Dells Guide to Server Basics

If youre a small-business owner with multiple computers, it is probably time to consider investing in a
server. Servers help keep your data secure and organized and will help you run your business more
efficiently. Servers provide your business with a single solution for

Centralized Email management

Consolidated Internet connectivity
Internal Web site development
Remote access monitoring
Mobile device support
File and printer sharing
Backup and restore

. . to name just a few

Choosing the right server solution starts with understanding how the server will be used. What type of
applications will it be running? How critical are these functions to your company?
Click on the questions below to learn more about servers:
1.
2.
3.
4.

What is a Server?
When do I need a Server?
Why do I need a server?
What type of Server do I need?
4.1. Why Tower Servers?
4.2. Why Rack Servers?
4.3. Why Blade Servers?
5. Server hardware configuration explained
6. Server Software

What is a Server?
Simply pu
ut, a server is a typically a more powerfful computerr than your avverage deskto
op. It is
specifically engineered
d to deliver in
nformation an
nd software tto other com
mputers that a
are linked to iit by
a network
k. Servers havve the hardware to manag
ge Ethernet-c
cabled or wirreless networrking, usually
through a router.
Servers arre built to han
ndle heavier workloads
w
an
nd more appllications takin
ng advantage
e of the specific
hardware
e to increase productivity
p
and
a reduce downtime.
d
Servers allso offer remote-management tools, which
w
means an IT person
n can check u
usage, and
diagnose problems fro
om another lo
ocation. Thatt also means you can perfform routine maintenance
e
such as adding new ussers or chang
ging passworrds.

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When do
d I need a server?
Start by asking yourself these questions to unde
erstand when
n it's time to invest in a server:
Are you using
u
two or more compu
uters in yourr business?
By sttoring and orrganizing dataa in a core lo
ocation, you c
can access an
nd
share files easily and
a manage business info
ormation more efficiently..

Do you have
h
a mobile
e workforce??
Businesses with a mobile worrkforce (emplloyees who w
work from ho
ome
or frequently travvel) definitely need a serve
er. Your employees can
remo
otely connec
ct to the com
mpany networrk and accesss information
n and
resources, no ma
atter where th
hey are.
Do your employees
e
s hare docume
ents between multiple
com
mputers? If so,, you risk losiing important files, not to mention havving
multiple
m
versio
ons of vital do
ocuments. Se
ervers provide
e a centralize
ed location to
o store and
organize impo
ortant docum
ments,

Can
C you afford to lose valu
uable files an
nd data?
Can
C it be repla
aced or resto
ored?
A server can help you get organize
o
data
a and help
protect your business
b
from
m lost and corrrupted files.
Yo
ou can back up informatio
on from yourr sever to a
dedicated bac
ckup and reco
overy system. Then, if
so
ome of your important bu
usiness data iss accidently
deleted, lost or
o stolen, you can be confident your
files are safely backed up and that you can
c restore
th
hese files again. With the multiple
m
hard
d drives on a
se
erver and you
ur backup sysstems, you ca
an be
co
onfident thatt a crashed ha
ard drive won
nt wipe out
yo
our system again.

Do
D you need to
t host your own Web sitte?
A Server lets you manage and
a develop your
y
own we
eb site so you
u can conduc
ct business m
more
ea
asily.

Do
D you need to
t share acce
ess to peripherals, such aas printers an
nd fax machin
nes?
Se
ervers let you
ur entire offic
ce have accesss to these pe
eripherals. Plus, servers ta
ake the load o
off
yo
our local com
mputer and put the jobs in
nto queues to
o print or fax next in line.

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k to Top

Why do
o I need a se
erver?
Investing in a server en
nables

Yo
our employees to share software toolss and
ac
ccess compa
any databasess on- and offf-site. You
ca
an better manage addition
nal computers and
so
oftware applications, as well
w as contro
ol access
th
hat employee
es and device
es have to cerrtain
in
nformation.

Yo
ou to control access to se
ensitive inform
mation,
su
uch as financ
cial records an
nd personnel
in
nformation, by
b storing it aw
way from pry
ying eyes. It
alllows you to better manag
ge firewalls and virus prottection, helping you preve
ent unwanted
d
in
ntrusions. Pro
otection is esp
pecially impo
ortant when yyou have a m
mobile workfo
orce.

