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BUSINESSRESTOREBUSINESSRESTORE

No. 1/03Your InfoStructure magazine

Make the best of what you already have

SIS Systems AG

TURNING OLDINTO NEWVirus attack

HOW TOCONTROLTHE DATATRAFFICGartner Group

CREATE A NEWIT STRATEGY!

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annons legato

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1111ProAct is a specialist and independent integrator with know-how, methods and

products in the field of infrastructure for securing mission-critical information. The

company, which is active in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland,

focuses on large and medium-sized companies and organisations in need of secure

and efficient handling of mission-critical information. Business is conducted in

Copenhagen, Aarhus, Helsinki, Uleåborg, Oslo, Bergen, Hamar, Stavanger,

Trondheim, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Linköping, Lund, Sundsvall and Zurich with a

staff of around 320, most of whom are technically oriented.

What sets ProAct apart is the technical expertise and competence of its personnel.

ProAct IT Group AB is listed on the O-list of Stockholmsbörsen (the Stockholm Stock

Exchange).

Contents

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THERE IS NOTHING IN THE IT INDUSTRY that is as certain as that the amounts

information will increase very rapidly, at the same time as security requirements

mount. Having continuous access to the information is mission-critical for most

businesses and can in many cases be altogether crucial for results and survival.

ProAct’s aggregate competence, methods and products are adapted specifically for

this challenge and it is our type of specialist role that is increasingly in demand today

as IT use increases in society.

Business in every industry generates and requires

increasing amounts of information. Access to the right

information at the right time is crucial to the success of business.

ProAct has coined the term InfoStructure to describe the infrastructure used to

handle this information. Different companies have different needs depending on the

nature of their business. What the customers need is support and security in their

InfoStructure.

It is a strength to be able to offer services and integrated solutions that include

both data storage and security in customer network environments. We now have

more than 1,000 active corporate customers and many of them have several systems

installations, services as well as products. We will also in the future have a very

focused specialist role where competence is at the forefront, or as it was once

expressed by someone at a technical department: “We want to be the best at what

we know and not be involved with what we don’t know.”

Henrik Holm, Group CEO ProAct IT Group

Information – that has created

the knowledge capital and the

intellectual property – will in the future

be the foremost asset in all types of

business. Companies and organizations

that are able to handle their

information will be the winners of the

information age.”

Ericsson createsstable solutionsfor restore ofbackups.

Turning Old into Newis the motto when SISSystems AG makesmajor restructuring.

Major restructuring at SIS Systems AG in Olten 4–5

Virus protection 6–8

New recovery solution for Veritas 9

Fast return of cash at Ericsson 11–13

Intelligent networking 15

Gartner Group: An Alternative

Approach to Creating an IT Strategy 17–20

Tailor made training at ProAct 21

Local pages 22–23

Cronicle 24

Page

“Editorial

Circulation: 11 000.Publisher: Per ErnedalEditor: Hanna Köllerström,+46-8-410 666 25.Repro/Print: Mediett.Photo cover: Bengt AlmProduced by: www.pladera.comTO ADVERTISE in Proactuellt is, as you cansee, perfectly possible. Please contactHanna Köllerström, +46-8-410 666 25.hanna.kollerstrom@proact.seIF YOU WANT TO CONTACT PROACT:

+46-8-410 666 00

Page

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IS Systems AG is a subsidiary of the SIS Group, whichprovides securities-related services such as shareholders’ledgers, security deposits and settlements. SIS Systems

AG is responsible for the entire information infrastructure in thelocations at Olten, Oerlikon and Zürich, Switzerland. From PCsand telephone systems to postal services and the Internet, SISSystems ensures flawless processing of the daily torrent of datafor some 700 employees, 1000 PCs and 110 servers. A big re-sponsibility for Business Unit Manager Reto Rickenbach: “Youcan’t imagine what blank screens would mean around here.Business would be dead. Nothing would work anymore. It’s ourjob to prevent that.” And now the job also includes the currentrestructuring, subdivided into six concurrent subprojects – with-out interfering with daily business.

The mission was clearly defined: The entire storage structure

must be centralized in Olten, rather than distributed among thethree locations as in the past. And the security and reliability re-quirements were specified just as clearly: access security andfailsafe reliability, both indispensable for banks. To ensure all ofthese, two completely redundant storage subsystems were in-stalled in two buildings that face each other.

Intelligent, redundant dual pathingBoth systems are 100% productive. All services are installed onclusters that are likewise divided between the two buildings. Andthe individual cluster nodes are of course interconnected byintelligent, redundant dual pathing that even supports load shar-ing. “We’re not going to have a problem unless both buildingsturn into rubble,” asserts Reto Rickenbach.

The new storage solution was delivered and implemented

S

Major restructuring at SIS Systems AG in Olten, Switzerland: Turning Old into New is the motto ofReto Rickenbach, Business Unit Manager Client and Server Systems. In collaboration with severalpartner firms the entire IT infrastructure has been updated to meet the latest requirements. SIS

picked ProAct Datasystems AG as its partner in implementing a SAN storage solution.

NO MORE BLANKSCREENS, EVER!

switzerland

Shareholders' ledgers, security deposits and settlementsare secured by Reto Rickenbach, SIS Systems AG in Olten.

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within just two weeks, the system has been upand running since late September 2002. But therewas more to the project than meets the eye. It allstarted with a development response specificationby SIS Systems AG.

Beyond the scope of the projectThis specification was sent to several supplierswith a request for quotation. “The winning onewas a very professional proposal,” recallsRickenbach. “It included considerations thatlooked well beyond the scope of the project, itvery specifically addressed our baseline situationand pointed out opportunities for scalability.Even potential downtime situations were dis-cussed.”

A gut feeling“What made the difference between the differentproposals wasn’t the price but the performance –and a gut feeling that’s kind of hard to define: that we had foundthe right partner,” notes Rickenbach.

“We did set very high expectations during the evaluation phasebut ProAct really knew how to meet them! Excellent supportduring the planning phase, rapid implementation of what hadbeen decided plus wonderful responsiveness anytime we neededhelp. And great initiative,” Rickenbach summarizes. Managingthe system, he reports, has become a great deal simpler, and withthe data back-up now centralized at Olten, the importance of thislocation as the main office is also getting a boost – entirely in

accordance with the plans of the SIS Group. “Our rigorous re-quirements were fully met, and so was our need for an expand-able storage system.”

And that was not all: Data processing speed is much fasternow across the board than even a year ago. SIS Systems AG in-tends to expand in the future and market the know-how it’s pro-vided to SIS also to external customers in the financial sector.The new IT information structure is a first, important step in thatdirection.

by Tom Schmidlin, photos Stephan Schneider

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Techniques such as xml and soap have in a short time made it simple and flexibleto integrate applications. The benefit is that the information exchange can nowtake place over open protocols and networks. Unfortunately this could involvemajor security risks which often are forgotten.

Although Web Services are in great focus, only a few are aware of the securityRSA Security has complete solutions to ensure a secure information exchange between applications in an open network. RSA ClearTrust and RSA Keon provide apowerful solution for web access management/authorisation and digital certificates.An important condition for secure communication between applications.

