iYogi Awarded Red Herring Top 100 Global Company

Recognizing the first, global, direct to consumers and small business technical support service from India

New York, January 21st, 2009 - iYogi (www.iyogi.net), today announced that it has been awarded as one of the Red Herring Top 100 Companies. Red Herring Top 100 Global Companies are chosen from winners and finalists of the previous Red Herring Top 100 Companies from North America, Europe and Asia Red Herring Top 100 Companies. Winning and finalist companies from the previous three years are were eligible for this outstanding award. Out of 1,800 successful and highly eligible companies, the Red Herring editorial team deployed a detailed process to drill-down the best companies first to 200 finalists, then to the top 100 winners of this global award. Evaluations were made on both quantitative and qualitative criteria, such as financial performance, innovation, management, global strategy, and ecosystem integration. The announcement of the winners was made at the Red Herring 100 Global, which took place in San Diego from January 14-16, 2009. Present among the finalists were elite executives and venture capital leaders from around the world.

"We were so pleased to announce iYogi as a Red Herring Top 100 Global Company," commented Red Herring publisher Alex Vieux."

"iYogi has proven to be a company excelling in their industry and its ripples have turned into waves. It was difficult for us to narrow down, but we are pleased to have included iYogi in our list of promising companies. We look forward to the changes it makes to its industry in the future".

"iYogi set out to introduce a new kind of service that would change the way technical support is delivered to consumers and small businesses. We are proud to be recognized by Red Herring's editorial team for our innovation and dedication to solve everyday problems faced by millions of consumers who are challenged by the increasingly complex computing environment," commented Uday Challu, CEO, iyogi.
iYogi delivers technical support services directly to consumers and small businesses and is the first, global, technical support brand based out of India. The company offers its customers an unlimited, annual service subscription for $139.99 per desktop that includes support for a wide range of technologies, including PC hardware Microsoft Windows Operating System, software applications, peripherals and multifunctional devices. iYogi recently launched Support Dock, a comprehensive desktop application suite with PC recovery, data backup, anti-virus and spyware removal , PC optimization, and home networking tools. Small businesses are serviced by iYogi's dedicated services group offering managed IT services enabling owners to increase productivity and maximize their return on investment.

About Red Herring

Red Herring is a global media company, which unites the world's best high technology innovators, venture investors and business decision makers in a variety of forums: a leading innovation magazine, an online daily technology news service, technology newsletters and major events for technology leaders around the globe. Red Herring provides an insider's access to the global innovation economy, featuring unparalleled insights on the emerging technologies driving the economy. More information about Red Herring is available on the Internet at www.redherring.com.

About iYogi

iYogi delivers live, comprehensive, 24/7 technical support services directly to consumers and small businesses and is the first, global, technical support brand based out of India. Providing an annual unlimited subscription to technical support, iYogi now boasts of more than 50,000 customers. The company employs 600 professionals servicing customers in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia and fast expanding to 12 new geographies across the globe. iYogi's resolution rate of 86 percent and customer satisfaction rate of 95 percent are amongst the highest published benchmarks in the industry. For further information, please visit - www.iyogi.net.


iYogi Contact:

Vishal Dhar
iYogi, Inc.
Phone: 212-229-0901
Email: vishal@iyogi.net

Red Herring Contact:

Anam Alpenia
Red Herring, Inc.
Phone: 650-428-2900
Email: aalpenia@redherring.com Yvonne Caprini
Logistics Manager
Red Herring, Inc.
Phone: 1 650 428 2900 x 410
Email: ycaprini@redherring.com

How to install & Configure DHCP Server in Windows 2000

Installing the DHCP Service

You can install DHCP either during or after the initial installation of Windows 2000 Server or Advanced Server, although there must be a working DNS in the environment. To validate your DNS server, click Start, click Run, type cmd, press ENTER, type ping friendly name of an existing DNS server in your environment, and then press ENTER. An unsuccessful reply generates an "Unknown Host My DNS server name" message.

To install the DHCP Service on an existing Windows 2000 Server:

1. Click Start, click Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs, and then click Add/Remove Windows Components.
3. In the Windows Component Wizard, click Networking Services in the Components box, and then click Details.
4. Click to select the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) check box if it is not already selected, and then click OK.
5. In the Windows Components Wizard, click Next to start Windows 2000 Setup. Insert the Windows 2000 Advanced Server CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive if you are prompted to do so. Setup copies the DHCP server and tool files to your computer.
6. When Setup is complete, click Finish.