Yo
ou can easily
y add platform
ms, such as customer rela tionship man
nagement (CRM) software
e and
ac
ccounting programs, whic
ch enable you to schedule
e group mee
etings, share information, and
manage
m
clientts and vendorrs. They also allow your employees to send group emails and fa
axes
an
nd organize customer
c
contacts and cu
ustomer dataa in one locattion.

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k to Top

What ty
ype of a serrver do I ne
eed?
The serve
er you choose
e should refle
ect the numb
ber and type o
of application
ns you want tto run on it. Y
You
need to know
k
how ma
any users (clients) it will have. Many co
ommon appliications such as print se
erving,
sharing office docume
ents like Word
d and Excel files
f
impose
e such light p
processing de
emands that a
single low
w-cost serverr may be able
e to handle yo
our entire co mpany with e
ease. Other ttasks, like hossting
large data
abases or ima
age libraries, require more
e processing horsepower along with big, fast hard d
disks
and capac
cious networrk pipes to match.
When buy
ying a server there are thrree considera
ations:
1. Se
erver type: To
ower, Rack or
o Blade?
2. Hardware
H
con
nfiguration
3. Se
erver softwarre

Towers, Racks or Bllades?

Youcanchoosefromthefollowingthreetypeso
ofservers:

Tower Servers
S

This is the
e most basic of servers on
n the market. It costs and takes up as m
much space a
as the average
desktop. Tower
T
serverrs are great fo
or small busin
nesses that
Have
H
limited space
s
concerns and need
d centralized processing
without a data room

Need
N
easier monitoring
m
an
nd maintenan
nce of netwo
orked resourc
ces

Want
W
to reduc
ce susceptibiility to intrusion and attac
ck through a

central lo
ocation
A tower iss most typica
ally recomme
ended for you
ur first server.. You will also
o be able to c
choose the
number of
o hard drivess and processsors on your server.
s
For an
n office with less than 25 employees, a
server witth one processor and 2-4 hard drives should
s
be suffficient. If you
u have more than 25
employee
es or if you're
e planning to run data inte
ensive applicaations, a server with two p
processors an
nd 46 hard driives is recom
mmended.

Rack Se
ervers
This syste
em stacks the
e servers in ra
acks in much the same waay that a CD rrack stacks C
CDs. This is a
space-savving option but
b is more su
uited for com
mpanies that

Want
W
to maxim
mize space in
n a centralized data centerr

Need
N
flexibility
y to mix and match serverrs to match
ap
pplications an
nd workloadss

Require large dedicated

d
sto
orage interna
al to the serve
er.

Rack servvers are bette

er for small bu
usinesses tha
at are well-ve
ersed in the w
world of serve
ers or a mediumsized bussiness that req
quires more servers.
s

Blade Servers
This syste
em is the most compact server
s
of the bunch.
b
This sserver was naamed for its u
ultrathin shap
pe.
Multiple blade
b
servers can fit vertic
cally into a sin
ngle enclosurre, sharing ce
ertain hardwa
are compone
ents
like powe
er supplies. Because
B
of th
heir ultra-com
mpact size, yo
ou can fit mo
ore servers intto less space
e.
Consolidating a traditional server infrastructure
e into space- and power-ssaving blade enclosures m
means:

More
e processing

Less space

Less power

Less time and mo

oney spent on
n management

at for businesses that requ

uire much larg
ger computin
ng capacity, o
or for businessses
Blade serrvers are grea
that plan to develop a data center.

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Server Hardware
H
Configurat
C
tion
Servers usse the same basic
b
architec
cture or conffiguration as your desktop
p computer. H
However, a sserver
has enhan
nced hardware features su
uch as

Multiple
M
multi-core processsors
Fa
aster memory options forr increased ap
pplication pe rformance
Multiple
M
hard drives
d
for increased data capacity
c
and redundancy
Sp
pecialized ne
etworking carrds

. . . and more.
m

Sy
ystem boarrd
The system bo
oard, also refe
erred to as a motherboarrd, is the com
mputer's main
n circuit boarrd to
which
w
all the other
o
components of your server are c
connected.
The major com
mponents on
n the system board
b
include
e the processsor (or CPU), supporting
circuitry called
e controller, and input/ou
d the chipset, memory, exxpansion slotss, a hard drive
utput
(I//O) ports for devices such
h as keyboard
ds, mice, and printers. Som
me system bo
oards also inc
clude
ad
dditional buillt-in features such as a gra
aphics adapte
er, SCSI disk controller, or a network
in
nterface.

