Server Management and IT Managed Services for South Florida
Server Management Overview
The economy in South Florida is booming. According to the South Florida Business Journal, nominal gross state product is expected to break $1 trillion by 2018 and grow to $1.074 trillion by 2019 and technology is helping spear the growth. As a quickly growing business in this economy, you will likely need an IT server management professional at some point.
Simply put, a server management professional is an IT technician who is responsible for keeping all of your server systems up and running, just like the links in a chain. They are also dedicated to staying up to date on all of the best practices for server management from both a physical perspective to a virtual perspective. From real estate companies in Boca Raton, to Hospitals in Fort Lauderdale, to retailers in Coral Gables, we keep our clients servers running.
What Is Server Management and What Is Included
Server management can be characterized as the maintenance and administration performed on a server on a routine basis with the goal of keeping the system running smoothly. We manage servers for South Florida companies across many industries, from healthcare to legal.
IT Service Management typically involves:
Routine monitoring of the server and applications. We monitor the applications running on your company’s servers, checking their status, uptime, and observing for any new or repeating issues.
Refreshing the server and software on the machines - We include this within our core service offerings while many other IT companies do not. In any case, it is still accepted as a major aspect of the 'server administration' process.
Implementation and configuration - The server admin works on the design of the systems, initial server installation, and set up of applications and software running on the server. Again, not every South Florida IT company includes this in server management but Connections for Businesses does include it.
Where applicable, the Server Administrator will assist in overseeing the physical security, integrity, and overall safety of the network and servers.
Server Types
There are several types of servers that you may have within your IT system. Those include:- Email Server
- Web Server
- Application Server
- FTP Server
- Collaboration Server
And many more
Keep Your Tech Up to Date
First of all, an IT professional will stay up to date on all of the new developments in IT in general and server management in particular. One of the major developments over past decade is the management of a virtual server. Although it is not as difficult now, management of a virtual server still be a challenge that can require outside IT resources. However, this daunting task can definitely be lessened as long as you keep a few best practices in mind.
Being aware that the computer needs to have adequate memory and disk space is a critical first step. The host operating system and the virtual machine running the program will require top-notch memory in order to run the system as planned. Having disk space in the lead machine is important too because it will allow for the paging file of the virtual machine to work properly and it won't negatively affect the RAM on the machine when it is put into a sleeping state.
Take a serious look at hyper-threading technology and configure your physical network adapters correctly. These are heavy computing workloads, and a single processor may appear as two processors. This can cause poor server performance. Workload is dynamic and always varies so our IT firm will always recommend disabling the hyper-threading technology to avoid this potential processor problem and then this will lessen the chance of an expensive fix. Also, by configuring your network adapters correctly you will ensure that the whole thing remains strong because this is an important part of any system.
Make sure not to neglect security in an IT system.
Remember that there is no system that is not totally Bulletproof. Of course, many organizations take the cheap route and just patch up the electronics where they can. However, doing this and patching these holes is just like patching a damn, it can only be done so often before it totally bursts and causes more problems that will be a lot more expensive to fix.
Finally, there are four main reasons why an server may go down. It is to your advantage to be aware of them. Some of the main reasons include:- Disk failures
- Viruses / hacks
- Failure to upgrade / update
- Physical Disaster
Insofar as disk failures, a good rule thumb is that if one disk fails, often the entire system will go down with it. That is why performing regular backups as part of a server management plan can minimize these possibilities.
Another good rule thumb is that your hard drive disk will usually last from 4 to 6 years before a backup is needed. With viruses, you need to realize it is considered one of the most common failure issues associated with servers. Security breaches can lead to corruption and loss of data. System downtime could also result.
In addition, if your server posts websites, they could be flagged by browsers and search engines as unsafe, which could prevent potential business for you. Performing upgrades can also be a problem, even though bad ones could also lead to server failure. One way to solve this conundrum would be to always have backups available. Sometimes, you do need to upgrade your system; just make sure you have a backup server plan in place just in case the upgrade turns out to be a bad one.
Also be sure to make certain you properly document all login credentials. This is an obvious mistake but you would be surprised how often it happens.
Last but not least, make sure you have a plan in place in case an act of nature might happen. If you need help instituting a strategic plan for your in house IT systems or need an IT audit, Connections for Business is available to help you. From our headquarters in Hollywood, Florida, we support South Florida businesses across many industries and we can help you with your server management and IT managed services in general.