Managing servers can be a challenging task for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Despite being essential to your operations, servers are complex technologies that, if not managed properly, can lead to wasted time, energy, and resources. Today, we’ll explore the key functions of server management and how to maximize your current resources.

Your servers run the technology that fuels your business. That’s why they are the most important (and expensive) pieces of hardware that you house. When it comes time to refresh one (or all) of your servers, you need to make a choice: Do you purchase a new server to host in-house or do you move your central computing to the cloud?

The small business has been really hit hard recently and has been doing some hand wringing about their future IT investments. One of the major considerations is: do you keep your computing resources onsite or do you look to the cloud? Today, we will take a look at this very question.

Last time, we gave a brief primer about proxy servers. This time, let’s discuss best practices for maintaining one of the most critical rooms in your office, your server room (or closet). If you don’t consider your server room critically important to the survival of your business, you should. Remember, the majority of companies that lose their data go out of business, and an overheated server is a sure way for that to happen.

Stand inside your server room or your networking closet. Is it hot and stuffy? Computer equipment produces a lot of heat. In fact, a major factor in a server’s stability is its ability to keep its internal components at a reasonable temperature. If your server room feels hot, your servers will be struggling to cool their internal components.

So your small business needs a new server. What are your options? Do you know what they are? Today, we’ll try to shed some light on how you should look at the server-buying process and what your organization’s options are. 

The cloud is one of the most valuable tools available to modern businesses, but the extent to which organizations utilize it will vary depending on their specific needs. For example, some organizations might be fine with the limited control offered by the public cloud, but others might need more dynamic features and control over their data with a private cloud. We’ll help you determine which is right for you, as well as some of the specific considerations needed for a private cloud solution.

It is little wonder that, with millions of businesses relying on their secure servers for a variety of computing needs, that Microsoft reigns supreme in profitability. In order to maintain this status, Microsoft must make sure that their software is properly cared for and supported - or retired if these titles are no longer practical to maintain. SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2 are soon due for the chopping block, with an official retirement date of July 9, 2019.

It is impossible to understate the importance of a server to today’s businesses. We talk a big game as to how important data is, but we don’t often broach the topic of how important it is to ensure that your server is well-maintained. Below, we discuss how to determine what your servers need for optimal performance, and how you can be sure that they get it.

Your server room may be somewhat intimidating to consider. Wires everywhere, mechanical boxes that just sit there, lights blinking intermittently, and the distinct feeling that you probably shouldn’t touch anything - not even a proxy server, whatever that is. However, to help you get to know your tech, the proxy server is exactly what we discuss below!