Copper River Wins Award for 10 Years and $20 Billion Maximum in the Networking, Security, Video & Conference Tools subcategory of Group D

Chantilly, VA, October 10, 2014- Copper River IT, a leading provider of program-focused advanced network/systems engineering solutions and enterprise support services, today announced their award of a NASA Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP) V contract. The fifth iteration of this Government-Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) is designed to offer NASA, all federal agencies and their authorized contractors state-of-the-art IT hardware products and services.  This award is an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) with a contract term of a five-year base, one five-year option, and a maximum contract ceiling of $20 Billion.

Copper River IT was awarded a contract under the subcategory of Group D for Networking/Security/Video and Conference Tools. A total 56 contracts have been awarded under SEWP V, including twenty-three awards under the subcategory of Group A for Computer Based Systems and thirty-three awards for Group D. The Small Business set aside contracts for Groups B and C have not yet been announced.

“Copper River has emerged as a trusted IT solutions provider over the last eight years” states Ben Brucker, President of Copper River IT. “The award of a SEWP V contract has only strengthened our resolve to continue providing our federal customers with an elite portfolio of products and exceptional services that will support their unique and diverse requirements.”

Copper River Showcases Their Emerging IT & Telecommunications Technology

Chantilly, VA: 05 September 2014: Copper River, a leading provider of advanced network/systems engineering and telecommunications solutions, is pleased to announce their participation in the CTIA 2014 Super Mobility Week. This event is one of North America’s largest forums bringing together the leading authorities in the communications industry. Being held at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV, September 9^th – 11^th, this event will host over 1,100 exhibitors and 40,000 attendees.

Exhibiting in booth number 3656, Copper River will be showcasing their next-generation IT & communications solutions and services. Copper River’s theme, “Come Grow With Us”, is dedicated to our Alaskan Tribal roots of the Native Village of Eyak and in sync with CTIA’s new partnership with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). In efforts to continue to give back to the community, all potted plants, shrubbery, and cobblestone that will make up the Copper River booth will be donated back to Habitat for Humanity.

“We are excited to be participating in the upcoming CTIA 2014 Super Mobility Week” comments H. Benjamin Brucker, President of Copper River. “This event gives us the ability to not only showcase our next-generation solutions and services to the many communications thought leaders in attendance, but it also allows us to engage and nurture the relationships with our increasing customer base.”

Copper River invites all participants of the CTIA 2014 event to visit us at booth #3656.

Outages were felt by nearly everyone reminding us in dramatic fashion just how fragile the internet really is.

Written By: Gary Hauser,
Principal Architect & Head of the Sales Architectures Team for Copper River IT

Many people who know their tech history know that the internet was originally designed to survive a nuclear war (ARPANET). On Tuesday, August 12th, 2014, at five o’clock in the morning, Eastern Standard Time, network mailing-lists started filling up with notifications of outages and unreachable sites around the world. Not exactly nuclear war, but the event did remind us in dramatic fashion just how fragile the internet really is.

The smart people weren’t taken by surprise. The events of August 12 did not manifest an unknown problem; the issue had been pointed out in theoretical white papers on how to bring the internet down by academics and by members of the network community who maintain slightly older equipment in locations around the net.

An Issue of Maps and Scale

The issue, simply put, is one of destinations on a map and the maps ability to scale. The Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) routing tables that make up the maps of all of the destinations on the Default Free Zone (DFZ) at the top tiers of the internet ran out of space to support all of those destinations. Much of the older (three to five+ year old) equipment that is still in use today was designed based on the best technology available at the time, with the primary idea that the internet Core DFZ would never reach the 512K mark. As we know, things have changed dramatically since then. We now have space for 4,000,000,000 (that’s four billion) different Autonomous System numbers in the ASN tagging scheme which makes up the AS Path through the internet to your final network destination. Think of the AS Path as a list of highways that you would need to take in order to reach the off-ramp exit for the local destination of your choice. There were approximately 48,333 of these ASN highways currently in use on the AS Path list as of August 12^th, 2014. At 4:50am EST the BGP Routing table, or list of destination networks or off-ramps reachable via all those highways, went up to 515,500 destinations for approximately seven minutes from the point of view of a Level 3 BGP border peering router in Chicago.

As this occurred, a multitude of slightly older routers and switches around the world that had well known destination forwarding table limits of 512k started dropping prefixes and spreading that change to other devices. This event was caused by a change in the de-aggregation level of the destinations coming from two of Verizon’s networks: AS701 and AS705. Those two highways briefly started announcing a 10k to 15k increase in destination prefixes until they discovered and fixed the issue. At any given time, approximately 2100+ AS’s are unreachable because of misconfiguration or other standard provisioning related reasons. During this routing table expansion, approximately 6,000+ AS’s on the internet, or over 12% of the highways, were unreachable. Those are significant and scary numbers.

