FAQ

These are our general FAQs, we also offer a problem based solution finder FAQ.
  • General
  • Why should I pick Altaware?
    Altaware is based upon heavy practical industry experience. Our customers rave about us. We pick the solutions we want to carry. We haven't forgotten that first and foremost a VAR must be Value Added.
  • What if I want to try it first?
    The choices vary by manufacturer. Some of our manufacturers offer try and buy programs, others have a 30 day trial policy and in other cases we carry our own demo inventory. Give us a call to see what options are available.
  • What payment choices do you offer?
    We offer several methods. We take credit cards, including VISA, MasterCard and American Express. We have a credit process for those customers wanting to purchase on terms. Credit approval is based upon a credit form completion and D&B check, along with trade references. We also offer leases for customers interested in leasing programs.
  • What businesses do you serve?
    We are already focused narrowly on securing, accelerating and storing data, so we do not ignore specific industry verticals. However, due to our backgrounds, we are versed on compliance concerns across various industries. Our customers include a variety of manufacturing, healthcare, education, state and local government, clothing and entertainment customers, to name a few.

    In terms of customer sizes, we cater to SMB to high-end Enterprise. Our technical engineers have a deep background in large enterprises, so we can tackle the big problems, but we also know that there are plenty of SMBs that need enterprise solutions that are much easier to manage and deploy.
  • How do I select a firewall?
    Firewalls are sized based upon several criteria:
    - Start with the number of ports/interfaces that you will need
    - Look at your total throughput requirements, make sure to include any additional internal segments you might want
    - Consider the total number of sessions you might need, keep in mind that a single user can easily generate 4-20 sessions. With Web 2.0 applications such as Facebook, 100+ sessions is NOT unusual. 150 is fairly normal when dealing with current web 2.0 applications.
    - Consider how many VPN tunnels you want to support (include sites and users)
    - Look at what other features you might want, such as AV scanning, IDS capability, anti-spam and web content filtering
    - Consider if you want to cluster firewalls for load or redundancy considerations
  • Why should I buy a Juniper Networks contract?
    The Juniper service contract covers not only the hardware itself during the contract period, but also provides 24x7 phone and web support and includes firmware upgrades.
  • Do you offer online purchasing?
    Yes, we do have an online store where we put several items, including pages on our web site for some limited items. Please contact us for additional information.
  • How should I pick the proper firewall?
    It's easy and it's challenging. When picking a firewall, you should consider several factors:
    - Space/power requirements
    - How many ports you need
    - Port speed
    - Total firewall throughput
    - Special feature considerations (e.g. IDP/IDS, content filtering, AV, etc.)
    We offer two firewall product lines. Juniper Networks for most enterprise needs and also SonicWall.

    We also offer Palo Alto Networks for next generation firewall capability and high performance needs,
  • How do I determine the number of wireless APs (Access Points) that I need?
    It depends several factors including:
    - Square footage (generally an AP can cover 4,000 to 5,000 square feet)
    - Number of floors
    - General building layout and construction characteristics
    - Desire or need for air monitors
    - Number of wireless clients (keep proper mix to number of APs)
    - Desired throughput to the clients
    - Coverage design considerations (e.g. 150% coverage)
    - Typical type of clients (e.g. laptops, video cameras, phones, etc.)

    In terms of sizing controllers:
    - Number of locations or buildings and general traffic flow
    - Mix of remote APs

    With good drawings, discussions and site visits, let us help design the proper solution!
  • Support
  • How do I get support outside the USA?
    At Altaware, Inc., we sell support contracts based upon the destination country. This provides you with local support. Sure, it takes extra effort on our part, but it covers you and makes your life easer.
  • Can you determine if we're secure?
    Yes, we offer a wide array of services designed to determine your current security posture and improve upon what you already have. For those operating under various regulatory concerns, we can help assess against various compliance requirements.
  • Can I just get Professional Services from you?
    Of course! We are here to help. Most of our customers use it to choose and implement networking and security solutions, but we also offer extensive troubleshooting services.
  • How does Juniper support EOL (End of Life) products and where can I found out more?
    Find out more at the Juniper support site.