To download more information, go to: www.rsasecurity.com/go/webservices or call us at +46 8 725 09 00

Get connected, but do it safely

The offices of SIS Systems AG symbolizes the importance of a solid IT infrastructure.

6

since e-commerce has taken over and thenumber of users is on the increase.”

Wherein lies the problem?“In the upsurge in interactivity and thenew demands on accessibility and securitythat this leads to. More and more busi-

ness-unique information is channelled viaweb servers and the requirements on dy-namics and accessibility are increasing.We have to look at the security aspects ina new light since the tools for security andprotection haven’t developed at the samepace as tools used for traditional company

hat makes the Internet sointeresting is its contents. Theinformation is stored on and

distributed from web servers, which inconsequence are gaining in importancewithin company operations. The problemis that in terms of security, web serverprotection has deteriorated. The require-ments on accessibility and performancehave created a situation whereby securityfor web server applications can’t keep upwith risk developments or, in the worstcase, is nonexistent.

During recent months, Niklas Dahl,security expert at ProAct in Gothenburg,Sweden, has increasingly focused on webservers since these are at the centre of aworrying grey zone in the world of com-puters.

Why the focus on web servers?“In the last three years, the importance ofinteractive communication has increasedsignificantly. The Internet used to be amedia through which relatively staticinformation was transferred. Today, theemphasis is on dynamics and performance

W

An ordinary system with antivirus protection, encryption and firewalls does not protect againstcross-site scripting or invisble commands.

The traffic controlthat nobody escapes

San Francisco Computer Security Institute and the FBI published

a report in April 2002 stating that 90% of around 500 interviewed

IT managers used some form of firewall and virus protection

within their companies.

Around 60% employed a higher level of security in the form of a

monitoring system. Despite these precautions, a staggering 90%

were exposed to virus attacks during 2001.

Why is this?

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networks.” But what about the ordinary firewalls

and virus protection programs?These usually just protect the actual

servers and not the web applications. Virusprotection looks for damaging coding anda firewall lets through most surf trafficsince the aim is to make the web serversaccessible. In other words, there are nobuilt-in monitoring functions in firewallsthat check on the actual information con-tained in the traffic.”

Cracking the SSL code...An article in the Swedish net-based ver-sion of PC för alla (PC for everyone) from21 February 2003 stated that a Swiss re-search team had cracked the SSL code(Secure Socket Layer) in less than an hourwithout difficulty! And we have beentaught that SSL coding offer a higher levelof security than is usually incorporatedinto most web servers? An applicationfirewall may be the solution, in combina-tion with a change in strategy and monitor-ing routines.

An application firewall checks on thedifferent types of information flowingthrough the channels allowed access by atraditional firewall.

The fact that an ordinary firewall allowstraffic through to the web servers meansthat a big hole is created in the firewall. Ahole that an ordinary firewall cannot con-trol. Let us show an example. A firewalllets through a request for a computer at theprice x $. An ordinary firewall does nothave the capacity to control that the re-turned price from the user corresponds tothe original price. The user manipulatesthe price, returns a lower price to the webserver which executes the order immedi-ately.

Today many companies have no controlover this process, as one of the greatestadvantages of e-commerce is the minimalamount of administrative work (becausethe user does that). The problem occurs

Goal Method OutcomeForms: gather info Data flow Server crash, site close-downClient account Corrupt cookies Identity theft, illegal transactionsE-commerce Hidden fields Theft, fraudFaulty code Back doors, debug options Access to databaseText field: gather information Cross-site scripting E-hijacking, obtaining account

informationDatabase parameters Manipulation FraudBack-end applications Invisible commands Changing the design and functionWeb server Vulnerability Site crashFront-end applications Third-party configuration Administrative accessWeb server Overloading Access to sensitive information

Ten examples of what a hacker can get up to today usinga fairly new web browser and some creative thinking

Vcated.

Security levels are created dynamicallyin real time when users/visitors on awebsite request various pages. To managethis, the application firewall is installed infront of the web server. Access to pages iscontrolled by coding and the task of theapplication firewall is to verify each indi-vidual call before allowing the userthrough.

What happens when web servers andsite pages are under attack?Below follows ten examples of what ahacker can get up to today using a fairlynew web browser and some creativethinking.

How do they do it?“I won’t tell you because I might get sued!But I did try something that speaks foritself. I instructed an acquaintance who

when there are a lot of people out therewho don’t mind taking advantage of theopportunity to earn some extra money.

An application firewall, on the otherhand, controls the price, to make sure itcorresponds to the original price. Thusattempts to use the system on other peo-ple’s behalf become much more compli-

Application firewalls control the information, verifies each individual call beforeallowing the user through.

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This sounds like a good ideafor the future.

“Yes and no. As I said, wehave solutions that haven’tbeen cracked and installingsuch a solution is a one-offinvestment. But it’s probablyonly a question of time beforesome creative hacker managesto get through, which meansthat we have to implement anew solution. However, the

primary issue now is to make companiesthat are active on the Internet aware ofhow vulnerable they are.”

After having talked to Niklas Dahl Irealise that the Internet is a channel withlarge security deficiencies, or that mostcompanies who are active on the webhave major security leaks. However, fore-warned is forearmed. It’s a good thing thatthere is a service whereby you can haveyour web server checked for vulnerabili-ties in a controlled manner than having tofind out courtesy of a hacker or two.

Thomas Gustavsson

“...THE PRIMARY ISSUE NOW IS TOMAKE COMPANIES THAT ARE ACTIVEON THE INTERNET AWARE OF HOWVULNERABLE THEY ARE.” NIKLAS DAHL

Shared responsibility...but by whom?One or two companies are usually behind a web site and several employees are responsible for the services.But who is responsible for the various functions, and where can they be found? One thing is for sure, there are manychefs involved and the soup is made from a complex recipe. In a perfect world without cutbacks and staff shortages,the division of responsibilities could look like this:

Design Web server Front-end appl. Basic appl. Data base InformationMarketResp. for appl.Appl. developerDatabase admin.Database developerSupportNetwork admin.System admin.SupplierCustomer

To further complicate the picture, complex web services offer many different layers that together have to function ina fast and clear way. And we’re not even mentioning the issues of maintenance and updating of source codes here.

isn’t very familiar with computers how totamper with a site and left that person to itfor five minutes. That’s all it took tochange the price on a product, which is allthe proof I need.”

Are there any other ways of damagingthe web site?

“Basically there are three different sce-narios. The first is changing the content ofa page, such as the price on goods andservices. The second is stealing companyinformation, customer details and otherintellectual capital. And the third scenarioinvolves changing a site and its applica-tions so that the contents work against itsowner or, worse, shuts you down by goingoffline.”

“All that is needed is a blip in the code,a web browser and some creative think-ing. Those that are on the receiving end ofsuch attacks are not aware of how easythey are to bring about.”

We must be able to do something?“Of course, companies need to include

their web servers in their IT strategies.This may sound a bit obvious, so let meexplain. The web server is usually the re-sponsibility of the department for net-works and security. However, nowadays

applications are the most vulnerable links,which should place the responsibility forsecurity in the lap of the developers. Inreality the problem gets shifted betweenthe two departments, with the result that aserious security problem has been created.Any company with a presence on theInternet should be aware of this, speciallytheir management groups!”