Configuring the DHCP Service

After you install and start the DHCP service, you must create a scope. Each DHCP server in your environment should have at least one scope that does not overlap with any other DHCP server scope in your environment. In Windows 2000, DHCP servers within an Active Directory domain environment must be authorized to prevent rogue DHCP servers from coming online and authorizing a DHCP Server.

When you install and configure the DHCP service on a domain controller, the server is typically authorized the first time that you add the server to the DHCP console. However, when you install and configure the DHCP service on a member server, you need to authorize the DHCP server.

Note A stand-alone DHCP server cannot be authorized against an existing Windows Active Directory.

To authorize a DHCP server:

1. Click Start, click Programs, click Administrative Tools, and then click DHCP.
   
2. In the console tree of the DHCP snap-in, select the new DHCP server. If there is a red arrow in the bottom-right corner of the server object, the server has not yet been authorized.
3. Right-click the server, and then click Authorize.
4. After a few moments, right-click the server again and then click Refresh. The server should display a green arrow in the bottom-right corner to indicate that the server has been authorized.

To create a new scope:

1. Click Start, click Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click DHCP.
2. Right-click the server, and then click New Scope. In the New Scope Wizard, click Next, and then type a name and description for the scope. This can be any name that you choose, but it should be descriptive enough to identify the purpose of the scope on your network. For example, you might use Administration Building Client Addresses.
3. Type the range of addresses that can be leased as part of this scope, for example, a starting IP address of 192.168.100.1 to an ending address of 192.168.100.100. Because these addresses are given to clients, they should all be valid addresses for your network and not currently in use. If you want to use a different subnet mask, type the new subnet mask. Click Next.
4. Type any IP addresses that you want to exclude from the range you entered. This includes any addresses that may have already been statically assigned to various computers in your organization. Click Next.
5. Type the number of days, hours, and minutes before an IP address lease from this scope expires. This determines the length of time that a client can hold a leased address without renewing it. Click Next to select Yes, I want to configure these options now, and then extend the wizard to include settings for the most common DHCP options. Click Next.
6. Type the IP address for the default gateway that should be used by clients that obtain an IP address from this scope. Click Add to place the default gateway address into the list, and then click Next.
7. Click Yes, I want to activate this scope now, to activate the scope and allow clients to obtain leases from it, and then click Next. Click Finish.

Source: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/300429

Configuration of ISA Firewall to Support Dynamic DNS Services

Dynamic DNS (DDNS) services enable users with dynamic IP addresses to register domain names users on the Internet can use to reach published resources. These DDNS services are a tremendous boon to small and home business users who would like to take the reins and run their own Internet accessible services. Examples of services you can make available over the Internet include:

Examples of services you can make available over the Internet include:

• Exchange Outlook Web Access (OWA)
• Exchange Outlook Mobile Access (OMA)
• Exchange ActiveSync (EAS)
• SMTP servers
• POP3 servers
• IMAP4 servers
• Web servers
• FTP servers
• NNTP (news) servers
• VPN servers
• And lots more!

DDNS services solve the problem of being able to reach servers on your network from the Internet when your public IP address changes. For example, you might want to use the ISA firewall’s fantastic secure Exchange RPC publishing feature so that you can use the native Outlook MAPI client without incurring the overhead of upgrading to Exchange 2003 and Outlook 2003 just to get RPC over HTTP. The ISA firewall’s advanced RPC filter insures that you can connect securely over the Internet using the native Outlook client, regardless of what version of Outlook you might be using.

The secure Exchange RPC filter allows you to connect to any version of Exchange from any version of Outlook. I use it every time I’m on the road from airports and hotel broadband networks and I can assure you, once you deploy it, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it. The secure Exchange RPC publishing feature is one of the ISA firewall’s features that confirms the ISA firewall stands head and shoulder’s above any other firewall when it comes to providing secure remote access to Exchange Server services. In fact, you do yourself and your organization a disservice if you allow remote access to Exchange without an ISA firewall in front of it.

