Volume 6 Issue 5

June 2, 2006

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Welcome to the May edition of QTS QuikNews, our monthly e-mail newsletter. In this monthly e-mail, you will receive an update of what's new at QTS - new products we support, new patches and upgrades, solution ideas and promotions to save you money, and information about our company and our clients.

In this issue:

• QTS and Partner News
• Events
• President's Corner
• QuikSecure Tip of the Month
• Patches and Upgrades
• Product Support Lifecycle Watch
• Solution Spotlight
• Special Offers
• Partner Spotlight

QTS AND PARTNER NEWS

WELCOME TO NEW CUSTOMERS
QTS offers a “welcome aboard” to the following new customers:

·         Brother International Corporation

·         Khronos LLC

QTS IS HIRING!
QTS is recruiting for senior and mid-level technical personnel, as well as an entry to mid-level sales/service specialist.  If you know anyone who might be a good fit, please have them submit their resume to Liz Meechan, our Office Manager. Liz can be reached at lmeechan@QTSnet.com, or (973)984-7600 x223.

PRESS RELEASES

QTS ACHIEVES MICROSOFT INFORMATION WORKER COMPETENCY AS GOLD CERTIFIED PARTNER
6/1/2006: QTS today announced that as a Gold Certified Partner it has completed the requirements for the Information Worker Competency under the Microsoft Partner Program.  This is QTS' fourth competency certification, on top of QTS' current competencies for Network Infrastructure, Advanced Infrastructure and Security Solutions.  Read more at http://www.QTSnet.com/stayinformed/l3_stay_pr66.htm

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PRODUCT NOTICES AND ADVISORIES

MICROSOFT OFFICE REBATE
Customers who purchase Microsoft Office 2003 Professional through an Open License or Open License Value program by June 30^th may be eligible to receive up to $125 per license as a rebate from Microsoft.  See https://www.microsoftincentives.com/officeopenrebate/ for more information, or contact your QTS Account Manager.

TERMINAL SERVICES CAL TRADE-UP EXTENDED!
Due to a change in the way Microsoft licenses Terminal Services as of April 2003, customers may be eligible for free Terminal Services Client Access Licenses (CALs).  With the release of Windows Server 2003, the “built-in” CALs under Windows 2000 were eliminated.  However, customers owning Windows XP Pro receive a free Terminal Services CAL for each XP license.  This offer has been extended, but we strongly recommend processing this promptly.  For more information, visit http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/ howtobuy/licensing/tscaltransfaq.mspx.

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PRESIDENT'S CORNER

Following up on last month’s column on Office 2007, this month I would like to spend some time discussing Windows Vista, the upcoming new release of the Windows operating system.  Windows Vista is the replacement to Windows XP on the desktop – the server version of Windows, code named “Longhorn,” is targeted for release in the second half of 2007, whereas Windows Vista will be available for electronic download late this year (the current target is November), with retail and OEM availability in January. 

QTS has four customers participating in the Windows Vista Technology Adoption Program, and our engineers are just now starting to work with the recently released Beta 2 code.  We will be deploying Windows Vista Beta/Release Candidate code in production at these clients, working with Microsoft to test for application compatibility and to use the newest version of Microsoft’s Business Desktop Deployment Solution Accelerator – Microsoft’s tools for imaging, application compatibility and migration.  Based on our early experience, and the feature set we are seeing, we are very motivated to see the Windows Vista product launch and become generally available. 

Windows Vista brings a number of key benefit areas to the table.  Microsoft’s messaging around the product is centered around three core tenets – Confident, Clear and Connected.  Confident refers to the enhanced reliability and security of the operating system – an area where Vista brings major improvements to an already solid Windows product.  Clear is about finding and organizing information – Vista presents a much more intuitive way to find, browse and view files, as well as strong search technology which works on its own but also integrates with Windows SharePoint Portal Server on the back-end for enterprise search capabilities.  Connected is about supporting a broader range of integrations and networking support, particularly around mobility and notebook/tablet support. 