In a Perfect World …

This serious glitch needn’t have happened. Based on the natural destination table growth that we have been seeing on the internet for the last few years, the destination route entry overload was expected to occur, along with its troublesome effects, sometime in the August to October time frame of this year. If everyone had played by the rules and operated as a best-practices citizen, we would be under 300,000 destinations and still be fully reachable. But the internet, like the world it envelops, is at the mercy of imperfect politics and operators who are scrambling to deal with the size and scale of their own networks so we had better be prepared for more of these jolts.

Help is on the Way

That said, there are solutions and workarounds for this problem. If you have a Cisco-based router or switch exhibiting these hiccup symptoms, the following document describes ways that might resolve this issue in the short term:

https://supportforums.cisco.com/document/12202206/size-internet-global-routing-table-and-its-potential-side-effects

Similar fixes are available for other vendors but are not yet publicly available. You can contact Copper River for help solving these support issues and implementing the above-mentioned Cisco solutions, or to identify and mitigate the possible impact of this kind of event on your network.

To Panic or Not to Panic

Just one more point to consider: this was a natural one-off—a non-malicious occurrence, generated by one service provider’s (Verizon’s) operational issue. On the other hand, researchers have predicted this type of situation could emerge as a potential attack on the internet itself.

For more information on this week’s internet event, please see the following links:

What caused today’s Internet hiccup:

https://www.bgpmon.net/what-caused-todays-internet-hiccup/

Internet hiccups today? You’re not alone. Here’s why.

http://www.zdnet.com/internet-hiccups-today-youre-not-alone-heres-why-7000032566/

For more detailed information about the hardware issue that was the cause of the outage portion of this event please see the following link:

IPv4/IPv6 and TCAM memory:

http://www.ipv4depletion.com/?p=672

For more information about the attack based vulnerabilities that could bring down the internet and how to mitigate or reduce them please see the following articles:

The cyber weapon that could take down the internet

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20113-the-cyberweapon-that-could-take-down-the-internet.html#.U-0ikoBdW7E

How to crash the internet

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/networking/how-to-crash-the-internet/680

BGP Spoofing — why nothing on the internet is actually secure

http://www.zdnet.com/bgp-spoofing-routing-router-phishing-why-nothing-on-the-internet-is-actually-secure-7000019015/

How the Internet went out in Egypt

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/networking/how-the-internet-went-out-in-egypt/620

Help is here. Call Copper River to discuss how we can help you face this and many other internet hiccups.

About Gary Hauser:

Mr. Gary Hauser has been working with large scale Service Provider and Commercial Data centers for over 28 years with his experience spanning every aspect of the design, implementation, configuration, and support of complex, mission-critical network infrastructure solutions for Global Fortune 100 companies and telephone companies in Europe, Asia as well as North and South America.

His capabilities include an extremely broad knowledge base and familiarity with the latest cutting-edge technologies, including the follow areas: Carrier Class Routing, Switching, MPLS transport, Network Virtualization, Software Defined Networking and Optical technologies.

Gary joined Copper River’s team as the Principle Architect in 2013 and in 2014 was tasked with starting a new sales architecture team in charge of delivering on the business promise of the virtual private cloud and infrastructure as a service by helping customers understand the services requirements planning for the cloud.

Gary’s holds multiple technical certifications to include JNCIE-SP (#12), JNCIE-ENT (#25), CCIE (#4489, Ret.), and he is an IPv6 Forum Gold/Silver Certified Engineer. Gary’s educational background has earned him his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Marketing and Management from American Intercontinental University and his Associate of the Arts in Architectural Design from Anne Arundel Community College.

Rising an impressive 140 spots from 2013, Copper River IT is recognized for the second year in a row

Chantilly, VA, June 12, 2014– Copper River IT, a leading provider of program-focused advanced network/systems engineering solutions and enterprise support services, has been named to The Channel Company’s CRN magazine “2014 Solutions Provider 500 List”. Formally known as the “VAR 500”, the “Solution Provider 500” (SP500) is an annual ranking of the top integrators, service providers and IT consultants in North America based on their solution-provider services revenue growth. Copper River IT rose an impressive 140 spots from their 2013 ranking and is now holding the 220th spot on this years list.

Copper River continues to prove its success in establishing itself as THE Solutions Provider for Government agencies as well as commercial verticals such as Service Provider, Healthcare, and Education.

Copper River IT provides progressive, program-focused IT solutions based on expert engineering, agile execution and proven past performance.  Copper River offers a full scope of IT and network capabilities including hardware/software procurement, network engineering, systems engineering, enterprise support services, and advanced network education solutions.