“We have solutions that haven’t beencracked - yet - and that fill the require-ments for security and accessibility. Thelevel of security that these can offer istheir attraction. However, it is difficult tomake the companies aware of the prob-lem, despite the fact that we at present areundertaking research of various companyweb servers and have managed to crackthem all without much effort.”

Which means...?“That the web server infrastructures

within these companies need to be over-hauled! This requires a service than can becompared to a backup analysis, but withan entirely different focus. The task is tosurvey, audit, implement and create newprerequisites for maintaining performancewhile increasing the protection againstintrusion and other interactive attacks.”

V

Answers these questions to determinehow secure your company is. Hopefully,you will be able to tick all the Yesboxes.

Yes No

My company has a firewall or other solution for accessibility and securityControlled accessibility to company information is the ruleOur presence on the Internet is valuableBusiness-critical information is stored on our web serversOur web servers have the same level of security as our other serversOur web applications are secure and we are protected against intrusion

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ProAct is launching a new version of FRC, ProAct Fast Restore Cache.

NEW RECOVERY SOLUTIONFOR VERITAS NETBACKUPFRC, which was introduced onthe Legato platform around 18months ago, has met with greatsuccess with over 100 installationsin the Nordic countries and inSwitzerland. The new versionnow incorporates VeritasNetBackup.

FRC is ProAct’s solution for faster andmore efficient backup and recovery ofinformation. FRC allows for intermediatestorage of information for backup. Thespecially developed software automati-cally undertakes intermediate storage in afast disk system which is then transferredto tape. This means that recovery of infor-mation can be done in minutes instead ofhours, as is usually the case.

“Many IT organizations haven’t testedtheir routines for recovery, so recoverytimes often don’t match the business re-quirements. This solution provides sup-port for securing and speeding up theprocess of backup and recovery of infor-mation”, says Per Ernedal, VP of Market-ing at ProAct IT Sweden.

With FRC for NetBackup, NetBackup’sown functions for copying and recoveryare used. FRC is stated as the source in-stead of the tape station. Up to 32 simulta-neous copies can be run and FRC man-ages parallel backups and recoveries inorder to minimize the risks for operationdisturbances. When a backup has beenmade to the FRC, log-on information iswritten to both the FRC and NetBackup’sown log files. FRC shortens recovery timeby up to 10–15 times.

The FRC package contains software andhardware with an initial capacity of 0.5TB alternatively 2.5 TB with further in-

Many IT organizations haven’t tested their routines for recovery, so recovery times often don’t matchthe business requirements.

“THIS SOLUTION PROVIDES SUPPORT FORSECURING AND SPEEDING UP THE PROCESSOF BACKUP AND RECOVERY OFINFORMATION” PER ERNEDAL

SAN support with FC support in stor-age system32 simultaneous backups can be sent tothe FRCSeveral storage systems can be addedto one backup serverStaging, backup and restore can bedone simultaneouslyWEB GUI (Graphical User Interface)

Backup advantagesFast backupLonger useful life of media and ma-chineryFewer tape drives needed per robot

Backup duplications rendered moreefficient due to:

More simultaneous data flowsFewer tape drives start-ups/stopsVirtual tape drives on disk

Restore advantagesAlmost as fast restore as backup owingto unfragmented data on tapeDirect access to user files as long asthey remain on the FRCNo changes in NetBackup restoremethodsRestore of backups managed muchquicker (all backup data on the FRCdisk becomes a primary restore source)

crease possible. The administration ismanaged via a web interface for which theweb server Apache with support for Perl isneeded. Both are included in FRC.

FACTS: Fast Restore CacheFast Restore Cache (FRC) is a disk-basedcache memory that undertakes intermedi-ate storage of backup flows from variousservers and then writes the data in se-quence and at high speed to a tape robot.FRC has a basic capacity of 500 GB or 2.5TB and can be extended to incorporatemore TB.

Supported NetBackup platforms, VeritasNetBackup 4.5, 4.5 SP1 and 4.5 SP2.

Supported OS platforms, Solaris 2.6,Solaris 7, Solaris 8, Solaris 9, andWin2000 in Q2 2003

FeaturesFRC s/w bundled with ATA-basedstorage system

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annonsstoragetek

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ricsson may be a giant of a com-pany, but its needs and problemsare the same as in its average small

or medium-sized counterparts. When youlose information, all that counts is howquickly that information can be recreated.Nobody can afford long restore times.

Ericsson has a lot of information atstake within the development work on itsmobile system. At the heart of these op-erations in Kista, the company previouslyhad seven backup sites, each with its ownbackup manager, backup file and restoretesting. Managing these sites took time,cost money and didn’t contribute to in-creasing the efficiency of the developmentwork. It became clear that the best thing todo was to consolidate the seven into one.

Ingemar Wrangel, IT strategist andproject manager, describes the starting

central backup server in the traditionalway. We chose this design for its favour-able capacity, scalability and performance.

We had almost taken the decision to in-vest in it when financial restrictions put astop to our plans and we were forced tostart all over again.”

One software had to be prioritisedThe financial aspect cannot be ignored intoday’s climate and Ingemar freely admitsthat it had the final say.

“Considering that we are going to beoutsourced, it wouldn’t feel right to investfour million SEK (¤ 440 000) in a newbackup solution. But if this hadn’t beenthe case and we had had more money todispose of, we would have gone for it. Asit was, we started over with new prerequi-sites. We had four types of backup soft-

EV

IT departments all over the world are underpressure to create stable solutions for restore ofbackups. And it has to be a solution that is easyto administrate, fast, scalable and, of course,affordable. Impossible? No, not if you know howto make the best of what you already have. Andthat’s called

FRCFast Return of Cash

point for the work.“The goal was to create a consolidated

solution where we as far as possible couldutilise the existing equipment and improverestore performance. We wanted to con-solidate to reduce the administration in-volved in backups and restoring.”

The first option presented was a SAN-based solution, one that Dan Danielsson,senior specialist in UNIX environments, isstill rather fond of.

“It was based on a Silo tape robot with6 000 tapes. This provided a capacity of600TB uncompressed data when fully de-veloped. In addition, the largest file serv-ers, which today are connected to a SAN,were to be backed up via the existing SANdirect to the robot, i.e. in the form of LANFree Backup. The idea was for the otherservers to be backed up via the LAN to a

sweden

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Alternative 1- The first option presented was a SAN-based solution, based on a Silotape robot with mounting for 6 000 tapes. This provided a capacity of 600TBuncompressed data when fully developed.

House A House B

House C

Backup server

LAN

SAN nodes

LAN

SAN nodes

Backup server

Acsls

RobotL550010xLTO

“We already had everything, so the onlyextra cost incurred was some brainworkand disk capacity. Also, we haven’t had tospend a lot of time on installation or onproblem-solving. It’s all worked incred-ibly well. The development and imple-mentation of the solution took only 20days.”

“Admittedly, the solution is not high-tech, but it is 90% percent cheaper thanthe alternatives, and still has the same, ifnot even greater, capacity and scalability.”

