We Need Your Input

CWS regularly receives requests to offer training and consultation on various subjects. Because everyone has different needs, we'd like to learn what topics and formats make the most sense for you. We've set up a very quick survey (just four questions), and we'd really appreciate a couple of minutes of your time so we can better meet your needs:

Take the survey here

Thanks for your help!

Contribute Training Reminder

Our monthly Contribute training classes are scheduled for next Tuesday, July 7th. If you're in need of a refresher course or would like to learn how to use Contribute's advanced features, these classes are an excellent opportunity to learn more.

Each month, you may attend one (or both) sessions based on your needs and current skill level. Here are the topics which will be covered this month:

Basic Session @ 1:00 pm (4 seats left for 7/7/09)

• Getting Started
• Editing Pages
• Inserting Links
• Working with Images
• Using Tables
• Adding New Pages

Advanced Session @ 2:00pm (2 seats left for 7/7/09)

• Using the Draft Console
• Using Anchors
• Adding Paypal Buttons
• Adding Google Search Fields
• Adding HTML Snippets
• Using Shared Assets
• Adding Movie Files
• Working With Blogs

As always, we'll continue to offer our Contribute Training on the first Tuesday of each month at 1:00 pm. To register, simply call Sara at 507-216-6649 or email sara@cws.net. Here is the list of upcoming training sessions:

• July 7th, 2009 = 1 pm (Basic) & 2 pm (Advanced)
• August 4th, 2009 = 1 pm (Basic) & 2 pm (Advanced)
• September 1st, 2009 = 1 pm (Basic) & 2 pm (Advanced)

All classes will be held at the CWS Office and will start promptly. Hope to see you there!

July 4th Holiday

Our office will be officially closed on Friday, July 3rd in observance of the Independence Day holiday. If interested, you can read the official document declaring our independence.

The crew at CWS will be spending the day with our friends and family in observance of this national holiday. Our support team will respond to an emergency if needed. If there is one, please call (888) 426-7793. If you have a non-emergency issue, let us know by sending us an email.

May your travel be safe, and your good times plentiful.

Best Wishes, The CWS Team

Launch: Premier Security, Inc.

Premier Security is a provider of protective services headquartered in Rochester and serving the entire state of Minnesota. With a radio-dispatched fleet and over 150 trained officers, the organization is well equipped to respond to a variety of security situations and committed to total client satisfaction.
It was a pleasure to work with Dan and Jacob on this project. We've also had the opportunity to work with Premier Security on other community events, such as Rochesterfest, that were in need of their security services. Each time, Premier Security has been there for our community and they deserve recognition for their efforts. Please check out their website and keep them in mind if you find yourself in need of security services.

Launch: Total Masonry and Construction, Inc.

CWS has recently launched a new website for Total Masonry and Construction, Inc. of Rochester. With a large presence in the Southern Minnesota construction industry, Total Masonry strives to combine quality craftsmanship and pride with competitive pricing to achieve excellence in both residential and commercial masonry projects. The company is also distinguished by a commitment to continuing education which, combined with many years of experience, makes them a leader in the industry.

Our Goose Is Loose!

The city of Rochester recently launched a public art project to support the Rochester Arts Council, coinciding with the beginning of Rochesterfest. Eighteen five-foot statues representing our area's ubiquitous Canada geese have been placed around town, sponsored by local businesses and designed by local artists.

The CWS goose is themed around the Rochester Honkers, our local baseball team. We developed new logos and identity graphics for the Honkers a few years ago.

We're excited to participate in this community project and invite you to stop by and check out our design, which is displayed outside the CWS offices at 3014 Allegro Park Lane.

See photos of the work in progress here.

Ask CWS: How do you safeguard my data?

In the past few weeks, we've been asked several times how we protect the data stored in our facilities (particularly for websites) from loss. Here are a few of our safety measures, organized in two broad categories:

Redundancy

Our critical systems operate with redundant backups. In the event of a power failure, we have a natural-gas generator which can operate our facility indefinitely until power is restored. Battery systems keep the servers online while power is transferred to and from the generator. To ensure that this system works as intended, we run a live test every month and operate on generator power for a full hour.

Our links to the Internet leave Rochester in different directions to protect us from a physical cable cut. We have duplicate routers and firewalls for failover in the event of a hardware loss. We have two primary cooling systems for the server room and a third on standby. And of course we monitor all of our systems continually; our staff is notified the instant any issues are detected.

Backups

All of our servers are backed up every 24 hours at minimum. This includes website files, database contents and configuration files. These archives are stored on a central backup server, and we maintain a week's worth of data readily accessible there. That server is itself backed up to a dedicated data protection appliance, which records changes to the backup files and allows us to reach farther back in time if necessary (within reason). That appliance is mirrored to an identical device which is located offsite.

Whenever technology is involved, problems will eventually occur. But in most cases you will never notice (or the customers who rely on your website). We understand the importance of reliability and do everything humanly possible to maintain the integrity of your data stored at our facility. If you ever have any questions about our systems, please do not hesitate to contact us.