form and HP will refund the cost of the MS Foundation OS.

OR

HP Care Pack Offer
Purchase the Microserver with 3 year HW Support and a DVD-ROM and for just £20* you’ll have peace of mind knowing that your Server has 3 years onsite cover. If we are unable to rectify a fault over the phone and need to send out an engineer you will incur no additional - parts and labour are included.

How to Claim

• Complete the claim form

• Attach proof of purchase (reseller invoice(s)) to the claim form, with qualifying products and HP part codes circled and make copies for your records.

• Product must have been invoiced between 1st and 31st Oct 2010.

• Mail to: HP Claims Dept, PO Box 7393, Reading, RG27 7JJ. All submissions must be received by Friday 26th November 2010.

You will then receive an email confirming the rebate due to you and your individual reference number within 7 days of posting. If you do not receive this email then please contacts us at promotions@out-bound.co.uk.

Cheques will be issued within 28 days of receipt of your correct invoice.

For further details on HP Care Packs, please visit www.hp.com/uk/carepack
To learn more about the new HP Microserver visit www.hp.com/go/microserver



Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

HP P2000 MSA & Free G7 ProLiant Server Offer

Purchase a qualifying P2000 MSA and claim the ProLiant DL360 G7 for free Runs from the 1st – 31th October 2010

Purchase any one of the qualifying P2000 Modular Storage Array Systems, together with the HP ProLiant DL360 G7 (Part Number 470065-373) between 1st and 31st October 2010, then complete this form and HP will refund the cost of the server.

This offer is limited to ONE free server per customer. Terms and conditions and qualifying products apply. Please refer to claim form for further information.

For more information and to download the claim form & terms and conditions please go to www.hp.com/uk/freeproliantserver

How to claim:

• Attach proof of purchase (reseller invoice(s)) to the claim form, with qualifying products and HP part codes circled, keeping copies for your records.

• Product must have been invoiced between 1st and 31th October 2010.

• Mail to: HP Claims Dept, PO Box 7393, Reading, RG27 7JJ. All submissions must be received by Friday 26th November 2010.

• You will then receive an email confirming the rebate due to you and your individual reference number within 7 days of posting. If you do not receive this email then please contacts HP at promotions@out-bound.co.uk

• Cheques will be issued within 28 days of receipt of your correct invoice

**In support of this Free Server offer, attach both qualifying HP Care Pack Services for DL360 and P2000 and HP will refund the cost of the DL360 HP Care Pack For further details on HP Care Packs, please visit www.hp.com/uk/carepack

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

Notice : HP Value Channel consolidation service Changes (CTO Builds)

With the aim for HP to further improve end-to-end efficiency, HP have been looking at various alternatives of how to continue with the consolidation service offering for CTO Solutions.

Background information:
HP introduced a consolidation service for ESS value orders a few years ago. This service for channel partners offered consolidation of boxes for complete shipment of the order to the HP distributor or reseller. With more of HP’s ESS business going through the value supply chain, this consolidation work has increased substantially and at the same time duplicated much of the work. Fueled by increasing demand for IT infrastructure worldwide, supply chain capacity maximization has elevated to the highest priority in order to serve our channel partners and customers best

So what are these changes?
After consultation with many partners, HP have come to the conclusion that they are going to stop this service.

HP will however offer an intermediary solution of these consolidation services in HP premises at a fixed cost. This service will get an HP product number and can be built into the overall configuration (CTO builds).

HP channel partners can choose to order this service from HP, or from an HP distributor. Integration services done in HP’s factories are not impacted by this decision.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

New Release !! Data Protector Express 5

New to Data Protector Express 5.0 is a simplified, licensing scheme based on the number of servers to be protected. Each server license includes all the features of Data Protector Express.

Protection is delivered for file servers, application servers and Windows XP, Vista and 7 machines. Data Protector Express makes backup to disk and tape very easy and also supports backup to CD/DVD media. Powerful features such as D2Any2Any backup, Bare Metal Disaster Recovery and self-tuning parallel data streams minimize backup and recovery times without compromising ease of use.

