What are the Best Ways to Maintain a Server Room? 

Ophtek, Server cables, Server Room, Server Room Cleaning, Server room temperature, Servers, , , , ,
09
May 2023

Your server room should act as the heartbeat for all your day-to-day IT operations. But it will only support your productivity if it’s maintained correctly. 

The complexities of a server room are numerous. Not only is there the wide range of technical equipment which needs to be connected, but there are also several health and safety requirements which need to be met. This means that keeping a server room operating is hard work, but it’s a task which is crucial for any modern business. 

Why Do You Need to Maintain a Server Room? 

A well-maintained server room is essential for preserving the reliability of your computer networks and overall IT infrastructure. By providing a secure, controlled environment, you will ensure your server room is optimized for housing IT equipment such as servers, routers, data storage and back-up power supplies. Failing to maintain a server room will jeopardize the long-term health of all your IT operations. Therefore, maintaining your server room is vital for your business to remain operational and productive. 

How Do You Maintain a Server Room? 

Optimizing the performance of your server room is essential, but how do you go about maintaining it correctly? Well, the best way to get started is with the basics, so make sure you implement the following into your server room maintenance: 

  • Practice good cable practices: server rooms rely heavily on cables to connect equipment together, but cables can quickly become a tangled mess. This can cause two major problems: identifying specific cables becomes difficult and the risk of overheating increases significantly. Accordingly, you need to group cables together and label them to allow quick identification. The best way to group cables together is by using velcro straps and you can easily label cables by color coding them e.g. yellow for communication cables and blue for data. 

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals. 

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What are the Most Common Computer Network Problems?

Data Security, Internet, IT Best Practices, Network, Ophtek, Windows Server, wireless network, , , ,
10
Sep 2019

 

Getting to grips with problems relating to your computer network can be a frustrating affair, but it’s one which is likely to happen on a daily basis.

Computer networks are, after all, highly complex systems that comprise various components and are in use by multiple users. These structures may bring many benefits, but they can also be a recipe for disaster. And, if your network fails or experiences any issues, then your organization’s productivity is going to be affected.

Your main objective, with your computer network, should be to keep it online and functioning correctly. But you can only do this if you know what the most common computer network problems are, so let’s take a look:

  • Slow Connectivity: If there’s one thing that frustrates an employee then it’s slow connectivity over a network. PCs can grind to a halt and even the simplest task can take an age to complete. It’s often caused by large file transfers, so a limit should be put in place on the size that is permitted e.g. no email attachments that total more than 20mb as a standard rule. Sometimes this lag can also be caused by faulty network cards, so it’s important to investigate this possibility. 
  • IP Conflicts: Each PC on your network should have a unique IP address such as 209.85.255.255, but sometimes two PCs can be assigned the same IP address. And this can create major connectivity issues for both parties. Sometimes these conflicts will work themselves out, but you can help speed up the process. Restarting the router is the simplest approach as it should assign new IP addresses to every PC on the network. 
  • Unable to Connect to Local Printer: Printers on a network tend to be shared by multiple users, but occasionally an error can arise that leaves people unable to access the printer. This problem is often caused by a sharing issue whereby different security settings between PCs and the printers fail to agree with each other. When this occurs it’s recommended that you check firewall settings and that your Windows network adapters have printer sharing enabled. 

  • Faulty Cables: A computer network relies on cables to facilitate its connectivity. And when just one cable fails it can have massive implications for your network. However, it’s easy to overlook cables as the source of network issues. People tend to concentrate on software and hardware troubleshooting first. Nonetheless, investigating the condition of cables in the affected network area is vital. Cables can easily become dislodged or damaged, so sometimes the fix can be as simple as plugging them back in or replacing. 
  • Weak Wi-Fi Signal: If you rely on wireless connections in your organization then you will be well aware of the issues caused a weak signal. This can often be caused by environmental issues such as the presence of a microwave or even the layout of an office. It’s important to eliminate these factors to identify the cause of the fault. Alternatively the connection issues could be caused by out-dated firmware, so make sure all updates are installed. 

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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5 Things to Consider When Upgrading Your Servers

PC Server, Tower, Updates, upgrade hardware, Windows Server, ,
04
Sep 2018

Your server is the backbone of your organization’s IT functionality, but what do you need to consider when it’s time to upgrade?

Purchasing and installing a new server is a massive move for any organization. Install the best server for your needs and your productivity should skyrocket. Choose one that doesn’t quite fit with your business and it will seriously harm the way you’re able to operate. Therefore, choosing the correct server is important if you value your organization’s future.

Moving forward, though, isn’t always straightforward due to the complexity of such an upgrade. To help simplify matters, we’re going to share five things to consider when upgrading your servers.

  1. The Right Performance

First and foremost, you have to make sure that any potential new server is able to meet the needs of your organization’s IT needs. The main reason that an organization looks to upgrade is because the current technology isn’t able to fulfill their existing needs. Consulting with various department heads and IT professionals is essential to gauge the necessary requirements, so start by compiling this information and work from there.

  1. Is Integration Possible?

You’ve more than likely got an existing server in place, but upgrading doesn’t mean that you need to chuck your old one out with the trash. In fact, it’s possible that you’ll be able to integrate vast sections of your existing server into your new server. Not only does this potentially save you costs on new technology, but it also provides a level of consistency in terms of staff knowledge on the existing technology.