Level 5 backupBackups of 12 TB are done in full dumpsonce per month and server. The rest of thetime, incremental backups are undertakenonce a day. In addition, a so-called level 5backup is undertaken, i.e. a backup doneevery seven days covering all incrementalbackups taken during the period. Thissystem allows for an even workload onthe backup server since the full backupsare divided between all the days of themonth.

A number of conflicting issues have tobe considered such as tape usage vs. re-store times, restore times vs. multiplexing,and multiplexing vs. backup windows.According to Ingemar, these issues areunderestimated far too often.

“You have to arrive at a solution provid-ing a balance between the requirementsyou have in these areas, how they affecteach other and which limitations they mayinvolve.”

The LAN-based solution incorporates abackup server and two storage nodes.Each server has a locally connected scsi-accessible robot equipped with sixDLT7000 tapes and an FRC disk. All dataflows are stored for the night on the FRCdisk and then moved to tape the next day.Compression is done on the client side inorder to reduce the workload on the LANand to decrease the storage needs on theFRC disks.

Ended up with 36 GB/h“Our requirements on restore per indi-vidual file system were 25 GB/h, but weactually ended up with 36 GB/h. Whenrestoring five file systems to a single fileserver in one go, we can achieve 72 GB/h,which is remarkable! Not least consider-ing the fact that the restore is done from aDLT7000!

We used to have a restore capacity of 3-5 GB/h, which is probably common formany companies today. With a file systemof around 100 GB, or even 400 GB, which

ware and we decided to survey which typewe were most familiar with and felt likekeeping. In other words, we determinedwhich software we wanted to prioritise,and it turned out to be Legato.”

As a technician, Dan wanted a solutionthat was technically challenging and inter-esting. What he got was an extremely sim-ple solution for which no new investmentswere required.

A disc based cache solution was chosenInstead of constructing restore capacityaround LAN Free Backup, as in the first

solution, a disc based cache solution waschosen. With the use of intermediate stor-age of backup streams from various serv-ers and sequential and fast writing of thedata to tape robots, the speed has beenincreased both for restore and backup. Thesolution also cuts back on the administra-tion involved. And with the increase inchannelled data, the wear and tear of tapesand robots is minimised, something thatDan has already noticed. Ingemar is happysince the solution has resulted in ex-tremely low costs in combination withsupreme efficiency.

V

House A House B

House C

SAN B

SAN A

LAN2x Gbit

Backup server

STK9740DLT7000

STK9740DLT7000

FRC 1.6TB

STK9740DLT7000

FRC 1.6TB

FRC 1.6TB

LAN2x Gbit

LAN2x Gbit

Storage nodeStorage node

WS 10Index db 10x36GB disk

LAN LAN

Alternative 2 - The FRC takes care of intermediate storage of backup flows from variousservers and then writes them in sequence and at high speed to a tape robot. The idea isfor all backups to be LAN-based and backed up via the FRC.

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is sometimes the case, it takes a goodmany hours to work through the system.Since we have built our file and applica-tion servers with several file systems, re-storing can be done at a minimum of 65GB/h.”

How to improve the perfect solutionIs it possible to improve what seems to bethe perfect solution?

“Of course. Performance can be en-hanced further by switching to fastertapes. The SAN can be connected directlyto the tape robot. By summer, we willprobably need to expand the system withanother 1 000 tapes. We already have therobots, so it won’t cost us anything extra.We have even made use of robots thatother Ericsson companies have dis-carded.”

The old backup system has been re-

tained and all old indexes have been gath-ered together. Before there were no formalrequirements regarding storage times, butwith restructuring in the company, it hasbeen decided that all data should be storedfor a period of 10 years.

“We believe that we now have the fast-est restore times in Sweden, which is fun

considering that it was the last thing onour minds when we were studying the firstsketch. We now have a solution that is un-believably easy, inexpensive and effi-cient!”

By Hanna KöllerströmPhoto Bengt Alm

“BY SUMMER, WE WILL PROBABLYNEED TO EXPAND THE SYSTEM WITHANOTHER 1 000 TAPES. WE ALREADYHAVE THE ROBOTS, SO IT WON’T COSTUS ANYTHING EXTRA. WE HAVE EVENMADE USE OF ROBOTS THAT OTHERERICSSON COMPANIES HAVEDISCARDED.” INGEMAR WRANGEL

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annons trend micro

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IT used to be that nobody neededintelligent networks since work-loads were so small that only

one server was needed to take care of aservice. Times have changed and despiteredundancy within a system, several serv-ers are required to take care of an increas-ing workload from a growing number ofusers. The network has to be able to han-dle more and more requests and distributethem between the servers. However, anetwork often reacts faster than its serverssince the servers have to work againstseveral units while the network can proc-ess the work directly in the hardware. Anddespite the development of intelligentmachinery, servers continue to work at aslower pace since they are required to domost of the intelligent processing.

Requirements on systems further com-plicate the situation – a high level of ac-cessibility, security and scalability is therule. All three factors have to be managedboth individually and in combination witheach other. The challenge is to build inintelligence while keeping things simple.

Traditionally, calls are distributed byturns as they come in, irrespective of theservers’ capacity and workload. Randomdistribution occurs when there are morethan two servers and does not take theservers differences in capacity and work-load into account either.

Today it is possible to construct a vir-tual server which in reality comprises oneor more Layer 7 Switches. This has sev-eral advantages. It can manage severaldifferent services and distribute calls be-tween several different servers. It is a re-dundant system that balances the work-load between the servers and ensures con-tinuity by allowing calls from a specificsender to always be distributed to a prede-termined server. In addition, the systemcan be complemented with a proxy func-tion for more efficient communication.

However, while the function is easy toexplain, configuration, allowing for theoptimization of accessibility, security andscalability while keeping the system sim-ple, is tricky.

Intelligent networking is an old telephony concept referring to a method allowing fortelephone switchboards to communicate with each other. Nowadays, however, it refersto intelligence within a network.

The goal is to, as far as possible, elimi-nate the human factor yet maintain thesimplicity needed to allow for human in-tervention when needed. The systemshould be easy to administer and difficultto fault.

Monitoring the virtual solution is easy,providing monitoring routines are inplace. Redundancy without monitoringdoes not lead to redundancy. Introducingintelligence into the network facilitatesmonitoring, and also provides a more de-tailed overview of more parts of the sys-tem.

By classifying the servers by capacity(in case of capacity difference), the net-work becomes more intelligent, whichalso allows the system to work with largervolumes without giving rise to bottle-necks. A system can also be renderedmore efficient by storing static informa-tion on a cache that is directly connectedto the virtual server, thus creating morespace for mobile components.

Intelligent networks have been used inthe IT world for about four years. Anyoneoffering a service that requires accessibil-ity, security and/or scalability will benefit

from intelligent network solutions. Secu-rity is improved directly since the networklayout is protected by the virtual solution.If you then divide the servers into variousfunction layers (web servers/applicationservers/database servers, etc.), you cancreate firewall functionality between thelayers.

At present, it is difficult to pinpoint whouses intelligent networks, but a greatmany banks, insurance companies ande-commerce enterprises have certainlygrown wise to the advantages.

