A network does not need to be completely reconfigured to replace a Small Business Server. There are options available for businesses that rely on Microsoft Server products to run their network. Servers can be upgraded effortlessly without having to ever touch any computer on the network when you take a thought out approach which will save you money.
The equipment you use to run your business does not seem to care that the money to replace it may be in short supply. Even in a slow economy servers and PCs still need to be upgraded. Motherboards, Hard Drives and Memory modules still fail.
Servers are at the center of any small business network and when one fails users suffer. When one computer on a network fails that user down, when a server fails everyone is down. That’s why you have to pay attention to that box that sits in the utility room.
Recovering the files is actually a easier procedure. Replacing a server because of a failure is always more costly than a thought out upgrade and it’s not only the data that is critical. A non booting Server will need to be recovered to get back all the associations it had with the other PCs on the network or you will be recuired to rebuild the network and all its associations from scratch.
All recent versions of Microsoft Server products utilize Active Directory to maintain the security between users, computers and servers and their interaction with each other. You have to know what your server does for you for an idea of what is involved. Either you have to spend time recovering Active Directory or you have to start from scratch and spend time attaching each PC on the network to the new Active Directory structure. Active Directory is a complicated structure and is not easily restored after a catastrophic failure. The difficulty with restoring Active Directory is what increases the cost.
Hard Drives are constantly spinning and with a server running operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week their clocks are always ticking. Small business servers run on hardware that degrades and will fail over time. The most frequent point of failure is with the Hard Drives. Servers also generate a lot of heat and since they are often neglected in the back room this increased heat and friction adds to lessen their useful lives.
All servers should have some sort of redundancy in their hardware. At the very least they should have Hard Drives setup in a RAID array. If your server does not have redundant Hard Drives you need to address that right away.
We recommend replacing servers sometime soon after the third year. Servers typically have 3 year warranties and after 3 years, any replacement hardware needed for repairs becomes more difficult to get. After the third year the odds of hardware failing increases substantially.
When you plan to replace your server rather than when you are forced to upgrade your server, the transition is much smoother and less expensive. Because you are not rushed with a ton of users who cannot use the server you can plan the upgrade to minimize the down time and the work involved and time spent is greatly reduced.
Even if you have a Server with Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 on it there are options for a smooth transition to new hardware. Microsoft Small Business Server has the limitation of only allowing one Small Business Server on a network at a time which makes it impossible to do a direct migration from old server to new server which means that you will need to join all the workstations to the new Domain and Active Directory. There are options used that allow a swap of the servers without having to ever touch a workstation.
The process we use allows you to upgrade a server without ever having to logon to a client PC. The typical process is to start the process on a Friday night and finish up sometime on Sunday and when users come in and login Monday morning nothing has changed from their perspective other than noticing a performance improvement. All the network shares are the same, the server name is the same and even Microsoft Exchange functions exactly the same as it did before the upgrade.
Active Directory is replicated completely so the server looks the exact to the workstations. Not having to modify the workstations saves both time and money.
Depending on the licensing of the OS you could also use the same software on the new server and save that expense too. Because of the benefit of not having to train users and not spending the time going to all the PCs you save a huge expense. It is not a requirement to get the latest version to run on the new server and if money is tight it is a viable option to reuse the software to save money.
Saving money by proactively replacing the server and reusing the server software is a great choice if you are cash strapped. Being better informed and having all the options and planning for the upgrade is the best choice and will save lots of money in the long run.
Other Related Posts:
- Persons Who Necessitate Extra Control Over Everything Should Take Virtual Or Personal Server
- KVM Switches translates into cost efficient remote server management
- What Is A Hosted Exchange System?
- Western Digital My Book World Edition 1TB drive – Takes Network Storage to the Next Level
- Mozy Pro Review: A Close Look at Mozy Pro for Business Use