If you need more information please do not hesiate to contact us.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

NEWS : HP P4000 VSA Software now supports Hyper-V

There will be no change in the VSA part number as this will work with both VMware and Hyper-V
HP StorageWorks P4000 Virtual SAN Appliance Software LTU - TA688AA

If you wish to try the software then please go to www.hp.com/go/tryvsa

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

New Release !! HP P2000 G3 - iSCSI SAN (AW596A & AW597A)

HP have released the new P2000 G3 iSCSI SAN which now completes the new P2000 range.

This new unit brings to you the very latest in high-performance host connection usually found only in higher priced arrays. The P2000 G3 iSCSI SAN has the same features as the other P2000 units. They use single or dual controllers, have redundant PSU and Fans, the capability to do remote snapshots and snap replication.

The two in the range models are..
AW596A - P2000 G3 10GbE iSCSI Dual Controller LFF Array System
AW597A - P2000 G3 10GbE iSCSI Dual Controller SFF Array System

If you need more information please do not hesiate to contact us.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

New Release !! HP StorageWorks 1/8 G2 LTO-5 Ultrium 3000 Fibre Channel Tape Autoloader (BL541A)

HP have finally released an Autoloader with Fibre channel connectivity !! Perfect for entry level SAN environments etc. This new unit has all the usual 1/8 Autoloader features but boasts an LTO 5 drive which means up to a max capacity of 3TB per tape (2:1 compression) and 1.6TB uncompressed.

As per usual with HP 1/8 Autoloaders if you want to install them into a rack then you still have to purchase the rack kit (AH166A).

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

NEWS : Brand new Westcoast Servers website is now live

From this new site you can access iQuote, download marketing materials, and browse the latest promotions from HP. There are also new sections like the Storage one, and the G7 page

The new url is www.westcoast.co.uk/servers so please update your bookmarks.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

Reminder - QLogic HP Channel Partner Promotion

Earn Amazon vouchers for selling Qlogic & HP Virtual Connect
Here is a reminder of the Qlogic promo that runs until October 31st, 2010
Just in time for those shopping trips for the end of the year :-)

Here are the Qualifying products..

* Only applicable upon reported sale of 1 pair (2 units) of SN6000

Its Really Easy - You dont even have to register to participate! Just Claim your prizes!
Go to www.qlogic-hprewards.com then enter the relevent information.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

HP BL460 & 465 G7's released! and now with HP's FlexFabric technology

Apart from the usual refinements made to the G7 range (ILO3) HP has now added their new FlexFabric technology on the BL460 & 465 G7.

First of all, if you are not too sure on what HP's Flex technology is, here is a very basic overview. On the BL460 G6 servers for example the on board NIC card is dual port 10GbE Ethernet card, but it has HP’s "Flex" technology incorportated. If this is used in conjunction with a Flex 10 interconnect module in the chassis, the 10GbE connection can be split up into smaller 1GbE Ethernet connections which is very useful for Virtualisation environments.

So what is this “FlexFabric” technology i hear you ask? Well in a nutshell it is a Flex 10GbE network card as described above but with added fibre channel over Ethernet for connectivity to a fibre channel SAN.

So what does this mean for you? Well using the FlexFabric chassis interconnects and NIC cards means you can cut down on the number of interconnects and additional mezzanine cards needed in a HP server blade chassis and blade servers. You see all of Ethernet and SAN connections are handled by the on-board card and therefore will come from just the one interconnect (or two depending if your using the C7000) thus lowering complexity, wasted ports, power and space inside the blades.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

Start your Microsoft Journey with Westcoast and win your own Adventure !!

Today is the launch of our Microsoft Snow Adventure* !!
6 lucky resellers will win a pair of tickets on a snow adventure of a life time!! Each reseller have been set a target (so if you dont know what yours is please contact your Westcoast account manager)

For every 20% of your target you achive you will receive 1 point.
For every 20% over your target you achive you will receive 2 points. You can earn additional points for selling Open licensing, attending one of our events, sitting your MLSS exam, using the Microsoft Gym, and adding yourselves to PinPoint.

