Managing your servers is a proper way of maintaining their efficiency over time. Your company’s applications, emails, websites, and data storage allow your employees to fulfill their functions, which is why it is necessary to keep them running. Monitoring your servers will enable you to prevent issues from arising by detecting them early on.
In this article, we’ll share six tips on improving your server management to ensure your business’s operations are working smoothly.
Tip #1 – Mount the Servers Properly
It is essential that you properly plan the way your hardware will be set up before mounting it. Connecting them near your workstations may seem like the logical thing to do. However, this could expose them to spills, dirt, tripping, etc. Placing your servers in an accessible area facilitates management and cleaning, and using a rack mount installation limits its exposure to the regular comings and goings of the office space.
Tip #2 – Keep Your Servers Separate From Your Main Working Area
Depending on the type, Servers can turn out to be quite noisy, so it’s a good idea to either keep them in a separate area where no one is doing any work or invest in secure rack mounts with integrated sound reduction.
Tip #3 – Look After Your Hardware
Forgetting to keep your hardware’s maintenance up to date can be catastrophic since a failure in your system can easily cause your productivity to plunge. These are the main components you need to monitor on your servers:
CPU (Central Processing Unit): A CPU functioning near 100% of its power will slow down and prevent your workers from completing their tasks on time. It’s vital to monitor the usage and apply chip upgrades or performance tuning if necessary.
RAM (Random Access Memory): Adding more memory to expand usage allows for higher performance on your devices.
Hard drive: This is the permanent storage of your servers, which saves your data and programs. Overuse can affect its performance, so it’s necessary to regularly manage it by keeping track of available space, redundant files, updates, and cloud-based solutions.
Tip #4 – Keep It Cool
Your servers require cool temperatures to run smoothly and avoid damage; too much heat can significantly decrease their lifespan. Invest in a cooling system for your hardware with power backup in case of a power outage.
Tip #5 – Manage And Maintain Your Software
Hardware is not the only thing that requires your monitoring, your software needs to be regularly updated and audited to ensure it’s working efficiently and cybercrime vulnerabilities are reduced.
Tip #6 – Prioritize Security
All servers can be susceptible to breaches and cyberattacks, which is why protecting them is essential. Putting an updated antivirus software, properly setting up your firewalls, creating access control and password policies, data, network encryption, etc., are all methods you can apply to improve security.
The Benefits of Server Management
It may seem like a lot of work and considerations to keep in mind regarding your servers, but they’re necessary steps to ensure your business’s operations are running smoothly. If you have a small business in Chicago or anywhere else in the United States and need help with your server management, contact us to find out more about how we can help you.