If you are getting curious, start bychecking if your operational needs couldbenefit from an intelligent network andhow much capacity you need now andwill need in the future.

At the moment we can only see the ad-vantages of intelligent networks, but itcannot be denied that some issues need tobe resolved. Redundancy places high de-mands on monitoring, and if you don’tprioritize this, it could lead to securityrisks. Or you could become overenthusi-astic and pack too much into the solution.You can’t disregard the human factor

continued on page 21

By constructing a virtual server, security is improved directly since the network layoutis protected by the virtual solution. If you then divide the servers into various functionlayers, you can create firewall functionality between the layers.

A INTELLIGENT WAYTO DISTRIBUTE SERVICES

16

Annons qualstar

17

perceived as being unfocused; employeessee inconsistency in the actions taken bymanagement; and a new plan is triedevery year.

If a strategy is so important, CEOsshould be expected to talk about it withemployees and shareholders – for exam-ple, in the letter to shareholders section ofthe annual report. However, a randomsample of 100 Fortune 1000 companiesshowed that this is not always the case.

The top strategic idea for 31 percent ofrespondents was to improve products.That strategy doesn’t set clear guidelinesfor options - employees could go in anydirection to accomplish that goal.

The next response, at 30 percent, wasno discussion of strategy at all.

Corporate growth through acquisitioncame in at 24 percent.

When facing growth through a mergeror acquisition, the enterprise is continuallyin a “react mode,” attempting to absorband integrate what is being bought. Thatoften overwhelms efforts to create new,strategic business models.

Customer focus came in at 22 percent.Shareholders must wonder why this issueis strategic, because customers are the solereason the enterprise is in business.

Cost reduction came in at 15 percent.

From a shareholder perspective, thatmust mean that the enterprise has beenwasting money all along, which is notvery strategic.

Using Gartner’s definition of “strategy,”those are not helpful as strategy state-ments. Gartner provides a more thoroughlook into the issues of strategy failure andwhy strategies are important in a Decem-ber 2002 Strategic Analysis Report, “SixBuilding Blocks for Creating Real ITStrategies” (R-17-3607).

An IT Strategy – Actually, There Are TwoWith so few usable enterprise strategies,what is the IS organization to do? To start,one must look at what the IS group deliv-ers and recognize that it engages in twodistinct activities that, although linked,have very different objectives. Gartner hascreated a model for constructing an ITstrategy (see Figure 2), which contains thefollowing six building blocks:

Business strategyApplicationsOperationsArchitectureFinancial toolsPeople

IntroductionStrategy is one of the most abused andmisunderstood terms used by those work-ing in business, as well as by investorsand observers. A recent Pricewaterhouse-Coopers CEO survey asked 1,160 CEOswhat factors best determine an enterprise’svalue from an internal and external view-point. The top three answers were thesame from both perspectives:

EarningsCash flowCorporate strategy

The first two answers are financial andretrospective, but the third is about thefuture and the enterprise’s ability to sur-vive.

Before launching into a deeper look atIT strategy, a working definition of “strat-egy” must be established. A strategy takesa vision or objective (they are the same)and bounds the options for attaining it.Without a strategy, all roads lead to thefuture. With a strategy, a selected set ofroads is designated for travel. The value ofa clear strategy is that all middle and first-line management, as well as employees,can see where they are expected to go andcan focus on the options that are available.Without a clear strategy, enterprises are V

gartnergroup

An Alternative Approachto Creating an IT Strategy

IT strategies have traditionally been based on seniormanagement’s vision for the enterprise. However, thefrequent absence of a long-term business plan calls for afresh approach to creating an IT strategy.

18

Application portfolio change: Thiselement concerns how legacy applicationswill change.

Business process integration: With theemergence of virtual business models andthe use of external sourcing, the need totie together a diverse set of applicationshas become more important.

Sourcing: This element addresses se-curing the resources necessary to handlestrategy execution and management.

To determine the nature of how businessstrategy or operation affects the IT strat-egy, examine the seven business strategyfactors:

Geographic: What is the enterprisesaying about how it will be physicallystructured? This will affect how the infra-structure will be deployed and how it willbest provide service. Application changeand integration take on different levels ofcomplexity as the geographic parametersexpand.

Governance: This is at the core ofdefining the enterprise culture. How deci-sions are made will affect how all five ITcomponents are implemented.

Future: How clear is senior manage-ment in talking about the future? Alonger-term vision makes it easier toevolve a set of options.

Existing IT: What is the business say-ing about its core business processes, andhow much change is being contemplated?

A balance must be struck betweenbreaking new ground and sustaininglegacy applications.

Virtual: It’s clear that business modelswill become more “virtual” in the longterm. Yet, there will be problems along theway. The extent to which the businessmodel becomes virtualized will determinehow IT architecture evolves and whichapplications remain internal and which areoutsourced.

Customer: This is about the customerinterface and how integrated the applica-tions will become with the customer. Justsaying “we will pay attention to our cus-tomers” is not sufficient.

Funding: This is where the enterprisetruly shows its commitment to change.

The Two IT Strategies: ApplicationChange and OperationsThe elements for creating the two IT strat-egies will be determined by an analysis ofthe intersections of the five IT compo-nents and the seven business strategysources. The IT components of infrastruc-

A business strategy must be the startingpoint for developing an IT strategy,regardless of whether one already exists ormust be created. The IS group is involvedin two “businesses” – applications (deliv-ering and maintaining) and operations.That is what the business sees, but all toooften the picture is blurred. By creating adistinct strategy for each component of theIS group, the business can clearly discerneach component’s value propositions.

Two support tools are key fordeveloping a strategy – architecturaland financial.Architecture sets the boundaries for ITdecision-making options, while financialtools are used to choose the appropriateoption - that is, how to go about planningand executing the strategy. Both tools areexposed to the business and form an es-sential part of the language for discourse.

The last component of the strategymodel is people. The people component -which is internal to the IS group – is con-cerned with delivering sufficient resourcesto perform the work.

A key aspect of this IT strategy model isthat it frames the discussion of IT with thebusiness in strictly business terms, makingit clear how the business side’s decisionscan affect its own operations and underly-ing costs. Once the business understandsthe value proposition and how it can con-trol it, its support of IS strategies will be-come more solid.

A discussion follows of the six buildingblocks that comprise the IT strategymodel.

Business StrategyGartner will examine business strategy byasking two questions:

What are the essential components ofall IT strategies?

Where should one look in real or de-rived business strategies for specific an-swers to how to structure these strategiccomponents for your enterprise?

The five necessary elements for all ITstrategies are:

IT infrastructure: This represents all ofthe IT components (hardware, softwareoperating system/components and net-works) necessary to deliver an operatingenvironment for all enterprise processes.

Service: This is how the IS group deliv-ers on the operating environment, what thebusiness units (BUs) are buying on a dailyoperational basis. The common definitionfor delivery is a service-level agreement.

ture, service and sourcing serve the opera-tions strategy. Applications, integrationand sourcing serve the application-changestrategy.

