CISCO solutions in times of the COVID-19 epidemic

The last few months have been a tough time for everyone. The new reality in which we found ourselves posed many new challenges.

CISCO solutions support customers around the world in the effective use of virtual environments.

Security of remote employees. Among these solutions, we can mention:

  • Quick deployments of remote work with Cisco AnyConnect VPNto be able to at any time, from anywhere
  • Extending the possibilities of remote meetings and videoconferences thanks to Webex Meeting
  • Remote network access by extending the corporate network to a home or small office

Key business areas ensuring efficiency and safety:

Telemedicine solutions a safe response to the growing demand for remote medical care.

Distance learning is a simple, safe and reliable platform for remote education and management.

You can find these and many more Cisco solutions here

Remote support offer for companies and individuals - simplified procedure

Due to the current situation of the COVID-19 epidemic, we decided to simplify and extend the scope of remote customer service.

Our proposal is to provide support for clients in a situation where many employees work remotely, and additionally, difficult access to IT services is possible.

 To benefit from the support of our company, you need to follow a few simple steps:

  1. Please send an email to biuro@upgreat.com.pl containing the following information:
    • Company name and contact information,
    • Brief description of service expectations.
  2. In response, we will call you to clarify mutual expectations related to the service.
  3. After agreeing the details, we will send you a scan and a paper version of the confidentiality agreement. The contract includes our declaration of the highest quality of services.
  4. We can start cooperation!

 The rules of customer service in a simplified procedure are as follows:

  1. The service will be performed remotely. If there is an absolute necessity to visit you, after agreeing on the necessary issues related to the safety of employees, our service technician will perform the necessary work at your premises or other indicated place.
  2. Remote maintenance will be as follows:
    • The service will be available on working days from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm. If there is a need to extend the scope of service, we invite you to sign our standard service contract.
    • The service will be provided immediately upon receipt of the notification, in the order of receipt.
    • The service request must be in the form of an email sent to our address helpdesk containing the following information:
      • Company name and contact information,
      • A short description of the need / problem.
  3. The service may be performed using one or more of the following methods:
    • Call,
    • TeamViewer service software that allows for secure, encrypted, remote access supervised by the customer,
    • Microsoft Teams online meeting software.
  4. After solving the reported problem, our employee will send you an e-mail summary of the service (description of activities, method of solving the problem, hourly effort), and in response, we also ask for an e-mail confirmation of its performance.
  5. The service will be billed on the basis of prepaid hour packages in the amounts of 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 hours.
  6. Each new customer, before buying the hour package from point 5, can take advantage of 1 hour of free service at a time.

 Feel free to contact us and we hope that our proposal will make your work easier.

We wish health!

UpGreat Team

End of Microsoft support for SQL Server and Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2.

On January 14, 2020, the support period for Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and 2008R2 systems and support for Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2 have ended.
We are aware that changes to the configuration of production systems can be difficult and that is why we offer our help during this process: we will discuss possible solutions with you, advise what to do next and answer questions regarding lifecycle of Microsoft products.

What does end of support mean?

Thousands of the most important business applications around the world - and yours, too - run in Microsoft SQL Server and Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2. The termination of the provision of additional support by Microsoft means in practice the lack of:

  • free local security updates
  • updates not related to security, e.g. related to bugs and stability,
  • free technical support options,
  • Online technical content updates.

Organizations that do not regularly update system security are more vulnerable to cyber attacks, which may jeopardize business continuity, customer and employee data can be stolen, and the credibility of a company or organization may be undermined. More information about the current threats to IT systems can be found at our tech blog.

What can I do now?

In order to have access to up-to-date support and thus reduce the risk of cyber-attacks and data theft, you can, among others:

  • upgrade the system to SQL Server 2017 and Windows Server 2016 or 2019 or purchase an extension of the security update for 3 years to protect the servers while working on the migration,
  • transfer applications to other platforms, e.g. to the cloud (Azure, AWS).

An alternative to purchasing new on-premise licenses is to rent them in the SPLA model (monthly fees, always the latest software versions).

In order to find a suitable solution for you and your company, please visit contact using the form as well as for direct communication with us:

  • Reception:
    T: +48 61 664 16 20
    @: biuro@upgreat.com.pl
  • Customer service office:
    T: +48 61 664 16 28
    T: +48 61 664 16 33
    T: +48 605 586 507
    T: +48 667 752 750
    @: Oferta@upgreat.com.pl

Microsoft's support for Windows 7 has ended

On January 14, 2020, the support period for Windows 7 has ended.
We are aware that changes to the configuration of production systems can be difficult and that is why we offer our help during this process: we will discuss possible solutions with you, advise what to do next and answer questions regarding lifecycle of Microsoft products.

What does end of support mean?

Beginning January 14, 2020, your Windows 7 PC will continue to function, but Microsoft will no longer provide the following services:

  • technical support regarding any problems,
  • software update,
  • security updates and patches.

