Microsoft Solution

Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Active Directory® Services

Active directory consulting and implementation for the San Francisco Bay Area, California and Nationwide.

Although many organizations have completed their Microsoft Active Directory® deployment, there remain organizations that have either not completed deployment or have yet to take advantage of some of the important features of Active Directory. SLS Networks can help small- and medium-sized organizations understand the business advantages that can be realized through the use of Windows Server 2003 and Active Directory

Many software applications have directory service functionality built into their applications. These narrowly targeted directory services most often lack standards-based interfaces, resulting in one network containing multiple directories that don’t work together and have to be maintained separately. These disparate directory services often translate into a higher total cost of ownership, requiring greater management and more complex applications.

Microsoft Windows Active Directory® service is a flexible directory structured service that is scalable, built using Internet-standard technologies and delivered with Microsoft Windows 2000 Server and on. It is the consolidation point for isolating, migrating, centrally managing and reducing the number of directories found in a network. New features and enhancements have been provided at all levels of the product to extend versatility, simplify management, and increase dependability with each release.

Windows Server 2008 soon to be released is packed with even more features to help manage your network and infrastructure. It is built off the strengths of Server 2003 and designed to provide organizations with the most productive platform for powering applications, networks, and Web services from the workgroup to the datacenter with exciting, valuable new functionality and powerful improvements to the base operating system.

While not every organization will immediately implement Active Directory® services when deploying Windows Server Operating System, the solution does offer many advantages, including:

Manageability

Active Directory® provides single-logon capability and a central repository for information for your entire infrastructure, vastly simplifying user and computer management and providing greater access to networked resources.

Provides a single solution for managing all Group Policy–related tasks based on user credentials.
Design decisions are now reversible, which benefits organizations that may be in involved in a merger or significant restructuring.

SAAZ Technology Platform

It acts as a central authenticating authority for network security, enabling your operating system to verify a user’s identity and control access to your network resources.

It can be used to extend systems securely to the Internet.
Prevent user access to confidential or proprietary data.
Limit users’ access to specified hours to reduce your overtime.

Interoperability

It helps to organize and integrate systems that aren’t Windows-based and consolidates directories for easier management of the entire network.

It increases the value of your existing network and lowers the overall cost of computing because it makes your current Windows network more manageable, secure and interoperable.
Branch offices with domain controllers can provide user logon through cached credentials without first contacting the global catalog, improving system performance and robustness over unreliable wide area networks (WANs).

Microsoft Exchange Server Consulting and Deployment

If you are utilizing an old version of Microsoft Exchange and want to migrate to the latest version, we can assist your IT department or handle the implementation. We can achieve that goal while avoiding or minimizing the disruptions normally associated with a Microsoft Exchange Server migration. We can ensure your local and remote mail users get the scalability, reliability, security and performance and full functionality of the Exchange Servers’ offerings.

We have completed several organizations’ email servers and are skilled in all aspects of Microsoft Exchange Server including:

Microsoft Exchange Server deployment
Upgrades to Microsoft Exchange Server 2003
Microsoft Exchange Server migration and maintenance
Outlook Web Access
Cluster replication

Microsoft Exchange Server Readiness Assessment

We will review your current environment, including the Windows 2000/2003 domain, network and SMTP architectures. Required changes or issues that may pose undue risk for the migration will be brought to your attention with recommendations to correct these vulnerabilities if discovered.

Microsoft Exchange Server Planning, Design and Deployment

We will analyze your business practice and map them to Microsoft Exchange Server capabilities. Then, the physical and logical design of the Exchange Server architecture will be defined along with the major tasks that will take place over the course of the installation, upgrade or migration project.

If required, the service team will also review the current message environment, existing domains and the network architecture. We also install and configure Microsoft Exchange Server software and all relevant Microsoft Service Packs and Hot Fixes. The client connection to the server and a mailbox and the ability to send and receive mail to and from the server will be verified.

E-mail Server Archiving & Storage Assessment

Various corporate retention policies exist for e-mail, voice mail, and fax communications. With Managed Folders, a user can organize messages into Outlook folders that are provisioned and managed by the administrator. An automated process scans the inbox and these folders to retain, expire, or journal communications based on compliance requirements.

An assessment of current usage profiles and data retention as well as usage metrics for servers and storage and network traffic, can determine the best practice of operations and recommendations made.

Microsoft Exchange Server Support

SLS Networks offers flexible support plans targeted to meet the needs of your helpdesk personnel or IT professionals including on-site and remote support. We can also manage the Exchange server for you and perform routine maintenance on a set schedule

Down Exchange Server

SLS Networks knows how critical business communication is and how also specializes in upgrades. When your mail system is down and a migration to a new server and Microsoft Exchange Server is the only option, we can help.

Microsoft Exchange Server 2000/2003 /2007

Exchange Server has been through several updates and with each new release, the features increase for organizations to take advantage to increase productivity, reliability and accessibility. Email has become the standard business method of communication within the last decade as it enables businesses to send and receive electronic mail and other forms of interactive communication through their computer network. Originally designed to interoperate with a software client application such as Microsoft Outlook, Exchange Server also interoperates with Outlook Express and other e-mail client applications such as Windows Live email as well as Windows CE typically found in your Smartphone.

Exchange Server offers integrated collaborative messaging features such as scheduling, contact and task management capabilities. Exchange Server 2003 runs on Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and Microsoft Windows 2000 Server operating systems and Windows Server 2008 support provides added security features as well as deployment and administrative experience benefits to administrators while enabling Exchange to run on the newest Windows Server platform.

Access to Exchange Server is achieved through a client program such as Microsoft Outlook and runs on Windows-based computers and communicates with the server through the MAPI protocol that includes powerful messaging and rich collaboration capabilities. Exchange Server also accommodates other client access through its support for Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) and Internet Message Access Protocol 4 (IMAP4) protocols as well as support for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). Microsoft Outlook Web Access, a service in Exchange Server, accommodates remote users and requires an internet browser to retrieve all content associated with each user’s mailbox.

Exchange Server 2003/2007 supports mobile devices such as Pocket PC and Smartphones and enables business users to synchronize an Inbox, Calendar, Contacts and Tasks lists to remotely check appointments and other important information. Mobile device browsers are also supported through Exchange Outlook Mobile Access, which enables HTML, compressed HTML (CHTML) and Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) browser–based devices to access the Exchange Server.