Servers
Allowing businesses to network
Servers are computers that provide network services to one or more subsequent computers in a facility. There are several different kinds of servers – proxy servers are those that forward requests to other servers in order to allow its clients to connect and network. Web servers accept Web requests from clients and deliver them a Web response – Internet service providers would fall under this category. File servers offer a large place in which to store files, and email servers deal almost entirely with the sending and receiving of email. SQL servers manage databases.
Most companies will acquire one of these servers because it's cheaper and easier to maintain a server in-house. However, many smaller companies may use a commercial server system to deal with email (for example, Microsoft Exchange) or to deal with Web requests. Purchasing a server is a serious decision – not only do companies have to hire an IT team to deal with it, they also have to be prepared for outages and for maintenance, which can impact productivity. However, an in-house server has more advantages over commercial servers (even commercial dedicated servers), the biggest one being that a company does not have to wait for technical support to fix their server problems, which is crucial to keeping a business running.
Must-Have Features
- 24/7 technical support
- Free training or guides to help your IT team
- File system (NTFS)
Major Considerations
- How many computers do you have in your company?
- What sort of backup options does your company need?
- How much are you willing to spend on a server?
Top Manufacturers
- Microsoft
- IBM
- Sun Microsystems
- HP
Price Range
Servers, depending on what your company needs, can cost anywhere from $750 to $5,000 for the hardware alone.
Summary
Servers are great for companies that have more than two computers and are experiencing snags in their productivity due to Internet or email problems. Also, a server allows a company to store large files that can be accessed by all its employees. Although buying a server is a big step, in the end it's easier to deal with server problems in-house with an IT team and 24/7 technical support and resources.
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