Processor
P
The processorr is the centra
al brain of the
e server. The speed and n
number of pro
ocessor in yo
our
se
erver has an enormous
e
im
mpact on your servers abillity to supporrt application
ns. Processorss are
co
ontinually ch
hanging and itt can be diffic
cult to determ
mine which o
one is right fo
or your applic
cation.
Yo
ou should co
onsider three main feature
es when selec
cting a proce
essor.
Clock speeds
This is how fast the
e processor operates,
o
usu ally measured in
gigahe
ertz (GHz). Ge
enerally, the faster the be tter, that is, sservers
with higher speedss deliver bette
er performan ce. This mayy
transla
ate into the ability to supp
port more sim
multaneous
Outloo
ok accounts, handle more
e web requessts during peaak
deman
nd periods orr perform faster queries o n your custo
omer
databa
ase. Buying a higher frequ
uency proces sor improvess
curren
nt system perrformance bu
ut also helps e
ensure your sserver is able
e to handle fu
uture

demand.

Core count
The number of physical processors within the processor itself. Today, most server
CPUs have two or four cores. Multiple cores enable better multitasking on servers that
will run multiple applications. For example, virus scans may run on one core while data
backup is handled by another independent core.

Cache size
Each processor has built-in high speed memory located directly on and close to the
central processing unit (CPU). Larger cache size reduces the frequency that the CPU
needs to retrieve data from the system memory that sits outside of the CPU. For most
applications, this improves the responsiveness of the system and provides a better user
experience. Typically, CPUs with higher core counts and frequency have larger cache
sizes to provide optimal performance.

Memory
When you open a file or document, your server needs a place to temporarily keep track of that
file. It uses high-speed specialized chips called random-access-memory, or RAM. The actual
file is saved to your hard drive once you save the file. RAM is designed for fast access and
quickly remembers where the file is stored in your permanent hard drive system.
A general rule of thumb is to add as much RAM as you can the more RAM available, the
more operations your server can handle at the same time, without having to access the hard
drives (which are slower than the RAM on the system board).

Storage, or Hard Drive System

Hard drives provide your server with a large library of all the files it can access. Think of it like
an ever-expandable file cabinet. The size and type of hard drive systems depends on just how
much data you need to store.
Internal Storage
Most servers are configured with a very large hard drive much like the hard drive in
your desktop. However, server hard drives are specially designed for fast access times
and the ability to add multiple hard drives internally.
Eventually, you may need to add more hard drives and attach external hard drive
systems.
RAID
Redundant Array of Independent Disks combines hard drives into one large, logical
storage system that writes data across more than one disk for greater reliability. To
use a RAID hard drive system, you will need to include a Dell PowerEdge Raid
Controller (PERC) card which manages the data writing across these disks.

Network Controller
The network connection is one of the most important parts of any server. The network
controller manages the inputs and traffic from the clients (other computers) in your office.

Power supply
Because a server usually has more devices than a typical desktop computer, it requires a larger
power supply (300 watts is typical). If the server houses a large number of hard drives, it may
require an even larger power supply.
Then you need to consider which form factor options will fit your needs: Tower and Rack or Blade.

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Server Software
S

ments of a servers operatin

ng system an
nd application
n software difffer from those of a desktop
Requirem
computer. A server is better
b
able to
o share data from
f
multiple
e people secu
urely and red
duces bottlen
necks.
For most small to med
dium business, Dell recom
mmends pre- installed Win
ndows Server 2008 family of
operating
g systems for your server. Windows Serrver operatin g systems caan be pre-insttalled at the
factory be
efore the servver is shipped
d to your offic
ce which is n
not only less e
expensive tha
an purchasing at
retail, butt also alleviate
es the hassle of installing the
t software yourself. In aaddition, pre--installed OS
software has been fullly tested by Dell
D engineerss before it leaaves the facto
ory and is inc
cluded in Dellls
support agreements.
a

Centralized
C
Authentica
ation
One
O of the big
ggest benefitss of a server is
i that it can h
house a
ce
entral user diirectory. It co
ontains the usser names an
nd
passwords of all
a the emplo
oyees in the company.
c
All the
ms on the ne
etwork are co
onnected to t he
desktop system
se
erver which allows
a
users to
t log into an
ny desktop on
n the
network with their
t
user nam
me and passw
word. Their fiiles and
se
ettings will ap
ppear as if the
ey were sittin
ng at their ow
wn
co
omputer. This functionalitty is crucial fo
or security an
nd
provides the fo
oundation for many otherr facets of ne
etwork
co
omputing.