You can continue to use your Windows 7 computer without constantly installing software and security updates, however this will increase your risk of virus and malware infections. In the future, the best way to stay safe is to switch to Windows 10. Windows 10 is best for a new computer. While Windows 10 can be installed on an older device, it is not recommended.

What can I do now?

In order to have up-to-date support (to, among other things, avoid the exploitation of operating system vulnerabilities, avoid encryption and data theft):

  1. Perform an audit of the configuration of your computers - you will receive a report from us on the current hardware configuration, Windows versions and recommendations for changes.
  2. Upgrade operating systems to Windows 10 (for a fee) or purchase a new computer with Windows 10.
  3. In the event that you have not decided to buy new computers, we recommend modernizing your hardware, e.g. by increasing the memory size and installing a fast SSD disk.

 In order to find a suitable solution for you and your company, please visit contact using the form as well as for direct communication with us:

  • Reception:
    T: +48 61 664 16 20
    @: biuro@upgreat.com.pl
  • Customer service office:
    T: +48 61 664 16 28
    T: +48 61 664 16 33
    T: +48 605 586 507
    T: +48 667 752 750
    @: Oferta@upgreat.com.pl

Protecting employee health and maintaining business continuity in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Due to the current epidemiological situation, we would like to support your efforts to protect the health of employees and maintain the business continuity of the company. Most companies work normally and therefore it is important for them to prevent and constantly monitor the health of their employees - in this case by remotely measuring body temperature. It is a solution that will be helpful for you not only now but also in the future. Our proposal may be particularly useful in manufacturing companies, large offices and offices.

Details are provided below. Please contact us if you are interested in this solution.

Option 1

Medical thermal imaging camera - Fully autonomous solution. The camera offers an accuracy that is unattainable with traditional thermal imaging cameras (usually ± 2 ° C), at the expense of limited use and a narrow measuring range (0 - 50 ° C).

Variant 2

Autonomous thermal imaging camera - A camera perfectly suited for the accurate imaging of temperature changes on the surface of the body, which can be used both for the detection of people with symptoms of fever as well as for other applications using thermography (continuous temperature monitoring, thermal diagnostics of buildings, etc.).

The above camera model can be used indoors or outdoors (e.g. installed above the entrance, at gates) by using a dedicated housing with a heater.

 Variant 3

The ATM-T5 detection system for people with fever symptoms, which enables the simultaneous temperature measurement of several people. ATM-T5 is the fastest available system of this type in Poland. More information about it can be found in PDF document.

 The photo below was taken using a camera with a thermal sensitivity of 100mK (2.5 times lower than in variant 1).

 In order to find a suitable solution for you and your company, please visit contact using the form as well as for direct communication with us:

  • Reception:
    T: +48 61 664 16 20
    @: biuro@upgreat.com.pl
  • Customer service office:
    T: +48 61 664 16 28
    T: +48 61 664 16 33
    T: +48 605 586 507
    T: +48 667 752 750
    @: Oferta@upgreat.com.pl

Support for customers in the face of the global COVID-19 threat

The dynamics of current events is a surprise to many and raises questions about the efficient functioning of the economy. As UpGreat cooperates with many companies in the field of IT, we want to assure our clients of our uninterrupted support for them.

1. We operate and we will serve clients in a way that ensures business development and continuity as well as the safety of clients' employees and UpGreat.

2. We have implemented appropriate procedures and solutions to minimize the possibility of infection:

  • possibility of remote work,
  • on-line meetings with clients and, if necessary, internal meetings,
  • avoiding situations conducive to the spread of the virus,
  • training on desired behaviors.

3. We are at your disposal as always - we will only slightly change the way we contact you. Therefore, please contact us by phone or e-mail:

  • Reception:
    T: +48 61 664 16 20
    @: biuro@upgreat.com.pl
  • Customer service office:
    T: +48 61 664 16 28
    T: +48 61 664 16 33
    T: +48 605 586 507
    T: +48 667 752 750
    @: Oferta@upgreat.com.pl

We will deal with your case immediately and arrange the necessary actions.

4. At the same time, we want to declare that in order to meet your needs, we can implement solutions supporting remote work in a short time:

  • firewalls and VPN connections,
  • quick deliveries and configurations of laptops (from stock),
  • implementing remote solutions on employees' private computers in a way that ensures the security of the company,
  • remote terminal work,
  • remote user support by our Helpdesk (by phone and through specialized software),
  • enabling on-line meetings.

We strongly believe that following the recommendations of epidemiologists and responsible institutions, as well as common sense, will ensure that all of us, as far as possible, safely go through these difficult times.

