IT plays a significant role in the efficient functioning of businesses in today’s world, where businesses exist and operate on a global scale. Hence, for the optimum performance of a company’s IT resources it becomes vital to manage these resources properly. One such important IT component that is used extensively is a server. A sever is essentially either a software or a hardware device that accepts requests, which are made over a network and responds to those requests. “Client” is the term that is used for the device, which generates these requests and receives the server’s response. A server (hardware or software) provides functionality to clients (devices or programs) by utilizing the client-server model. Servers are of many types and provide various functionalities, which are referred to as services. The main types of servers are mail servers, database servers, print servers, file servers, proxy servers, application servers, game servers, web servers etc.
In the context of web servers, these are used
by web hosting companies for the purpose of storing the files of websites. Websites
become accessible when these files are delivered over the Internet. All the
technologies and the services that are needed to keep websites up and running,
are provided by web hosting service providers through the service of web
hosting. The most well-known web hosting c” ompanies are usually referred to
with terms such as the “Best Website
Hosting Company, the “Best Cloud
Hosting Company”, the “Best Windows Hosting
Company” etc.
In a corporate environment, a server is
usually stored in a glass house or a closet, along with other network
equipment. It helps to isolate these sensitive IT resources from such people
who are not supposed to have access to these. Servers which are not hosted
on-site and are remote, exist in a data center. Many businesses have migrated to
cloud services, wherein servers that are located in huge and distant data
centers are used, but there are numerous companies which still utilize in-house
servers or rely on a hybrid environment that consists of in-house and cloud
servers.
Servers are typically always on and working
because these provide such services which are needed constantly. Businesses
rely on their server infrastructure for many functions. These include but are
not limited to data storage, hosting websites, applications, emails etc. Hence,
it is crucial to ensure that servers nail fail and work uninterruptedly, which
is taken care of by server management.
Server
Management
Server management is a process which involves
monitoring servers and maintaining them properly to ensure that servers always
deliver peak performance. The management of software, hardware, security as
well as backups is included in server management. Server management provides
access to servers for carrying out various maintenance and administrative
operations. An effective server management process aims at minimizing and
eliminating server downtime and slowdowns, creating server environments that
are secure and ensuring that servers meets the evolving requirements of the
businesses that these cater to.
Some of the recurring tasks with regard to
server management include accessing the server, installing updates, setting up
new and/or required software, add-ons etc., monitoring the server, ensuring
optimization capabilities, forecasting server utilization through capacity
planning and issuing alerts.
For carrying out server management the first
step involves having unhindered access to the server that has to be managed.
This access is needed by a tool or a service or software that is meant for
conducting server management. The most basic function in server management has
to do with the installment of software or firmware updates and setting up of
new and essential software, add-ons and/or functionality. Servers need to be
monitored constantly for the detection of any anomaly as well as for gauging
their performance and status. Certain tools and services for server management
provide capabilities with regard to optimization for ensuring an improvement in
the efficiency of the overall operation of servers. An advanced task of server
management is capacity planning. In it, a server’s utilization’s forecast is
provided, which enables administrators to plan in advance with regard to
additional resources’ requirements. Server management also offers the advantage
of issuing alerts to the administrators through messaging systems (emails, SMS
etc.) regarding various errors and reportable incidents.
The Main
Features of Server Management Tools
Server management tools differ from each
other in many ways but there are certain key features that need to be present
in every efficient server management tool. These features include providing
adequate coverage along with an intuitive user interface, the ability to
generate alerts and ensuring the availability of professional support.
It needs to be ascertained that the server
management tool which is being considered is capable of providing proper
coverage to each and every type of server and application that is being used.
Such a server management tool should be used which has an intuitive user
interface along with visualization capabilities for rendering the management of
complex functionality easy. Another key feature of any effective server
management tool is the ability to generate alerts. The tool should be able to
set thresholds and issue alerts. Since server management is a complex task, it
is essential to have one’s vendor’s professional support available at all times
to ensure the success of server management.
Server
Management’s Best Practices
The best practices with regard to server
management include reviewing event logs, archiving logs, monitoring performance
along with software and hardware, enabling disaster recovery, carrying out disk
defragmentation, ensuring adequate levels of antivirus and malware protection
and asset management. An effective server management plan must include these
best practices.
Event logs need to be reviewed regularly. The
systems, applications as well as the security logs need to be checked for error
and warning messages that have to do with unauthorized access, service startup,
application etc. A centralized infrastructure should be set up for collecting
the information of multiple servers, when more than a single server is being
managed. Logs that are stored on the servers must be archived for future
reference. Security-related logs should be archived based on the company’s
security policy. Moreover, certain logs need to be retained as per law.
Following measures to ensure disaster
recovery is extremely important. Backups need to be carried out regularly for
each server for this purpose. Keeping backups of critical data is essential.
Routine restores need to be carried out for ensuring the validity of backups.
An ideal backup strategy needs to be followed, wherein backups are maintained
on and off site.
It is essential to monitor regularly system
performance along with the performance of hardware and software. Monitoring
should be started post establishing a performance baseline, and statistics with
regard to the performance of server, hardware and software should be collected
and reviewed regularly. This aids in determining how well the server and the
associated hardware and software are functioning. It also aids in predicting
the possibility of a server crossing certain thresholds. Moreover, any hardware
failure (fans, hard drives and any other component) will impair the server.
Hence, hardware monitoring is essential. Network availability, services,
scheduled tasks etc. should also be monitored.
Another best practice is to defrag a server’s
hard drives regularly. This is especially needed for file servers.
Fragmentation leads to degradation of the performance of hard drive. Hence, defragmentation,
which is a process that decreases fragmentation, needs to performed regularly.
The antivirus and malware protection software
should be regularly updated. A central management server should be used to
manage this type of an environment easily. In it, the agents report to a
central data store. Additionally, routine scans of hard drives should be
carried out. It is important to be aware of one’s vendor’s schedule with regard
to the public distribution of patches, service packs and hot-fixes. The
available patches should be thoroughly tested prior to distributing these to
all the servers. Another important best practice involves always assigning and
using strong and complex passwords. Asset management is an integral part of
server management. Servers need to be managed from the time these are procured
to the end of their life cycle. In the absence of relevant software, a manually
maintained spreadsheet should be used, which contains information about
warranty, hardware serial numbers, location of the server etc.
These are some of the main best practices
that need to be followed for ensuring efficient server management and
maintaining an optimal performance of servers throughout their life cycle.
Source: https://htshosting.org/blog/2021/05/server-management-and-its-best-practices/
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