Teneros Lessens E-mail Headaches

Just like needing a spare tire in the trunk of a car while driving on a long trip, IT administrators who support Microsoft Exchange servers need a “spare tire” when it comes to providing continual uninterrupted e-mail service.

CRN Test Center engineers recently evaluated Teneros’ Application Continuity Appliance for Microsoft Exchange, which provides e-mail continuity for corporate end-users during both planned and unplanned Exchange downtime. The device is proven to prevent end-user downtime for large enterprises that rely on Exchange as their lifeline.

Downtime can be correlated to loss of dollars. For example, if a 200-person law firm bills time at an average of $250 per hour per lawyer, and if the e-mail system goes down for one hour and we assume only a 30 percent loss in employee productivity, the total financial loss could be $15,000 for that single hour.

Also take into consideration that the e-mail system is used as a document repository. The hour of downtime in the above example will pay for the appliance.

Another benefit of deploying such a device into a company’s infrastructure is that when IT staff performs server repairs or routine maintenance during peak hours, the Teneros appliance will provide uninterrupted e-mail service to its end users or employees. It does not matter how long the Exchange server is down or not functioning—the Teneros appliance can operate indefinitely.

CRN Test Center engineers were able to validate all claims that, once setup, e-mail services will experience no downtime by deploying the Teneros appliance in the following environment: Exchange 2003 running on Windows 2003, Active Directory running on Windows 2003, clients running Outlook 2003 on Windows XP professional and Outlook Web Access.

The front panel is composed of an LCD display that provides instant access to network operations through a keypad. Administrators must use the LCD to configure the network, but after the network is set up through the LCD display, the unit can be configured through the Web interface. For security reasons, the front display can be rendered inoperable so that changing configurations, such as network settings, can only be performed through the Web GUI.

Once it was configured and running for an extended period of time, the Exchange server was taken offline and the Teneros appliance continued to provide the exchange of e-mail between clients. The Exchange server did experience five minutes of downtime during installation when CRN Test Center engineers were connecting the appliance to the network and to the Exchange server.

Solution providers who deal particularly with Exchange environments and who have tried to implement complex clustering solutions or IT-intensive software replication solutions know their impediments and know they spend a lot of time trying to get these solutions to work properly. The Teneros Application Continuity Appliance will provide a plug-and-go, 24x7 availability appliance for all Microsoft Exchange servers.

Solution providers who maintain Exchange servers are also well aware of the frustrations attached to maintaining and keeping the e-mail client healthy and running without any interruption. The Teneros appliance achieves failback and failover through its own patented Instant-On technology. The Always-On IT service, priced at $3,000 per year on a three-year contract, includes 24x7 remote monitoring, update and patch management.

Teneros continues to recruit Microsoft-certified system integrators for the company’s strategic partner channel program, which is a single-level program where discounts are based on annual volume. The reseller program includes sales and technical training, pre- and post-sales support, joint marketing programs and local seminars.

The Teneros Application Continuity Appliance has an MSRP of $15,000, and resellers will see a 20 percent to 30 percent margin.