In addition to these capabilities, Copper River IT offers customers a variety of purchasing benefits through the satisfaction of small business and diversity contracting goal achievement. Copper River is a Federally Recognized Alaskan Tribal owned company and was certified as an 8(a)/Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) by the US Small Business Administration (SBA) in 2006. Copper River’s solutions are available through several state procurement contracts (VA VITA, FL Network Infrastructure, MD MEEC, TX DIR), Federal contract vehicles (GSA, NASA SEWP IV) as well as the ability to leverage the SBA 8(a) designation for sole source or set aside procurements.

ANCHORAGE June 12, 2014 — Copper River Information Technology, LLC has been selected for the 2014 Best of Anchorage Award in the Computers & Accessories category by the Anchorage Award Program.

Each year, the Anchorage Award Program identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the Anchorage area a great place to live, work and play.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2014 Anchorage Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the Anchorage Award Program and data provided by third parties.

About Anchorage Award Program

The Anchorage Award Program is an annual awards program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of local businesses throughout the Anchorage area. Recognition is given to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value.

The Anchorage Award Program was established to recognize the best of local businesses in our community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to recognize the small business community’s contributions to the U.S. economy.

SOURCE: Anchorage Award Program

CONTACT:
Anchorage Award Program
Email: PublicRelations@recognitionawarding.com
URL: http://www.recognitionawarding.com

Leading networking vendor recognizes partners for outstanding achievements, commitment, professionalism, and passion in delivering high quality solutions and services to customers

Chantilly, VA: 26 February 2014: In recognition of the highest levels of sales, customer service excellence, technology expertise and service specializations, Copper River IT has been awarded Juniper Networks East Region Partner of the Year 2013. One of only 35 Partner Awards given, Juniper Networks presented this award to Copper River IT at the annual Juniper Networks Global Partner Conference held at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.  The Global Partner Conference brought together over 800 Juniper Networks partners world-wide.

David Helfer, Vice President of Worldwide Channels and Commercial for Juniper Networks, said, “I want to personally congratulate our esteemed partners for their relentless commitment to helping our customers build the best networks. Juniper Networks is committed to enabling the long-term success of our global partners. Their achievements demonstrate how training, support and differentiation of Juniper’s products and services can create greater business opportunity for partners and deliver value for our customers.”

Copper River has established itself as THE Solutions Provider for Government agencies as well as commercial verticals such as Service Provider, Healthcare, and Education. Copper River provides progressive, program-focused IT solutions based on expert engineering, agile execution and proven past performance.  Copper River offers a full scope of IT and network capabilities including hardware/software procurement, network engineering, systems engineering, enterprise support services, and advanced network education solutions.

In addition to these capabilities, Copper River IT offers customers a variety of purchasing benefits through the satisfaction of small business and diversity contracting goal achievement. Copper River is a Federally Recognized Alaskan Tribal owned company and was certified as an 8(a)/Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) by the US Small Business Administration (SBA) in 2006. Copper River’s solutions are available through several state procurement contracts (VA VITA, FL Network Infrastructure, MD MEEC, TX DIR), Federal contract vehicles (GSA, NASA SEWP IV) as well as the ability to leverage the SBA 8(a) designation for sole source or set aside procurements.

Copper River Information Technology, LLC Receives 2013 Best of Anchorage Award

Anchorage Award Program Honors the Achievement

ANCHORAGE December 3, 2013 — Copper River Information Technology, LLC has been selected for the 2013 Best of Anchorage Award in the Computers & Accessories category by the Anchorage Award Program.

Each year, the Anchorage Award Program identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the Anchorage area a great place to live, work and play.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2013 Anchorage Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the Anchorage Award Program and data provided by third parties.

About Anchorage Award Program

The Anchorage Award Program is an annual awards program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of local businesses throughout the Anchorage area. Recognition is given to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value.

The Anchorage Award Program was established to recognize the best of local businesses in our community. Our organization works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations and other business advertising and marketing groups. Our mission is to recognize the small business community’s contributions to the U.S. economy.

SOURCE: Anchorage Award Program

CONTACT:
Anchorage Award Program
Email: PublicRelations@awardredemption.org
URL: http://www.awardredemption.org

Adva Optical Networking provides state of the art solutions for high bandwidth connectivity. With technology based on DWDM for Optical Transport and MEF for Carrier Ethernet, Adva’s solutions are frequently used by Service Providers, Enterprises, Public Sector, and Web 2.0/Data Center entities.

Attainment of Service Provider Infrastructure (SPI) Partner Level and QFabric Authorized Reseller continues to reinforce Copper River IT’s dominance in delivering high quality solutions and services to customers.

