You might benefit from running it and Small Business Server on the same network, but its limited scope gives you no headroom to grow. Mac OS X Server works well for performing network tasks and administration for cross-platform companies, especially if your operation is mostly Mac-based; its glossy Apple style walks you through most of its services.
If your organization primarily uses PCs, a Windows server will offer more automation and setup for Windows clients. The free operating system comes in server and desktop versions, each of which can run the same applications. The server version is preconfigured with networking tools, including Samba file sharing and OpenSSH, and its kernel is tuned to be more responsive to server tasks. Beginners could find its command-line interface daunting; thankfully, however, enabling the Ubuntu desktop graphical interface is easy.
The free Ubuntu download can get you started quickly: Just burn it to a CD and run the installer. Note, though, that you should understand a lot of networking basics before giving it a shot. Do you know the concepts behind manual IP addresses, router hardware, and file sharing permissions?
Are you comfortable with hard-drive installations, RAM upgrades, and other hardware basics? You should be able to figure out Ubuntu and configure the PC as you go along. If not, a for-pay, preinstalled server—and the support that usually accompanies it—might be better for your needs. Ubuntu offers a deep level of customization, including a library of Linux applications. The best small business servers will be robust enough to be able to work under intense loads throughout the day, handling high numbers of users, and perhaps most importantly, they will also be expandable, so they can be upgraded as your business grows.
Just look at the Dell PowerEdge T30 — you can buy it either as a barebones or as a fully configured server. Servers do not have to be massive or expensive.
Take the PowerEdge T20 for example; it has benefited from a wealth of knowledge derived from the 20 years of experience Dell has building servers. Read the full review: Dell PowerEdge T20 [barebones]. Lenovo took over IBM's x86 server range back in and has built on the best of the ThinkServer tradition.
The TS is now the most affordable of the range and is a 4U enterprise-class server that competes with the Dell T It comes with support for RAID 0,1,10 and 5 via an on-board controller. Like the competition, this one can accommodate up to four 3. The relatively-recent Intel Xeon E v6 processor should be powerful enough for small and medium enterprises. Lenovo also claims that the acoustics of the TS are even quieter than a typical library at 26 decibels.
Packed with Intel Xeon Scalable processors, this offers a big performance boost over the previous models. You need to fit your own storage, but it supports a wide range of fast options, as well as wide support for graphics and compute options as well.
While it starts out as a tower server, as your business grows, the HPE ProLiant ML Gen 10 can be turned into a rack server for an affordable way to keep your business going without having to buy a new server altogether.
When you think about servers, Fujitsu is probably not the first vendor which springs to mind. And yet, the Japanese manufacturer is one of the very few if not the only one that can claim to be involved in anything from SMB servers to, well, supercomputers. The TX is its entry-level, SMB-focused server and comes with some pretty solid credentials plus an unmatched, industry-leading reliability guarantee. If your server breaks down within the first year of purchase, not only will Fujitsu fix or replace it, the company will also refund you the amount you paid for the server.
We like the fact that it comes with an optical drive and has two Gigabit Ethernet ports for redundancy. One of the fastest growing segments of the server market is dominated by a single company. HP Enterprise's Proliant Microserver Gen8 has successfully managed to fend off competition — thanks to an attractive feature mix and plenty of discounts — and ultimately own this market. These tiny servers have found a market well outside their niche with prosumers buying them en masse and touting their obvious advantages over NAS network attached storage.
Despite being very small less than 13l in volume and light less than 7kg , this machine packs some impressive capabilities. It only has a VGA port, though, and has just two memory modules.
If you want something a bit beefier than the aforementioned servers, then consider the TS It is far more expensive but then again you get a server that's in another league.
For a start, it is far bigger than the previously mentioned servers with a 50 litre volume and a 25kg weight. This 5U server runs on Intel's Xeon E3 models with Turbo Boost technology plus it offers a three-year onsite warranty. Up to eight hard disk drives can be installed and there are a whopping eight USB ports as well.
Pitching in the same category as the TS is the ML This is an expensive piece of kit but just look at the feature list and it actually seems like a very decent deal. The room should be big enough to allow you to reach the front and back of the server. Although you can easily set the server up on a desk or table, however, it is much more beneficial to invest in a proper rackmount.
The racks keep your server hardware secure and organized, allowing for better scalability. An often overlooked aspect of setting up a server is cable management. Servicing and maintenance work, as well as hardware troubleshooting, is a whole lot easier if your cables are well organized and properly labeled. Even a relatively small office can end up having a large number of cables making your server room a mess of tangled cables.
Therefore, it is highly recommended to invest in a patch panel to help organize your cables. Before you can even begin configuring your server, you need to install the operating system. In some cases, the server may come with the operating system preinstalled.
In such a case, you can begin configuration right away. After installing the operating system, here are some typical configurations for office servers:. Configure networking; the default network settings are usually sufficient. Add local admin accounts to each computer and connect them to the server. Set your server as a domain controller so that all computers on your network can join the new centralized environment and the server can authenticate user credentials. Set the server backup.
Configure the firewall to protect the server from intrusions. The steps above will vary depending on the function of the server. The complexity of the steps will also vary depending on whether it is to function as a web server, database server, or printer server, etc.
Your server is probably the most important piece of hardware in your office. They are at the heart of all business activity- from provisioning services to clients, to data swapping, to database management, among many others. Therefore, server security must be taken very seriously.
Servers can be attacked from multiple vectors. Web and mail servers connect directly to the Internet and therefore can be targeted by malware. Some of the common attack methods are:.
Phishing emails. Drive-by attacks. Here are some ways in which you can improve the security of your servers:. Establish physical and virtual access controls to limit access to the server,. Install and keep up-to-date the antivirus and anti-malware software,.
Use software to monitor server health and traffic anomalies,. Regularly perform network security audits. For every organization, there comes a time to invest in a server, be it for growth, business requirement, data security, or compliance.
Luckily, we have created handy server related content for businesses including:. Best Servers For Small Businesses.
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