Each month there are great prizes you can win from hot air ballooning to Euro Star vouchers. At the end of the incentive all points are swapped for tickets and 6 resellers will be going on the trip to Switzerland. The promotion runs until the 19th of December and the draw will be in January and the trip at the end of February.

You have to log on to the website each month, if you haven’t logged on then you will not get entered, The website you need to go to is www.westcoast.co.uk/snowadventure (Please click)

For more terms and conditions as well as the username and password for the above site please contact your account manager at Westcoast.
*for UK and Irish resellers only,

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

Blog Update : We now have a new look

We have updated the look of our blog to make it a little easier on the eyes.
We will be adding some new "explained" sections soon so keep an eye out.

In the meantime we hope you like the look of the Blog.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

Notice : Microsoft OCS changes to Microsoft Lync™

Microsoft OCS is being rebranded with the name Lync Server 2010!

Please see the conversion table below and an outline of the features in Microsoft Lync 2010

Current Version	New Version
Business/Family (formerly Microsoft® Communications)	Microsoft® Lync™
The server (formerly Microsoft® Office Communications Server 2007)	Microsoft® Lync™ Server 2010
The Online Service (formerly Microsoft® Communications Online)	Microsoft® Lync™ Online
The client (formerly Microsoft® Communicator 2007	Microsoft® Lync™ 2010
The reach client (formerly Microsoft® Communicator Web App)	Microsoft® Lync™ Web App

New Connected Experience

• Find and communicate with the right person, naturally. With native Active Directory® integration, Lync Server 2010 helps users find the right person to connect with, view their presence, and then communicate with them in the most effective way—via voice, video, or sharing an application or PowerPoint. If desired, users can initiate these connections directly from the new Contact Card. With Skill Search powered by SharePoint®, users are also able to search for others based on skills, expertise, and group information.

• Stay connected from virtually anywhere, with just a standard Internet connection.* Microsoft Lync™ 2010 offers the same rich functionality and security features outside the firewall without requiring a Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection and enables mobile and Web access across leading browsers and platforms.

• Build social connections and stay up-to-date on colleagues’ activities. Lync 2010 encourages closer social connections with a new Activity Feed that shows updates from contacts when they change status note, picture, title or office location.

Integration with Microsoft Office

• Communicate with context from Microsoft Office applications. Lync Server 2010 works with Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft SharePoint Server and Microsoft Office applications for a richer collaborative experience with consistent presence, click-to-call options, and a new Contact Card.

• Office Backstage™ integration. The new Office Backstage view integrates various communication options so users can share documents and presentations via instant messaging (IM), share the application itself or click-to-call directly from the application.

Converged Communications

• Enhanced virtual meetings for improved productivity. Users can schedule a meeting from Microsoft Outlook® and join through Lync 2010 via the PC, phone or Web interface. Lync Server 2010 provides a meeting user interface with integrated audio and video that enables participants to share presentations, annotate slides, superimpose text and use visual pointers for more effective discussions. Additionally, users have the options to create ad hoc meetings, for example, moving from an IM conversation to a Live Meeting directly from the Lync interface..

• Complete set of enterprise-grade voice features. Lync Server 2010 delivers a standalone voice offering to enhance or replace traditional PBX systems and extends these capabilities outside the office via Internet access without requiring a VPN connection. This includes common calling features such as answer, forward, transfer, hold, divert, release, and park, along with Enhanced 9-1-1 calling* for North America, and support for legacy devices and a broader range of IP and USB user devices from partners. The solution is designed to support high availability through Call Admission Control, branch office survivability* and extended options for data resiliency.

Interoperable and Extensible

• Connect across networks. Lync Server 2010 supports federation with public IM networks such as Windows Live™, AOL, Yahoo! and, through the XMPP Gateway, Google Talk, allowing workers to use their corporate identities to connect to customers and partners. Lync Server 2010 supports audio and video calls with users on Windows Live Messenger.