Let's wish each other health 🙂

UpGreat Team

New year, new threats - review of fresh vulnerabilities

The beginning of the year will probably be associated with the threat of coronavirus. This topic has dominated the media reports in recent weeks. It is also an excellent example of the fact that new threats may always appear in business, which have not been included in the risk analysis so far.

However, there is just as much going on in the world of cyber threats. On January 14, the end of support for the operating systems from the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 family, which was announced for a long time by Microsoft, took place. This means that for one of the most popular systems that are still used, unfortunately, also on company computers, security patches related to new discoveries will no longer be delivered. vulnerabilities.
The proof that this problem cannot be underestimated is the vulnerability found in the Remote Desktop Gateway service at the beginning of the year. Continue ...

New in the offer - 2 in 1 - training and security audit in one

Our offer includes a new service - technical training at the client's site combined with a security audit in the environment of the client being trained. The benefit is twofold: competences within the company (organization) as well as an audit and review of the client's actual environment.

We encourage you to read the annual of the CERT report for 2018 on cyber threats.

The topics of the 3-day training include:

  • Search and analysis of vulnerability to attacks,
  • Exploiting vulnerabilities to breach security,
  • Configuration of the metasploit environment - pentester workshop,
  • WIFI security and password cracking,
  • Generating a backdoor using the Metasploit environment,
  • and other.

If you want to know more, please visit our website read the agenda and fill in the form.

Report from the meeting "Safe storage of large amounts of data - one event in two scenes - presentation of Netapp"

On October 15, 2019 at the HP Park Hotel in Poznań, UpGreat together with Arrow Polska - a distributor of Netapp solutions, organized the first of two meetings devoted to Netapp mass storage technologies. The second of the meetings, i.e. free, 1-day training in the field of configuration and administration of the ONTAP system, managing FAS (hybrid Fabric-Attached Storage) and AFF (All Flash FAS) arrays will be held on November 14 at Concordia Design in Poznań. We encourage you to register for training with the use of form on our website. Please register as soon as possible as we have a limited number of places (25).

Netapp_15.10.2019_1
Netapp_15.10.2019_2
Netapp_15.10.2019_3

During the meeting, Łukasz Grzesiak from Arrow Polska presented the portfolio of mass memory products and discussed the basic concepts related to mass memory technologies, as well as showed the differences in the approach to technical issues between Netapp and other companies.

Gartner_primary_storage_magic_quadrant

With abbreviated text report published in September 2019 on mass storage, see the Gartner website.

In the second part of the meeting, Eugeniusz Wower from UpGreat conducted a live demonstration of the environment consisting of two Netapp matrices. The scope of the show was as follows:

  1. Description of the presented environment - laboratory and physical equipment (demo, disks, ports, controllers).
  2. Snapcenter and vCenter integration.
  3. Overview and definition of backup policies.
  4. Review of the backup history for a defined backup task.
  5. Backup policy and task definition (1 or 2 locations).
  6. Virtual machine backup (backup replication).
  7. Restore the virtual machine (from the specified location).
  8. Restore individual files / folders (from a specific location).
  9. Replication of volumes:
    - defining replication settings (protection policies),
    - replication,
    - demonstration of replication effects.

We are pleased to note that the attendance at HP Park was record-breaking and all those present stayed with us until the end 🙂 We understand that you are thinking about implementations and we would like to remind you that we have a pool of demonstration equipment. At your request, we will help you prepare the implementation of the test environment.

Below are links to presentations and materials related to the topic of the meeting:

Thank you for your presence and we invite you to contact. We are happy to talk to you about implementations.

Report from the lecture on Extreme Networks technologies and the visit to the Poznań Supercomputing and Networking Center on August 27, 2019

Thank you very much for your presence at our lecture.

As announced, the pace and amount of technical information were in line with the expectations of even the most demanding listeners. Piotr Kędra and Piotr Szołkowski from Extreme Networks thoroughly discussed the following topics:

  • Extreme Fabric Connect - standards-based (IEEE 802.1aq Shortest Path Bridging, IETF 6329) technology for building efficient and reliable fabric structures,
  • Extreme EXOS - Extreme Networks switch operating system,
  • Extreme Management Center - open network management console supporting devices from many manufacturers - live show.

The links below allow you to download the material discussed during the lecture:

We especially encourage you to watch the half-hour film called Technical Introduction to Extreme Fabric Connect, in which the technologies, standards and principles of operation of Extreme Fabric Connect are discussed in detail and accessible. It's worth it!

During the visit to the Poznań Supercomputing and Networking Center, we saw research laboratories, design laboratories and the network management center.

Another attraction was visiting the datacenter and the "museum" of servers, where, among other things, there were legendary CRAY computers that were no longer used.

We hope that everyone present has found something for themselves. we invite you to contact us - we will be happy to help you choose the Extreme solution, visit the Extreme Networks laboratory in Warsaw or carry out a pilot software implementation Extreme Management Center if Extreme Control (Advanced NAC).