To me, the most significant improvement area, and the most compelling upgrade point, is around Security.  At the top of this list is the new User Account Control (“UAC”) feature, which allows us to restrict users to basic rights on their computers.  Most of us are used to having to give users Administrator rights on their system to make at least some applications work, which is a very vulnerable posture from a security perspective since if the user is logged in as an Administrator, then malicious code can execute at that rights level and cause significant damage.  By restricting users to “user” level rights for most tasks, and allowing for escalated privileges when specifically needed, the security risks on the desktop platform are significantly lowered.  What used to take massive work in prior versions of Windows, to the extent it was even possible in some environments, is now the default in Vista. 

However, there are other significant security enhancements in Vista.  Group Policy controls have been significantly expanded – there are over 3000 Group Policy options in Vista, versus roughly 1200 in Windows XP, allowing for much more granular control and lockdown of Vista computers.  Furthermore, one of those features allows you to lock down USB ports to prevent or control “thumb drives” and the exposure that is possible by copying significant amounts of data to small, easily removable devices.  Some organizations have resorted to “epoxy” (glue) to render USB ports un-usable for this very reason, so locking down the ports via Group Policy accomplishes the same objective in a less permanent way (Microsoft therefore refers to these policy items as “epoxy” settings).  Vista also allows for encryption of data partitions on PCs (the “BitLocker” feature  available in the Enterprise Edition of Vista), to deal with the growing problem of notebook theft and risk of data loss – this leverages a PKI/Certificate Services infrastructure for key management, and is Active Directory integrated (and also requires significant planning to do this properly).  Internet Explorer version 7 has been enhanced, particularly with new anti-phishing technologies and additional security controls.  Patch management has also been improved and enhanced, and anti-spyware and some antivirus capabilities are now built into the operating system. 

The new user interface is a visible, obvious area of change.  The basic version of Vista will have a more refined interface, with an enhanced folder interface and better document preview capabilities.  The interface has been enhanced based on usability testing to make it more intuitive, reducing the learning curve for new computer users.  The Start Menu, Explorer and other features have been re-designed to make it easier to find programs and files. 

Moving from Windows Vista Basic to the “Aero” version (same media, but hardware-dependent) significantly enhances the user experience.  Aside from the “glass” feature (formally called transparency), the Aero interface supports faster and more reliable graphics composition, Taskbar Thumbnails (the ability to see, in the taskbar, not just what programs are running, but what data is in the programs), Windows Flip (replaces Alt-Tab with a more precise preview of open programs/data) and Flip 3-D (a better way to move between running programs).  These features require a graphics card supporting at least 128MB of graphics memory and compatible with the Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM).  More information on hardware compatibility for the Basic and Aero versions of Windows Vista may be found at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsvista/evaluate/hardware/default.mspx.

Related to this is the search capability, which is integrated throughout Vista.  So, for example, one can search for a program or command to launch the program, rather than navigating through menus looking for an icon buried somewhere in the menu system.  Search has been enhanced, and leverages a common technology with SharePoint Portal Server and MSN.  This presents significant value in time savings and employee effectiveness, particular when combined with Office 2007 and SharePoint Portal Server. 

Another significant area of enhancement revolves around deployment.  First and foremost is Windows Imaging – a technology originally released with the Operating System Deployment (“OSD”) Feature Pack to SMS 2003.  Windows Imaging allows for creation of operating system images, similar to what Symantec Ghost allows for.  However, unlike Ghost, Windows Imaging is a file based imaging format that does not require completely reformatting the hard disk (this allows for a complete, in-place image upgrade using Windows Imaging and Windows PE, while preserving user settings and data on that hard disk with the User State Migration Tool).  Windows Imaging combined with the device flexibility of Vista can allow for significant image consolidation (theoretically, down to one image for all computer systems).  This in and of itself can be a significant savings, but furthermore these images can be edited offline – files can be added to an image simply by dragging and dropping the files to the image from within a utility.  Application compatibility is a major issue and concern for any operating system upgrade, and we will be helping Microsoft to test and refine the new Application Compatibility Toolkit – a database of software programs and the known compatibility issues and fixes, to help make programs work under Vista.  This will be released concurrent with Vista, to help customers move into deployment.  Some of these tools have been available under the Business Desktop Deployment Solution Accelerator, as free downloads, and we’ve been training customers on them through the DSP program QTS is participating in.  However, the Vista version of these tools is significantly enhanced, and having worked with these tools in April at Microsoft’s Vista Airlift, I am looking forward to their refinement and release. 

