Many have heard of server virtualization and wonder if it is a new technology for every business to adopt. This article will explain what it is and hopefully help business owners and managers when they are ready to talk to the IT person. 

Green computing- virtual servers reduce the use of hardware, physical space and electricity substantially.  A virtual server is one that lives in a physical server in parallel with one or more other virtual servers.  A virtual server functions as if it is a physical server.  The idea of having multiple virtual servers came about when CPU has more cores, memory has more gigabytes and hard disks have more terabytes.

Fast recovery- a virtual server can be recovered in seconds instead of minutes in the most favourable scenario.  We can create a clone copy of a server as another virtual server in the same physical server.  In case the online server corrupts due to virus or testing, we can copy the clone over in a fresh state and start again. 

Portability across physical servers- this capability addresses the failure of the physical server as well as reusing a virtual server in another physical server.  This capability is not commonly available at this stage.

Benefits of server virtualizations are obvious for organizations with many servers and not quite obvious for small businesses.  Putting all our eggs in one basket is one consideration.  The cost of deploying is another.  If you are confused or have different ideas, feel free to contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to discuss

How a small to medium size business can achieve major cost saving and operation effectiveness with IT and PC? 

The first illustration happened in Compucon New Zealand over the last 14 years of our 16 years history.  We employed a Certified Accountant some 14 years ago.  She did a good job until the business volume grew to a level that she asked for an assistant.  She resigned when the request for an assistant was not agreed with.  In her position was a lady who had exposure to computer based accounting system.  She did all work through PC and she asked management for a bigger scope of duties to fill up her unused time!  The event gave the company more real time accounting information for $30,000 less of wages per annum. 

Next, we started paying our suppliers electronically and progressed from Modem based 11 years ago to Internet based this year.    Payment instructions to the bank were done in batches and connected with our accounting system.  The time saved would be equivalent to $10,000 of wages per annum. 

Our accounting system is basic but it does not stop us exporting customer names to a list for sending email newsletters.  We have since been able to increase the newsletter frequency from 4 to 11 per year for business customers and from nil to 11 for school customers.  This is additional to a saving of $30,000 per annum for hard copy printing, postage and handling time. 

1. The Flash Utility that corresponds with the motherboard BIOS chip (usually AMI or Award). This will be an executable e.g. awdflash.exe
2. The binary file used by the flash utility for programming the BIOS chip. It is usually in an 8.3 file numbering format with the extension indicating the version number. E.g. 0404.rom - version 0404 BIOS for the Asus M3N72-D motherboard.

Procedure 1 - for flashing the BIOS

1. Create a bootable DOS-formatted USB drive.
2. Copy or extract the 2 required files onto the USB drive.
3. Boot the PC/motherboard using the USB drive.
4. Enter the following command to flash the BIOS - this is usually just the name of the flash utility file followed by the binary file: "awdflash /i0404.rom"
5. Once the programming is complete you can remove the USB drive and restart the PC.
6. The first reboot will result in a message similar to the following: "The CMOS has been reset; press F1 to enter setup or F2 to continue with default settings". Press F1 and follow the Procedure 2 (Step 2) below.

Procedure 2 - for configuring the BIOS

1. Press [Delete] key during POST screen to enter BIOS setup.
2. Go to 'Exit' menu. Choose 'Load Setup Defaults'.
3. Change each of the settings listed in Procedure 3 below as applicable - for the specifications of the PC.

Procedure 3 - BIOS Settings

You MAY need to change the following options after loading 'Setup Defaults':

(1) Main menu -> Legacy Diskette A -> 1.44M, 3.5 in (by default).
Please disable if your system lacks a floppy drive.

(2) Main menu -> HDD Smart Monitoring -> Disabled (by default).
Please set this option to Enabled.

(3) Advanced menu -> Onboard Devices Configuration -> Serial Port 1 Address -> 3F8/IRQ4 (by default).
Please disable if your system lacks a COM port.

(4) Advanced menu -> Onboard Devices Configuration -> Front Panel Support Type -> HD Audio (by default).
Please set this option to AC97.

(5) Power menu -> Hardware Monitor -> CPU Q-Fan Control -> Disabled (by default).
Please set this option to Enabled.

(6) Power menu -> Hardware Monitor -> Chassis Q-Fan Control -> Disabled (by default).
Please set this option to Enabled.

(7) Boot menu -> Boot Device Priority.
Please customise this according to your requirement.

(8) Boot menu -> Boot Settings Configuration -> Full Screen Logo.
Please Disable this option.

(9) Tools menu -> Express Gate -> Express Gate
Please Disable this option for faster bootup.

End.  Go to 'Exit' menu and choose 'Save and Exit'

These terms refer to the delivery of video images from the source to the destination using Internet Protocol (IP) technology. 

Uni-cast refers to one destination per delivery.  If there are multiple destinations, the source has to repeat the delivery for each destination. 

Broadcast refers to one source and delivery to all destinations on the network. 

Multi-cast refers to one source and pre-defined multiple destinations of the network.  Obviously, multi-cast is the most efficient or desirable form of delivery.