Do you need a Server?

Does your business have more than 5 employees?
If your answer is "Yes", then your business should be using a server network. Continue reading to better understand the benefits of server technology. While implementing a network is not a trivial or inexpensive undertaking, the benefits you gain by adding a server to your computing environment far outweigh any shortcomings.

The mistake SMB's make

It is surprising that the majority of companies never bother implementing a client/server based network. Instead they just continued adding on workstations to their old peer-to-peer network.

Peer-to-peer networks don't provide you with much in the way of security and resource sharing. So, not surprisingly, they often have problems accessing workstations, lose data due to viruses or spyware, or experience intermittent Internet problems. PC's networked in a peer-to-peer fashion are adequate when you only have a few users on the network, but once you have more than 5 or 6 users on your network, then you really need to consider investing in a network server.

Nevertheless, convincing a small business owner to make this type of investment can be a hard sell. Unlike large corporations, small businesses don't have the benefit of an IT department and/or the deep pockets necessary to maintain a complex IT infrastructure. However, network servers don't have to be overly expensive or complex for you to benefit from them.

What exactly is a Server?

Many people are under the misconception that a server is no different from a typical desktop PC. This couldn't be further from the truth. While almost any PC that meets the minimum hardware requirements can run the server operating system, that doesn't make it a true server. A desktop system is optimized to run a user-friendly operating system, desktop applications, and facilitate other desktop oriented tasks. Even if the desktop had similar processor speeds, memory and storage capacity, it still isn't a replacement for a real server. The technologies behind them are engineered for different purposes.

A server is engineered to manage, store, send and process data, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 356 days a year. For these reasons, servers need to be far more reliable than their desktop counterparts. In order to accomplish this, servers offer a variety of features not typically found in a desktop PC.

Some servers will include:

• Dual processors; either equipped or capable;
• Redundant hard drives or power supplies;
• Hot swappable components;
• Are scalable; to meet current, as well as future needs;
• Can process data faster and more efficiently.

So, now that you know what makes up a server, what can a server do for you?
Some of the more important ones are the following:

• File and Network security;
• Increased reliability;
• Centralized data storage and shared resources;
• Virus Management;
• Centralized Backup.

Let's take a closer look at each of these... (go to next article)