Trick And Treat

For our Halloween edition, we thought we would focus on some neat software tricks… and the treats they provide. We have three offerings for business (presumably), one for your off-hours.

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PiXiE Is Here!

What is PiXiE?

PiXiE is a small server designed to back up (and recover) workstations in a network. What makes it different from other backup solutions (such as web-based backup solutions) is the type of backup that it does. 

Rather than grabbing individual files and folders for backups, PiXiE puts the computer into a special mode and images the entire hard drive. This makes replacing a hard drive and restoring the workstation a very straightforward (and much faster) process. Because of this image process, PiXiE is not well suited for restoring individual files; we recommend using one of the many web-based utilities for that.

Situations where PiXiE is the backup of choice:

• The hard drive crashed
• You receive the "Blue Screen of Death"
• A virus has left the computer unusable
• Updates or settings changes have caused the system to not function
• You need to create several machines with the exact same software and settings (assuming you are licensed for all of the software)

In all of these scenarios, whether you are overwriting the existing drive or putting an entirely new drive in the system, PiXiE can restore the computer to its last backup - fully functional, ready to go back to work - in a fraction of the time required to re-install the operating system and software, do updates, and configure settings.

Contact us today for a demonstration!

As Easy As 3-2-1

I'm constantly talking to clients about backups. A couple of recent crashes will explain why.

I prefer to talk with people about backups before they're needed. Ideally, while we are setting up the network. Roughly half the time I walk into a situation where a server has crashed, I am met with either blank or panicked stares when I ask about the status of their backups.

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Another (bigger) Crash

This week has been a test of endurance and tranquility. 

Photo by BarkIt started out innocently enough, as do most horrific weeks. Monday morning was spent going through my checks, making sure everything was ok. 

The first call was at about noon on Monday. A client's user was having trouble opening a file in their documents folder... there were indications that seemed to point to the file being corrupted. This is obviously a concern, but not earth-shattering. I'll just finish up what I'm doing and... 

The second call wasn't far behind it. This was another user. They were having trouble opening any files in their documents folder. Since the workstations on this network are configured to redirect their documents folder to a shared location, this now tells me that we have corruption on the server, in the user shared directories. Oh, crap. Now it's getting serious, and it means that everyone is affected. It's time to rearrange the schedule and... 

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The Trojan Fortune Cookie

A friend of mine who is also a client sent me an email this week. I get email all the time from friends and clients alike asking opinions on various technical things that they read about. I'm sure any of you in any kind of service industry whatsoever provide the same service for your family and friends - whether you are a neurologist (like my cousin), a cop (another cousin), a Pastor or a mechanic. People are always running their thoughts by you to get your opinions.

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