• Utilize existing A/V infrastructure. Conferencing interoperability enables organizations to use existing infrastructure including room systems and high-end conferencing solutions.

• Integrate with existing IP PBX systems. Lync Server 2010 works with almost any PBX system either through Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) or qualified gateways and integrates with qualified third-party SIP Trunking Service Providers.1

• Embed communications in business processes. New and improved client-side APIs allow developers to embed Lync functionality into Microsoft Windows® and Microsoft Silverlight®-based applications with supported, ready-to-use code snippets. Enhanced server-side APIs make it easy to instantiate and deliver alerts via IM or phone, find experts, enable web chat and provide automated self-service using query-response bots and IVR.

Simpler Deployment

• Easily deploy systems of any scale, and manage them with ease. Lync Server 2010 can provide presence, IM and conferencing for organisations of literally any size, with up to 10,000 users per server, 100,000 users per pool and an unlimited number of pools. Automated tools not only simplify capacity planning and topology design, but also automatically push configuration information and changes to all servers in the network, thus eliminating manual work and the associated chance for errors. The new Lync Server Control Panel consolidates scenario-driven tasks in a single interface, while PowerShell support allows administrators to automate repetitive tasks using a familiar tool. Lync Server 2010 relies on Active Directory, eliminating the need for separate user and policy databases and uses Role Based Access Control (RBAC) to allow the assignment of appropriate management roles and scopes to different administrators

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

Product News - HP 146GB 15k LFF (384854-B21) is now end of life.

The Current backorders we have with HP will still be honoured, but officially as of now these drives are EOL.

There is going to be no direct replacement for these, so the new drive to use will be the 300GB 15k LFF drive part number 516814-B21.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team

Start your Microsoft Journey with Westcoast.

Join Westcoast and Microsoft at one of our events and discover how a better understand of Microsoft can boost your business.

Westcoast and Microsoft are hosting a series of events to help you sell more Microsoft, With new afternoon sessions to help broaden your Microsoft knowledge even further, you will leave confident when selling Microsoft to your customers.

The Westcoast and Microsoft Events Timetable
Please Click the below links to register,

• MLSS Lite and Understanding the Optimised Desktop - 21st September Reading
• MLSS Lite and Understanding the Optimised Desktop - 13th October Nottingham
• MLSS Lite and Understanding the Optimised Desktop - 20th October Cambridge
• MLSS and Virtualisation - 18th November London
• MLSS Including Academic - 20th January 2011 London
• MLSS Including Academic - 3rd February 2011 Sheffield
• MLSS Including Academic - 8th March 2011 Nottingham
• MLSS and Virtualisation - 17th April 2011 London

Here are the outlines of the sessions below.

MLSS Lite and Understanding the Optimised Desktop
The morning of this event is focused on improving your understanding of Microsoft licensing programmes and the licensing of Microsoft products so that you can sit your MLSS Lite Exam (optional) to become a trusted Microsoft Licensing advisor to your customers.
In the afternoon there is the NEW Understanding the Optimised Desktop session where you will further your understanding and realise the business opportunities.

MLSS and Virtualisation
The morning of this event is focused on improving your understanding of Microsoft Licensing and will allow you to sit your MLSS exam and become accredited as a Microsoft Licensing Sales Specialist. Achieving this accreditation will ensure customers see you as a trusted Microsoft advisor, and will help boost your bottom line.
In the afternoon there is the NEW Virtualisation session where you will be shown the benefits of virtualisation and the opportunities this opens up.

MLSS including Academic
The morning of this event is focused on improving your understanding of Microsoft Licensing and will allow you to sit your MLSS exam and become accredited as a Microsoft Licensing Sales Specialist. Achieving this accreditation will ensure customers see you as a trusted Microsoft advisor, and will help boost your bottom line.
In the afternoon there is the NEW Academic session where you will learn about Academic licensing and the selling opportunities it presents.

If you have any questions please contact us.

Regards

Technical ISS Solutions Team