Chantilly, VA: 06 August 2013: Copper River IT, a Juniper Elite Portfolio Partner, announced today that they have satisfied the strict requirements set by Juniper Networks to become a Service Provider Infrastructure Partner and Authorized QFabric Reseller.  These elite certifications demonstrate Copper River IT’s thought leadership, deep level of expertise, and continued drive to provide high-performing, enterprise-level solutions to our customers.  Supporting their objective to fully understand innovative technologies as well as provide additional value to end-user customers, Copper River IT’s Chief Technology Officer, Scott Morris, concurrently achieved Juniper’s complementary JNCI-QFX Instructor certification.

Requiring multiple expert certifications, in-depth training, and an extensive portfolio of past performance, SPI Partners have the opportunity to become trusted business partners analyzing both new and existing deployments, identifying improvement opportunities and putting forward effective solutions to address improved SLA’s, increased service revenue opportunities and reductions in cost. SPI Partners deliver a wide range of high-performance networking solutions based on purpose-built technology that support the world’s largest and most demanding networks.

“In today’s competitive landscape, a high performance network can create true competitive differentiation. Having a partner like Copper River IT to help customers achieve the best results from their network requires an extremely high level of technology expertise. The company’s dedicated investment in technology, training, and its continued desire to maintain a broad technical skill set throughout their organization makes them a valued partner to Juniper Networks and its customers,” states Christopher M. Jones, Vice President of Americas Partner Sales, Juniper Networks. “Copper River IT has consistently demonstrated their excellence in large-scale, complex network infrastructure solution design and delivery.  Within the partnership community, these accomplishments work to solidify the partnership between Juniper and Copper River IT .”

“As an SPI Partner and an Authorized QFabric Reseller, Copper River IT continues to demonstrate our ability to deliver innovative solutions to the largest of our global customers,” states Joe Kim, Vice President of Engineering at Copper River IT.  “As Juniper’s go-to partner for QFabric solutions and within the Service Provider community, we have consistently invested in our people and capabilities to be able to continually deliver the entire portfolio of Juniper solutions throughout the market.”

Copper River has established itself as THE Solutions Provider for Government agencies as well as commercial verticals such as Service Provider, Healthcare, and Education. Copper River provides progressive, program-focused IT solutions based on expert engineering, agile execution and proven past performance.  Copper River offers a full scope of IT and network capabilities including hardware/software procurement, network engineering, systems engineering, enterprise support services, and advanced network education solutions.

In addition to these capabilities, Copper River IT offers customers a variety of purchasing benefits through the satisfaction of small business and diversity contracting goal achievement. Copper River is a Federally Recognized Alaskan Tribal owned company and was certified as an 8(a)/Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) by the US Small Business Administration (SBA) in 2006. Copper River’s solutions are available through several state procurement contracts (VA VITA, FL Network Infrastructure, MD MEEC, TX DIR), Federal contract vehicles (GSA, NASA SEWP IV) as well as the ability to leverage the SBA 8(a) designation for sole source or set aside procurements

Chantilly, VA 20 August 2013 : Copper River IT, a leading provider of program-focused advanced network/systems engineering solutions and enterprise support services, was recognized by the UBM Tech Channel in the “CRN 2013 Solutions Provider 500 List”.  Formally known as the “VAR 500”, the “Solution Provider 500” (SP500) is an annual ranking of the top integrators, service providers and IT consultants in North America based on their solution-provider services revenue growth.  Debuting at number 360, Copper River was highlighted as one of the “45 Newcomers”.

Being named to the “SP500” list is yet another achievement for Copper River in 2013. In August, they were also selected in the “INC 5000” list- a list of fastest-growing private companies in America named by INC Magazine.  Both of these awards speak to Copper River’s continued success in establishing itself as THE Solutions Provider for Government agencies as well as commercial verticals such as Service Provider, Healthcare, and Education.

Copper River IT provides progressive, program-focused IT solutions based on expert engineering, agile execution and proven past performance.  Copper River offers a full scope of IT and network capabilities including hardware/software procurement, network engineering, systems engineering, enterprise support services, and advanced network education solutions.

In addition to these capabilities, Copper River IT offers customers a variety of purchasing benefits through the satisfaction of small business and diversity contracting goal achievement. Copper River is a Federally Recognized Alaskan Tribal owned company and was certified as an 8(a)/Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) by the US Small Business Administration (SBA) in 2006. Copper River’s solutions are available through several state procurement contracts (VA VITA, FL Network Infrastructure, MD MEEC, TX DIR), Federal contract vehicles (GSA, NASA SEWP IV) as well as the ability to leverage the SBA 8(a) designation for sole source or set aside procurements.