Application-changeThe application-change strategy focuseson how the enterprise sees itself in thefuture. If the enterprise has developed apicture of how it wants to evolve, buildingan IT strategy to match that vision israther straightforward, and the value of

V

19

Operational-level serviceGartner recommends thatan operations strategy bebased on a service model.At the heart of an opera-tional-level service modelis the simple premise thatapproximately six coreservice processes defineeverything that the opera-tions group does. The BUmanager sees those serv-ices and understands theirnecessity to his or her ownoperation. The dialoguebetween the IS organiza-tion and the BU is allabout the services that theBU needs - that are pricedat service levels that theycan afford. The opera-tional-level service modelopens up competition withoutside organizations thatalso provide such serv-ices.

IT ArchitectureArchitecture is too techni-cal for many businessexecutives to understand.Most executives equate

the level of IT needed to operate a com-plex enterprise with the ease of PC use.Such misunderstanding historically hasresulted in dysfunction for many enter-prises. Discussing architecture with seniormanagement can be enhanced by usingtwo readily understood concepts: com-plexity and cost.

Complexity gains added relevancethrough the concept of reliability. To de-termine the reliability of IT infrastructure,one must calculate a final probability by

measuring and multiplying all the under-lying probabilities that go into ensuringsmooth IT delivery. With so many vari-ables, obtaining a probability of more than99 percent becomes very costly.

The cost to operate an infrastructure isdirectly proportional to the level and com-plexity of architectural decisions beingmade. To determine the cost for your ISorganization, you can develop several sce-narios that posit an environment, whichthen is simply “costed out.” An alternativeexample was developed using the GartnerTotal Cost of Ownership Manager for Dis-tributed Computing tool. Using the tool,one can define alternative operating envi-ronments and derive the costs for each.The cost differentials for a sample midsizeand large enterprise conservativelyamounted to 20 percent and 12 percent,respectively. Gartner budget surveys placeoperating expenses at 60 percent to 70percent of IT annual budgets – that is amaterial amount that is bound to get aCFO’s attention.

Financial ToolsCreating and managing a strategy requiresa consistent methodology and a set oftools. Those tools range from simple,decision-making tools like payback periodto advanced ones like real option valua-tion. There is no single best tool; each oneserves a subset of problems. It is essentialto make sure that the tool matches thedecision or uncertainty needing resolution.

Using the Building Blocks to CreateStrategiesThe following is a brief introduction tonine steps for creating your strategies:

Understand the business strategy: Un-derstand where the business wants to go.

Establish a governance process and

that strategy will match what the businesssees as IT’s value proposition. With littleor no IT strategy, the resulting portfolio ofapplication changes will still satisfy thebusiness’s needs, but will be very ineffi-cient from an IT perspective. The BUswill be paying a premium IT expensecompared to competitors that have devel-oped sound IT strategies. The dialogue isto make sure the BU sees the cost of thatinefficiency as a byproduct of its decision-making. V

“DISCUSSING ARCHITECTURE WITHSENIOR MANAGEMENT CAN BEENHANCED BY USING TWO READILYUNDERSTOOD CONCEPTS:COMPLEXITY AND COST.”

20

PeopleNo strategy discussion is complete with-out a consideration of the people involved.Successful organizations inevitably havethe right people in the right jobs at theright time. For the IS group, this histori-cally has meant managing a skills inven-tory. Although skills are usually employedto define what it takes to execute tasks, anadditional dimension is necessary – talent.That concept is spelled out by MarcusBuckingham and Curt Coffman in theirbook, “First, Break All the Rules.” Ac-cording to Buckingham and Coffman,each person has basic abilities, or talents,that drive how one instinctively acts orreacts, and these cannot be changed.Reaching the highest capacity levels re-quires more than skills, it requires thesenatural, unlearned capabilities to act in-stinctively and see things that are notobvious to others.

Bottom LineMost enterprises claim to have an ef-

fective business strategy in place, butmany don’t really possess one.

That is probably the single biggestproblem facing IS organizations in theirquest to manage enterprise IT expecta-tions.

Nevertheless, regardless of whether aneffective business strategy exists – onethat states a clear vision and objectives,and bounds the options for attaining them– the IS organization must identify one toguide its application change and opera-tional support efforts.

By following the model providedGartner, IS organizations can develop anIT strategy that serves their enterprises’actual or implied business strategies - thatsimultaneously provides effective, effi-cient IT operations, while developing newapplications to power the business proc-esses needed to ensure enterprise competi-tiveness and growth.

Strategies provide everyone in theenterprise with a road map for future di-rection and the boundaries for creatingoptions.

An organized model for developing anIT strategy serves the dual purpose offocusing the business and IS organizationson what is appropriate for the enterpriseand providing a common language todiscuss what must be done.

By E Younker, Research Products

Analytical source: R Mack,

Gartner Research

financial toolset: Establish how decisionswill be made.

Define what enterprise architecturemust look like: Develop a picture of the ITinfrastructure’s future.

Understand the boundaries that thecurrent infrastructure architecture applies:Establish a base for starting and its mean-ing.

Define the application change strategy:Apply what was learned in previous steps.

Define the IT operations strategy:Gartner recommends the internal servicecompany (ISCo) model.

Define the people strategy: This in-volves all who execute the strategy - inter-nal and external.

Develop an IT strategy document: Thiscaptures the strategy and gives a platformfor formal discussion.

Create a management framework tokeep your strategies alive: Gartner pro-vides a high-level view of how all of thoseconcepts are put to work (see Figure 3).

Moving down Figure 3 from the topleft-hand side, the two strategies of opera-tions and change are developed using thetools and concepts discussed previously. Amanagement tool such as a balancedscorecard ensures that the strategy contin-ues to be effective. The budget reduces theplanning horizon to 12 months, using thefinancial tools to make the appropriatedecisions. The services established forboth of the IT strategies form the basis foroperation.

Working from the bottom up on theright-hand side, the chargeback that is in-curred during operations feeds the budgetand the process management too, such asthe balanced scorecard. The impact ofthese on managing a strategy is then usedto make the appropriate adjustments instrategy, before the cycle starts all overagain.

VBusinessStrategy

IT Strategy

ApplicationsChange,

Prove Effective

OperationsServices,

Prove Efficient

ArchitectureBuilding Blocks

Financial ToolsDecisions

PeopleMaximize Potential

IS Internal

Business/IS

Business

ManageInternal/External

SupportElements

Actual orDerived

Two ISUnits

Source: Gartner Research

Figure 2 IT Strategy Model: Six Building Blocks

Develop Strategy

• Update

Source: Gartner Research, Kaplan and Norton

Operation/Change

Manage Strategy

Budget

Operations

• Chargeback

• Architecture• Tools• People

• Balanced Scorecard

• Financial Tools

• Services

Figure 3. Integrated Strategy Management Model.

21

STRENGTHENYOURINFOSTRUCTURECOMPETENCE!