Fiile Sharing
The central usser directory can
c also be used
u
to allow
w or deny access to certain
n files. A norm
mal
mallbusinesss server will have
h
file share
es available th
hat contain u
users persona
al files as welll as
sm
sh
hared files that other users can access when necesssary. By dedicating a sharre to each user,
th
hey can store
e sensitive and
d private info
ormation in a place that on
nly they can access.

Bringing
B
Em
mail In-Housse And Implementing Mobile EM
Mail
Adding a serve
er and configuring it to ha
andle email ttasks brings aall of your em
mail inhouse
making
m
users email access faster and keeping
k
sens itive information within th
he companyss
doors. In addittion, by moving your com
mpanys emaiil to a local se
erver, you can enable em
mail
ccess to yourr mobile deviices, such as a Windows M
Mobile phone
e, BlackBerry or Dell Strea
ak.
ac

Centralized
C
Application
ns
Additional bussiness applica
ations such ass an inventorry or custome
er resource m
management
ap
pplications ca
an be run fro
om your serve
er and used b
by your emplo
oyees while kkeeping the d
data
sa
afe on the server's redund
dant storage. In most busi nesses, these
e applicationss are the key to
th
he company, and keeping them safe an
nd sound is aan absolute re
equirement, especially as the
business grow
ws.

Data
D
Backup
p
One
O of the mo
ost importantt services a se
erver provide
es is
backing up your business critical
c
data. In the event o
of a
atastrophic fa
ailure, fire, orr flood, that data
d
can meaan the
ca
difference between keeping the doors open
o
or closiing
hem for good
d. Backup sofftware runnin
ng on the servver
th
makes
m
copies of the serverr's operating system
s
and f iles to
th
he tape or oth
her external storage
s
devic
ce. Once com
mpleted,
th
hese backupss can be store
ed off site in a secure locaation.

Build
B
An Intrranet And Extranet
E
A simple intran
net site for yo
our business could house quick links to
o forms, com
mmonly used files,
an
nd informatio
on for your employees, ass well as serve
e as a central point for disstributing
in
nformation th
hroughout the
e company.

Virtualizatio
V
on
As your server network and
d infrastructure grow, you
u may find thaat some of yo
our servers arre
unning a single application
n. It may be using
u
only 60
0-70% of its p
processing ca
apacity. You c
can
ru
ta
ake control of this under-utilized serve
er capacity byy creating virttual machine
es on a single
se
erver through
h a specialize
ed software sy
ystem known
n as virtualizaation. So onc
ce you start
in
nvesting, you can continue
e to get more
e out of yourr investment w
without adding more
in
nfrastructure.
If you hav
ve... If you need...
Fewer than
n 15
f
printers an
nd remote acceess
Shared files,
users
Fewer than
n 75 A turn-k
key solution thaat includes sharred calendars, email, collaboration,
users
remote access
a
and virtu
ualization
A turn-k
key solution thaat includes sharred calendars, email, collaboration,
Fewer than
n 75
remote access,
a
virtualizzation and linees of business aapplications succh as
users
customerr relationship management
m
(C
CRM)
Unlimited
number off
Shared files,
f
printers, virtualization
v
and
a remote acceess
users

Chooose...
Winndows Server 22008
R2 F
Foundation
Winndows Small
Busiiness Server 22008
Stanndard
Winndows Small
Busiiness Server 20008
Prem
mium
Winndows Server 22008
R2 S
Standard

usiness needss to exchange

e large files with
w other com
mpanies or c
clients, you ca
an also use your
If your bu
server to house these files and allow access to outside
o
entitiies through aan extranet. M
Many email
providers restrict the size
s
of emailss. Direct file trransfers may be the only w
way to distrib
bute some
informatio
on
If you're spending
s
a lo
ot of time moving information around yyour organizaation, if yourre having trou
uble
wringing real efficienc
cies out of your current co
omputers, or if you have c
concerns abo
out data safetty, it's
time to ge
et your first server.
Let us sho
ow you how adding a servver to your sm
mall businesss network is ssimple with D
Dell.

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