Laptop support in Vista is significantly improved in several ways.  Boot up time is significantly sped up, as is the “hibernation” function.  Wireless support has been improved, as has power management, allowing systems to be more secure and battery life to be extended.  Since power costs continue to rise, this is actually an area where some hard ROI can be demonstrated.  Vista will also support improved peer to peer networking, supporting mobile teams (for example, an accounting team working together from a client site, or in an airport). 

There are several version of Vista planned for release, so choosing the right version(s) will require some planning, There will be different versions and flavors targeted at the consumer, small business and medium/large business markets.  Interestingly, there will not be separate versions for Media Center and Tablet devices as there are today – these capabilities will be built into the base product.  More detail on this is available within the Windows Vista Product Guide on the Microsoft web site.

This leads to a logical question – how do you get Vista when it is released.  Although many of you are used to buying new PCs and getting the operating system with it, there is some real merit to purchasing Software Assurance to get and maintain OS upgrade rights.  Specifically, the Enterprise version of Vista will be available to Software Assurance customers and will include some features that won’t be in the retail/OEM version – BitLocker, Virtual PC Express Edition and Language Pack support.  These features are only available in the Enterprise Edition, which is only provided through Enterprise Agreements and other licensing programs with Software Assurance.  This is targeted around an imaging approach to deployment, which is Microsoft’s recommendation.  Software Assurance can be added to most OEM hardware licenses within a 60 day window of purchase of the computer – contact your software licensing reseller or QTS for more information on this if you have purchased new PCs recently and wish to do so.

So, there is a lot to absorb with this major new release of Windows, and we are looking forward to the next few months as we build our experience with this product, and help Microsoft to improve it.  And if you’re interested in being an early adopter, give us a call – we’ll already have four deployments in play by the time the product is released and available to you as final production code. 

As always, feel free to email me your comments or thoughts at nrosenberg@QTSnet.com. Thank you.

Neil Rosenberg
President & CEO
Quality Technology Solutions

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PARTNER SPOTLIGHT

This month QTS is spotlighting its network penetration testing partner, Razorpoint Security Technologies, Inc.  Based in New York City, Razorpoint Security specializes in researching and analyzing security vulnerabilities and conducting comprehensive security testing.  Razorpoint Security’s testing goes well beyond the average “port scan” or “vulnerability scan” exercises.  They look at your network through the eyes of those looking to do you harm.  As Razorpoint Security’s president Gary Morse says, “We know what they know, we know what they see, and we know what they do.”

Razorpoint Security’s assessments provide business leaders and corporate clients the necessary security services and solutions that help keep corporate networks secure.  They have exceptional expertise in network security, attack/penetration testing and identifying security vulnerabilities especially as they relate to Internet solutions and web applications.  They provide security services that focus the view of your operating environment.  Razorpoint Security offers all sectors of business the services to maintain a firm grasp on the evolving state of network security.

Razorpoint Security’s attack/penetration tests identify potentially disastrous security vulnerabilities and help ensure the protection of network infrastructures and e-business ventures.  While many security firms provide singular penetration tests with limited documentation, Razorpoint Security offers a year-round assessment schedule, customized documentation deliverables, and monthly security advisories that help keep clients up to date.

As Razorpoint Security Technologies approaches the start of its fourth year in business, they have clearly become a leading force in the network security industry.  In addition to providing comprehensive security services to its clients, Razorpoint Security has become a prime media source on information security.  News outlets such as The New York Times Magazine, ABC/CourtTV, CBS News, Crain’s NY Business, Entrepreneur Magazine, CSO (Chief Security Officer) Magazine, CRN Magazine and Wired News are among those that have tapped Razorpoint Security for their expertise.

As local leaders in the security field, QTS and Razorpoint Security have worked together to develop a Penetration & Attack Testing offering that fits into QTS’ QuikSecure methodology and is a logical progression for customers who have completed QTS’ QuikSecure Security and Vulnerability Assessment offerings.  This QuikSecure PAT offering is offered through QTS and has been scaled and priced appropriately for the Medium Business market space.

For more information on Razorpoint Security Technologies, please view their web site at www.razorpointsecurity.com, email them at sales@razorpointsecurity.com, or call (212)744-6900.  Or, contact your QTS Account Manager.

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