Scheduled/On demand Duration

FinlandNetWorker Administration for Windows/UNIX Scheduled 3 daysNetApp Administration (former 101) Scheduled/On demand 2 days

DenmarkNetWorker Administration for Windows/UNIX On demand 4 daysNetWorker Advanced Administration for Windows/UNIX On demand 3 daysNetWorker Administration/Advanced Administration, customized Scheduled 3-6 daysNetWorker Recovery Module for SQL On demand 1 dayNetWorker Recovery Module for Exchange On demand 1 dayNetWorker Recovery Module for Oracle On demand 1-2 daysNetApp Administration, customized (Workshops only) On demand 3-4 daysVeritas NetBackup Administration/Advanced Adm., customized Scheduled 2-3 daysVeritas NetBackup On-line Agent for SQL On demand 1 dayVeritas NetBackup On-line Agent for Exchange On demand 1 dayVeritas NetBackup On-line Agent for Oracle On demand 1 day

NorwayNetworker Administration for UNIX/Windows Scheduled 4 daysNetWorker Advanced Administration for Windows/UNIX Scheduled 3 daysNetApp System Administration Scheduled 3 daysNetApp Advanced System Administration Scheduled 2 daysVeritas Netbackup Basic Scheduled 3 daysVeritas Netbackup Advanced Scheduled 3 daysDR of Windows AD and Exchange 2000 using NetBackup 4.5 On demand 1 dayWorkshops On demand

SwedenNetWorker Administration for Windows/UNIX Scheduled 4 daysNetWorker Advanced Administration for Windows/UNIX Scheduled 3 daysNetWorker Administration, customized On demand 1, 2 or 3 daysNetWorker Recovery Module for SQL On demand 1 dayNetWorker Recovery Module for Exchange On demand 1 dayNetWorker Recovery Module for Lotus Notes On demand 1 dayNetWorker Recovery Module for Oracle On demand 1-2 daysNetApp Administration & Advanced Administration Scheduled/On demand 4 daysNetApp Administration, customized On demand 1-4 daysVeritas NetBackup On demand 2-3 daysSAM-FS System Administration Training On demand 1-3 days

Are you about to change your InfoStructure? Does today’s competence

correspond to tomorrow’s requirements and needs? Is it time to invest in

new training to create prerequisites for rational and effective operation?

We can offer you tailor made training based on your needs and

requirements, that is carried out either on your or our premises. Your

requirements decide direction, focus, time limits as well as the number of

participants.

Tailor made training is time as well as cost effective and adjusted to

your specific requirements. The training comprises everything from

methodology and structure to an advanced technical level.

Microsoft to helpteach Hacking 101In a move that seems akin to teaching afox how to guard a henhouse,Microsoft -- the most vulnerable IThenhouse of all -- is teaming up withseveral universities to teach studentshow to break Windows. As part of thecomputer course, undergrads will haveto hack into software and fix any secu-rity bugs they find. They'll also have todeal with security vulnerabilities andlearn how to write secure code.

The University of Leeds in Englandwill offer the course next year, with thehelp of Microsoft's money. MS maywant to make sure that every one of themale students in the class has a girl-friend; according to a leading securityexpert, most virus writers don't.

Source: IDG

Intelligent networking....from page 15

altogether and one little mistake canruin everything. However, such riskscan be minimized with the help of re-dundancy and well thought throughmanuals. Also, it’s a good idea to cre-ate a development environment withina large system in which you can testnew concepts before installation.

So what do people really make of it?Technicians tend to focus on the

switches trying to figure out how it canbe done. Through own experience Ihave learned that you need to under-take a couple of installations withsomeone experienced before attempt-ing anything on your own.

Purchasers and managers, on theother hand, skip the technical jargonsince the solution seems to offer amore cost-effective function that iseasy to monitor. In all probability, theyend up wondering why on earth theyhadn’t installed it earlier.

Jonas Stenmarck

22

User Group meetings in DenmarkProAct in Denmark plans a chain of User Group meetings wheretechnical specialists from our leading suppliers will inform aboutproduct news, technical details and the visions behind these.

At the meetings you will have the possibility to exchange experiences, have dia-logues with our suppliers as well as other end-users and to get hands-on with thenewest technologies.

Planned seminars (many more are on the way):

Veritas13.05.2003, 9.00 a.m. – On-line Database Backup09.09.2003, 9.00 a.m. – Mail systems04.11.2003, 9.00 a.m. - Systems monitoring

Legato:20.05.2003, 9.00 a.m. – On-line Database Backup19.09.2003, 9.00 a.m. – Mail systems11.11.2003, 9.00 a.m. – Systems monitoring

The meetings will take place at ProAct System’s premises, Blokken 86-88, 3460Birkerød. Contact person: Susanne Dencker, phone no. +45 70 10 11 32

Please notify your participation now if you want to be updated on the newesttechnical details.

Welcome!

Happenings in SwitzerlandWe, ProAct in Switzerland, have plenty of activities for you toparticipate in this year. How about this:

May, 14: Lunch & Learn Roundtable in Bale. Theme: High Availability withLibelle Informatik, Germany

May, 15: Storage Information Days in ZurichSeptember, 24–27: Orbit Comdex Exhibition in BaleThere will also be a ProAct User Group Switzerland, in June, September and

December, as well as ProAct Car-Driver Training. Further information will soon beon hand. We look forward to meeting you at one or more of these events!

Gartner Group reports that the volume of e-mail attachments will grow by 40% over thenext 5 years. During the same period theamount of e-mails sent will increase by 29%.IDC found out that an employee needs an aver-age of 49 minutes daily to organize a singlemailbox. With the ever growing volume ofmails and the related work, cost will increasedrastically.

ProAct Datasystems presents an archivingsystem for economic and simple e-mail archiv-ing and management. The product bears therather lengthy name Messaging Management &Archive MMA 100 and is aimed at companieswith a maximum of 100 users and 2,000 e-mails per day.

Critical documents can be kept for differentperiods of time which means that different le-gal requirements can be met as needed. In caseof a disaster the user has the possibility of re-trieving individual mails or directories from thearchive which again reduces the administra-tor’s workload.

The software is easy to use and is availablesince the end of February.

E-mail Archiving and administrationare made so much easier by using MMA100.

ProAct User Group, SwedenThe first week of September, we open up the doors to ProAct UserGroup 2003, ProAct’s annual user meeting presenting several majortechnology partners. Last year you could listen to and speak torepresentatives from Legato, Network Appliance, StorageTek/LSILogic, Qualstar and StoreAge. This year it will be even better!

The event will this year include security and network as well as storage and recov-ery. We also include Prenet, our function that makes all sorts of information, (illus-trations, pictures, texts and documents) easily available with high efficiency. Wegive you our vision on these areas and how you obtain a solid infrastructure.

We arrange ProAct User Group all over Sweden with the latest in infrastructureand technology. On our break-out sessions you choose what technology partnersyou want to listen to. You get the opportunity to meet a series of interesting compa-nies who present their latest products, how innovations and technology are devel-oped and their visions. Here you can discuss products and technology, get answersto your questions. The meeting with colleagues also give you the opportunity toexchange experience. Also, you get the opportunity to listen to other customers,how they solved their problems and challenges.

Further information will soon be on hand, so book it now, ProAct User Group2003!

THE FAIR CITYOF HELSINKIProAct participated in TecIt Forum 2003 at theend of January. The event gathered severalthousand IT professionals under the same rooffor two days, to listen to seminars and presen-tations. ProAct presented some major solutionsas well and was accompanied by BMC Soft-ware at the stand.

