Choosing a server that will be compatible with the wants and needs of your company can be an initially hard and daunting process. With the needs you must take into account, it can be a time-consuming process and you may feel like you want to pass the task over to someone else! But don’t, the process isn’t as hard as you think and we are here to help.
Instead of giving up, here are some of the best ways of how to choose the right server for your business and that will be of the utmost benefit to your company.
What is a Server?
First, let’s start with understanding what a server actually is and its’ purpose. A server is a computing programme, that will aid and provide services to other computer software programs. This can be in a single computer, or a group of them, such as an office space. Servers are used for a handful of reasons from running applications on the devices, aiding in client work and even data collection.
Know Your Server Types
There are many different types of servers, that give you the option to choose which would be best for the company. Each differs in power output and performance, but allow you to decide on a server that will suit your business needs big or small. This is so whether you’re a school, art gallery, subtitling provider or corporate office, your server is the right one for you.
Hybrid Server
One type of a rather popular server is a Hybrid server. This is a shared platform that will need each of the users to have their own isolated environment. This style is best for simple use with low power applications. So a very small business or just 1 person that won’t be doing extensive and complicated tasks. Due to the simplicity of the server, it is very affordable. It is a great option if you are only using it for small tasks, as you won’t have to pay lots of money for something you won’t see the full benefit of.
The only downside of the hybrid server is the fact that you have to share it with other users which could possibly slow its power. As well as this, you are unable to scale resources.
Cloud Server
The next style of a server is a cloud server. This is hundreds of servers connected together giving it the ‘cloud-like’ effect floating around. The cloud server works perfectly for a business that has constant changing workloads. So it can be equally as productive for those busier periods, as it is when there’s not too much to do. It also allows you to instantly scale resources up or down unlike the hybrid server, and it gives you a 100% uptime guarantee.
However, due to acting like clouds, there is a possibility that the environment may become shared, but only based on the cloud server type.
Dedicated Server
The final type is a dedicated server. This is the most beneficial if you will be using the server for important work as it is dedicated to only 1 client. That means all of its power and needs will be used by only one person, giving them free rein to control their applications and work to really benefit the company.
Because of this, the server produces a very high performance alongside mission-critical applications (the very important ones). The entire resources of the server are at your disposal so you won’t really have to watch what you do or what applications you run.
The only downfall to the dedicated server is the price. It can hold that of a higher charge due to its many benefits and power. But, if it will make hosting and working at your company far easier, then it will be worth the more expensive price.
Research
Conducting some research before deciding on a server will be very helpful to get to know all the pros and cons, price points and guarantees.
The best way to start researching to best maximise your time is to start by noting down all of the reasons you will need a server. This can be all the applications you will use, how long for and the power of them. This will help you get an idea of how much you will actually use the server per day.
Leading from this, noting down how many people will be using the applications hosted by the server per day or week will also help you understand the strength of the server you are going to need.
You can place your needs into google or a research platform to find anyone that has similarities to you, and see what server they used. Really what you are looking for are reviews on what people have tested, loved or hated, and which server benefitted their needs the best. It will be helpful to choose a review that a company has produced that has a similar size to your own, as you can almost copy exactly what they have done if their server choice has concluded successfully.
Some other important things that could be researched and thought into would be:
- Will the current systems on your devices be compatible with the server you have chosen?
- Research into other software, are there any updates or replacements needed? To become more compatible with the server. Then check to see whether this is within your budget.
- Is speed of the server a critical attribute for the user?
- Will your office computers need a higher amount of storage?
- Do you mind sharing with additional hosts, or will you need the entire thing for the company?
- Are you expecting a rise in productivity or traffic in the near future?
Price Point
After researching, you should have gained knowledge on pros, cons and prices of various servers – to both rents monthly or buy outright. It is a good point to know how much you want to spend as it will allow you to pair it with your needs of the server, and find the one that isn’t going to drain your company funds!
Similarly, it is good to know your situation in the present, but in the future too. This is because, the server may be perfect for the first few weeks or months, but if the business starts to grow, you will need a far stronger server to use. So ensure to take into consideration whether the server you want will be strong and reliable enough, then pair it with the amount you would like to spend.
It would be a good idea to remember to budget for the future. If there is the chance of business expanding, or this is something you would like to do yourself, then there will need to be money put aside to purchase a more powerful server- one more compatible with the work you will now be producing.
Physical Space in Your Offices
Even though a server at work will travel through the air with the rest of our technology, a server itself can be quite a large physical object to have in your office. Similarly to the styles of servers, there are 3 different shapes of servers, that will allow you to decide which will fit best in the space you have.
The types they are made in is tower, rack or blade.
A tower server will be most beneficial for the smaller company of around 10-15 people. This is because they are simply made and due to them not being used to their maximum capacity, they do not need any specialist traits such as cooling or fans.
Rack servers are a great update if your business grows in the future and you have a slightly larger workload. They take up a lot less space then the tower servers, however, you will need a dedicated area for these. As well as ensuring they have enough room to cool as overheating can cause some major issues.
And finally, there are blade servers. Going up a step again in power with a far smaller size than the other two styles. However, they will need even more efficient cooling time and equipment as they will be used a fair amount. So, to continue using the benefit, it would be a very good idea to allow the server space to cool after a full day.
So, even though the tower servers are the biggest when it comes to physical shape and size, the more powerful servers need the most room to allow for productive cooling. Now it’s your choice to decide if you can provide the right amount of room for the server you believe you need. If you cannot, then possibly have a few of a cheaper option would benefit.
Summary
There’s a lot to take into account when choosing the right server for your company. You even need to think into future endeavours of the business to ensure you have enough space if you need a little server upgrade! Taking the right amount of time to collectively research and look at your current situation will allow you to provide your workers with the most beneficial server for their uses.