business server tips guidesIf you own a small business, then the question of whether to invest in a server is likely on your mind. Every business, regardless of size needs a file server. Many businesses’ productivity struggle without a way to share files. Servers help businesses to share information, applications and software to other servers and workstations linked to a common network.

Type of Server to Choose From

When it comes to servers, many people often get confused whether to go in for physical or cloud-based servers. When you opt for a cloud-based server, you are renting virtual processing and/or storage, which can be cumbersome, expensive and slow.

Physical servers on the other hand can be purchased relatively inexpensively, and hosted either onsite or at a data center of your choice. As the market demand for preowned servers grows, it shows that a high-quality preowned server will be just as reliable, and can be configured to be just as powerful as any new server, but of course without the added cost.

If you are looking for preowned servers that will offer a significant savings over manufacturer-new prices, check out Spectra. Spectra has servers to fit every size organization, and every budget. Each is custom built to order (CTO) and comes with a working-guarantee. Spectra recommends sticking with Industry leaders like HPE and Dell, to ensure a sound product, availability of parts, and widespread knowledge on these machines.

Physical servers are of three types:

  • Tower
  • Rackmount
  • Blade

Tower servers are traditionally designed for the smallest of businesses. These resemble traditional desktops and can be stored just about anywhere, as long as they have a network connection.

Rackmount servers are designed to save space when businesses require multiple servers for their operations, and you have a rack already in place or are planning to get one.

Blade servers are the most advanced of the 3 options, fitting 8 or 16 smaller sized servers into 1 “chassis”, where they all share a backplane and networking. These can also be inserted into the same industry-standard racks as rack-mount servers.

Choosing the Right Server for your Business Needs

Investing in a server is not an easy thing. There are a lot of factors that you need to take into consideration such as:

  • It is always wise to consider budgeting before a capital expenditure
  • Look for servers based on your space requirements
  • Look for storage capacities onto the servers and choose the one that best suits your preferences
  • If your server will be used with multiple servers, then you might want to give some thought for network connectivity

Check for brand and quality when it comes to your servers. This gives you an added advantage of warranty and guarantee of the product. It is always better to do your homework when it comes to investing in servers.

Check for reviews and ratings offered on different server brands and compare their prices and features. Never rely on one company to purchase your server.

Questions to Ask Oneself before Purchasing Servers

If you are into a startup, then there is no need to invest in an expensive server. Some questions that you might want to ask yourself, before choosing a server would be:

  • What exactly do you need a server for?
  • Do you need a physical or a cloud based one?
  • Will the server have proper network connectivity even in remote places?
  • Do you need a server with additional features?
  • Do you have a budget to rent or purchase a server?
  • What type of workload will I be running on the servers?
  • Will your business be able to handle upgrading costs and installation of applications on the server?
  • Will server be profitable in the long run?
  • When do the servers need to be replaced?
  • Does the server support virtualization?
  • Does the business have skilled manpower to handle the servers?
  • What happens if the server breaks down or fails to protect data?
  • Does the server have backup facilities?

If you have answers to all of the above questions, then you are all set to purchase your server.

Conclusion

Servers are very useful when it comes to safeguarding your files and important documents. It can also help to securely store information on multiple devices for your business.