AUTOMATION OFE-MAIL ARCHIVING

23

Joint success for Rosenborg Ballkluband ProAct Systems AS

ProAct is more than willing to identifyitself: a winning culture, high-quality per-formance, focus, good organisation andcontinuous success. During the same pe-riod ProAct has won major contracts withthe country’s largest enterprises in compe-tition with the world’s elite. We have de-veloped a quality system in respect of oursupplies that ensures our customers theright delivery at the right time. Our focuson data storage and backup/restore solu-tions means that we can proudly claim tobe the country’s leading enterprise withinthese areas…and steady and profitablegrowth gives us the security we need toovercome market fluctuations.

Can companies inspire one another?Employees in different companies learnfrom each another, but can one companyinspire another? Definitely. The imagecreated around an enterprise (club)emerges as a consequence of a series ofactions. When all these actions point inone direction, they will reinforce one an-other and finally permeate everything andeveryone. Anyone in contact with that en-terprise will be aware of the power thatdrives the enterprise forward. We canlearn which conditions are required forsuch a power to emerge and how this canbe maintained over time.

ProAct Systems wishes Rosenborgevery success in the 2003 season.

Over the last five years ProActSystems AS has supportedRosenborg Ballklub as a sponsor

of the team and a keensupporter of the offensivestyle of football thatRosenborg has been anexponent for in Norway.Tom-Eirik Jensen, our salesmanager for Norway’scoastal towns, has created an atmosphereand a programme around Rosenborg’sgames that have been enjoyed by IT man-agers from all over Norway. Even peoplewho don’t usually find football very inter-esting freely admit that a visit to the main

city in the Trøndelag region, the joy offine food, drink and stories followed bythe experience of watching a Champions

League match is somethingquite special. Anyone whohas only seen such a gamefrom the comfort of his orher own armchair definitelyhas something to look for-ward to.

Why does ProAct support Rosenborg?First and foremost, we support them be-cause they are a good football team.

Rosenborg is the pride of Trondheim,and it represents qualities with which

norway

Do you want your own copy?Begging won’t get you anywere.

If you want to change your address, get a freesubscription, or receive more information, pleasevisit our website www.proact.dk/fi/no/se orwww.proact-it.ch and click proactuellt.

You can also subscribe to our digital newsletter,FYI, as well as read back issues of Proactuellt.

FYI is a monthly newsletter presentinginternational news from the world of storage,backup/restore, network and security. It gives youthe opportunity to upgrade your knowledge onwhat is happening without having to look throughall those mails tou get every month. We do that foryou!

Welcome!

24

BTLOD – Totally LightsOut Datacenter

minute to leave the hall and shut the door.He had just finished buttoning up his coatand shut the heavy metal door when herealized that the lights where still on. Withonly a few seconds until the alarm wasactivated he stretched his hand inside thedoor and punched the light switch.

his is where the night went horriblywrong. The lights did go out - to-gether with the air conditioning, the

disks, the tape stations, the great Honey-well Bull and all the other equipment. Thefew centimeters between the light switchand the emergency stop button madeHubbe’s fairly uneventful life replay be-fore his eyes. He had just unintentionallyshut down a major military computer site.Was there any tomorrow?

This is where his friendship with a quiteodd and extremely talented young mancame into play. This young man, who Iwill call Johannes, had the ability to seesome complex combination of instructionsperformed once, and then to be able torepeat it all. Hubbe, picked up the phoneand called Johannes.

H: - Hi Johannes, it’s me, Hubbe, howare things?

J: - Okey...H: - Hey, listen; I’ve had a little miss-

hap out here. I confused the light switchfor the main circuit breaker and now eve-rything is down.

J: - ...this is a joke, right?H: - Oh, well it had to happen some-

time, didn’t it?J: - Not really...H: - So...I was just thinking...are you

doing anything special tonight?J: - I can’t do anything tonight. I’ll see

you there tomorrow morning.

ollowing day, Saturday morning,Hubbe and Johannes took the backentrance into the military area.

They switched off the alarm and entered

his is a true story dying to be told,even though it does include a greatdeal of embarrassment for the peo-

ple involved. It revolves around a friendlybut rather flaky person we can call Hubbe.Back in the 1980’s, Hubbe did his militaryservice at VKÖ, the drafting office, whichis the part of the military who manages thetask of listing, drafting, evaluating andplacing young men (and women thesedays) into the military forces. Most menwho did their military service at VKÖhandled intelligence tests, medical tests,manned the security guard. Their onlyhighlight was the one day when femalerecruits was to be evaluated and the guysin the medical chain had semi-nakedwomen running around them all day.

But Hubbe belonged to the happy fewwho knew something others didn’t - com-puters. He should, since he’d bought anillegal copy of the main key for the schoolhe attended and spent the nights program-ming rather than doing his homework.After having spent a month shouting“bang, bang - you are dead” (the militarywas a bit short on ammunition just then),Hubbe and another few computer whizkids were put into uniforms and trans-ferred to the IT facility where they spent ayear as systems operators, basically han-dling the endless output of conscript no-tices, labeling tapes and running batches.

One late Friday, Hubbe was by himselfon the premises - but he didn’t mind. Hejust loved the wheezing sound of the airconditioning, the rattling noises of the re-movable hard disk packs and tape stationshooked up to the Honeywell Bull main-frame. And the lights! There was a wall oflights flickering in green, yellow and red -much better then StarTrek any day.

The backup tapes were runningsmoothly and it was just minutes beforehe could leave the night batches runningon their own. The last item of the check-list was to switch on the alarm system. Hepunched in the code and then had one

T

the dark and very silent premises. For thoseof you who did not work with mainframesback in the 80’s, I should mention thatstarting up a machine included settingwheels with hexadecimal codes to deter-mine start-up parameters and other witch-craft thingies that Johannes seemed to havememorized. And, needless to mention,Hubbe had absolutely no clue about.

A couple of hours later the system was upand running, the batches running smoothlyagain and Hubbe and Johannes left the site.Problem solved, matters settled. But ofcourse, they didn’t count on CaptainAndersson’s habit of carefully readingthrough the system log every morning...

- Hubbe, did something happen last Fri-day when you closed the place?

This was one of those rare moments inlife when you have to make a choice; eitheryou cowardly stick your head in the sandand pray for a miracle. Or you stand up andclaim responsibility for ones actions - sim-ply looking danger in the eye. Once again,Hubbe’s dull life started replaying itself butthis time with the interesting twist of havingshut down a top security classed IT facility.So he said:

- Oh...no, I don’t think so...notreally...why do you ask?

f course, Captain Andersson could read in the log that there had been apower failure Friday night, that

the system came up again on 9 am themorning after and that the batches thencompleted successfully by themselves.From there on it should have been quiteeasy to find out who had logged on duringthe Saturday morning (except everybodyused the same identity) or check the log fileprint-out at the guard to see who swipedtheir cards at the gate (except the paper wasprobably out in the matrix printer that wrotedown all movements on the premises).

Whatever the reason, Hubbe andJohannes were never again asked about thestrange happenings that night, so they couldleave the military service with top marksand pursue their careers in IT.

Fänrik R. Ståhl

(The names have been changed

to protect the guilty)

T

F

O