You’ve decided it’s time to invest in your first server. Congratulations and don’t sweat the costs, as entry-level servers are priced below $1,000. It’s a wise move for your small business, but the task of selecting a server to fit your particular needs is daunting. Here are some tips for purchasing that server:
Find a great vendor, one that offers clear proof of world-class after sales support and service. Make sure the vendor has a strong reputation for taking care of small business needs, a reputation earned over many years in business. |  |
| Choose your operating system. There are OSs that are specifically designed for small businesses, such as Microsoft® Windows® Small Business Server. These often feature file sharing, email and other important capabilities. Open source operating systems are an option if you do not want to license; however, they are often best suited to businesses with in-house IT staff. Give security its due! Unlike with PCs, virus scanning, spam detection and filtering are centralized on a server. Employee software downloads and Internet access can be controlled to ensure the network is safe. And file use permissions can be managed to limit access to sensitive data. Be sure your vendor walks you through the necessary steps to make real security on a real server a reality. Different processors fit different needs. Entry-level servers usually feature a single CPU chip with a beefy dual-core processor like the Intel® Pentium®. A bit more money will buy a dual- or quad-core processor such as Intel Xeon®. Dual-core and quad-core processors will deftly handle up to 10 users, the Pentium up to five. Consider the options, such as dual power supplies to protect against power failure, which can cause your server to crash. Quality servers also come with RAID, a software data redundancy feature that lets users make real-time copies of data across multiple storage drives. That means continuous access to your data if one drive fails. Other options you need to consider include, added memory, additional hard drives, tape storage, network adapters and many more. A quality vendor will always help you choose properly among all the options. Set up and support the server. Many servers come preconfigured for user-friendly setup using simple wizards. Vendors often feature support for setting up new servers, as well as providing technical support.
Follow these steps and, as you’ll see, buying and running that first server is easier, more affordable and more manageable than you probably thought. Start your search by checking out the servers offered by Dell to help your business. |