The challenge for small and home business users is that when their IP address changes, they have no simple mechanism for determining what the new IP address is and subsequently they’re not able to connect to resources on their network.

For example, suppose you’re about to go on a trip and want to connect to the Exchange Server on your home office network. You create OWA and secure Exchange RPC publishing rules so you can reach the Exchange Server from your hotel and airport. You note down the IP address you currently have and configure Outlook to use that address and also to use it for OWA.

TZO is a DDNS service I’ve been using since the late 1990s and I consider one of the best, if not the best, DDNS provider available. We’ve had zero downtime with TZO and registering new domains with them is quite easy. For more information about their service, check out www.tzo.com

Source:http://www.isaserver.org/tutorials/2004TZO.html

Infoblox Loads DNS Services onto Cisco Routers

Enterprise IT executives looking to cut costs and consolidate infrastructure might be interested in news jointly announced Monday by Infoblox and Cisco, as the vendors team to offer Infoblox DNS, DHCP and other core network services via blades designed to slide into Cisco's integrated services routers.

The technology partnership will enable network managers to put DNS, DHCP, IP address management and other core network services on blades in Cisco routers deployed at branch office locations, eliminating the need for a separate server to maintain those services. The product, developed under Cisco's Application eXtension Platform (AXP), enables customers to push network services closer to the edge and consolidate infrastructure in remote offices. Industry watchers say the partnership reflects a trend among enterprise companies to reduce infrastructure while maintaining services.

"Remember the 'Trapper Keeper?' That's what Cisco's routers are becoming for enterprise branch office: a single place to keep all critical network applications and services," says Phil Hochmuth, senior analyst at Yankee Group. "This is being enabled largely by the AXP, which allows organizations to cram as many services -- even ones beyond Cisco's own scope, such as Infoblox IP address management - onto a single platform."

According to Infoblox, enterprise companies can spend between $600 and $1,500 managing a server per branch office per month. Removing the need for a server at the branch to support core network services not only reduces that cost, but also ensures the branch will continue to have DNS, DHCP, NTP, FTTP, HTTP, TFTP and syslog proxy capabilities at the remote location - even if a connection to the data center is lost. Infoblox vNIOS Virtual Appliance software installs on a blade in Cisco's widely deployed ISR router line -- reportedly 4 million are installed today -- which Infoblox Vice President of Marketing Rick Kagan says will reinforce the vendor's message that DNS services can't be ignored even in a difficult economy.

Cisco and Infoblox also plan to showcase the joint solution at several upcoming industry events, including at a live virtual meeting this week and at Cisco Networkers later this month in Barcelona, Spain.

Source:http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/011209-infoblox-dns.html

DNS Client Behavior in Windows Vista and Server 2008

Microsoft developers have changed the functionality of many of Windows' components. DNS is one of them. A DNS client component running on a Vista computer behaves differently than it did in previous versions of Windows.

This tip explains the behavior of the DNS client component in Windows Vista for DNS queries and registrations.

Windows Vista will need to perform two types of DNS queries: A and AAAA. The A is for IPV4 and AAAA is for IPV6. It could be that one of the endpoints or IP Addresses the DNS Server supplied is not reachable and the client retries at DNS server. This will put the load on the DNS server when multiple clients send DNS queries.

The following changes have been made to the DNS client component to minimize the impact on the DNS server:

• If the client computer has only link-local or Teredo IPV6 addresses assigned, then the DNS Client will send only a single query for its A records.
• If the client computer has at least one IPV6 address, and this is not the Teredo address, the DNS client service sends DNS query for A records and a separate query for AAAA records. If the A record query times out or returns with a negative response, the corresponding AAAA query is not re-sent.
• Windows Vista Client computers will always use IPV6 over IPV4 (e.g., AAAA Over A queries).

DNS Registration Behavior in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008:-

The DNS Client Service in both operating systems uses DNS Dynamic update and registers the following records:

1. A records for all IPV4 addresses assigned to the interfaces configured with a DNS Server address.
2. PTR records for IPV4 addresses assigned to the interfaces.
3. AAAA records for all IPV6 addresses assigned to the interfaces configured with the DNS Server address.

Source: http://www.serverwatch.com/tutorials/article.php/3781556