  1. Costs?

Performance, of course, is paramount, but price is equally important as all organizations work to a strict budget. Once you understand your performance needs, the next step is to evaluate which available servers meet this most closely. Technology, after all, can be costly, so you shouldn’t be paying for any technology that won’t be of use to your organization’s output.

  1. Factor in Maintenance

A brand new server is fantastic, but even the most up to date technology needs to be maintained. Any length of downtime is disastrous for any organization which understands the basics of productivity, so the shrewdest move with servers is to ensure that some form of maintenance cover is put in place. Often, there will be a warranty included with new technology, but this will always have an expiry date, so make sure you start asking about extended warranty options from an early stage.

  1. Future Upgrades?

It may seem counter-intuitive to consider future scalability as you upgrade, but looking to the future is vital when it comes to working with IT technology. The rapid pace at which technology expands means that you may need to consider growing your server a lot sooner than you expected. Discussing expansion options is crucial to safeguard against being lumbered with huge costs in the future when your existing technology is unable to expand further to keep pace.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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How to Keep Your Business Servers Safe from Hackers

Backup and Recovery, Hacking, Security, Servers, Windows Server, , ,
21
May 2018

The computer servers that support your business are the backbone that keeps your organization productive, but how do you keep your business servers safe?

Every week seems to bring a new security threat and you can rest assured that the number and ferocity of these attacks isn’t going to subside anytime soon. Your business servers, of course, contain untold amounts of sensitive data that could be used to harm not only your business, but also your customers. Therefore, keeping on top of your servers’ security is paramount in protecting your data from the all too real threat of hackers.

To help you stabilize and improve the security of your business servers, we’ve put together a plan of recommendations to help you meet your security objectives.

Run an Antivirus. Regularly.

Viruses can spread from file to file very quickly and, before you know it, your entire server can become compromised. However, a piece of antivirus software can prevent the majority of existing viruses taking hold of your servers. Quarantining infected or suspicious files allows you to analyze anything that is flagged as potentially dangerous, so installing antivirus software really is a prerequisite of good security practices. And, to really maximize its effectiveness, run it regularly as an infection could occur at any point during in the day.

Update Your Server Software

Many pieces of malware work by exploiting security vulnerabilities in software such as Petya and NotPetya, but these vulnerabilities could be easily avoided by patching. Installing patches, though, can feel like a tiresome task, particularly when your organization needs to stay productive. To put things into perspective you need to weigh up the minimal downtime of installing updates against the havoc caused by an infected server. The answer’s pretty obvious, right? Install those patches and install them immediately.

Educate Your Staff on Security Threats

Your staff are the first line of defense against any cyber-attacks on your organization, so it’s crucial that they’re trained in what to look for and what to do in the case of an attack. Naturally, they’re not going to be partitioning infected servers or installing critical updates, but they can do the very basics. And this can be as simple as good password practices or understanding how to identify a phishing email.

Backup Your Data

Ransomware has become a major issue for businesses in the last couple of years and, in many cases, paying the ransom doesn’t even guarantee the release of your files. And this is why it’s vital that your organization embraces backups to help safeguard your data in the event of a ransomware attack. Backups have been a cornerstone of IT security since the dawn of the digital age and their importance should never be underestimated.

Keep Web Browsing Separate

The internet is a portal to untold amounts of information, but it’s also a gateway to untold security threats. And this is the last thing you want your business server exposed to. Providing internet access through a separate server (to your main server), therefore, allows you to minimize the risk to your most important data.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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Why Do You Need to Backup Your Data?

Backup and Recovery, Office Network, Security, , ,
31
Oct 2017

 

Backup_festival

A good business needs good data and they need even better access to it. However, not all businesses understand just how crucial access to their data is.

One of the best ways to protect your data is by carrying out regular backups of your data to ensure that copies are kept in secure storage. This ensures that no matter what happens on individual PCs or individual sets of data, there should still be a copy of the lost data ready to fill in the gap. This form of pre-emptive action can really help your organization run smoothly without the need for laborious data duplication.

So, we’re agreed that data loss is bad, but how can your data go missing? And what can the knock on effects be? Let’s take a look at why you need to backup your data.

Systems Can and Do Get Hacked

Due to a combination of human error and the devious tactics of hackers, PCs can easily fall victim to malicious software which compromises entire networks and all the data on them. And, in the case of ransomware, this data can be encrypted and only released once a ransom has been paid. However, if your organization completes regular backups then the amount of data which can’t be retrieved will be significantly reduced. This leaves you in the enviable position of not having to give in and pay an extortionate amount of money for your data to be decrypted.

PCs Are Prone to Failure

When you consider the huge number of components that make up a PC, it’s no surprise that they’re prone to failure. Sometimes this can be due to age, sometimes it can be down to someone spilling their cup of coffee over the hard drive. And when components fail or become damaged, they’re sometimes left beyond repair and all the data on that PC is unable to be salvaged. With a backup to hand, the threat of permanent data loss is minimized. Even with a backup to hand, though, we still recommend keeping coffee away from your hard drive!

Data Transfer Hard Drive Backup Connection

Your Business Needs Data

If you suffer a catastrophic data loss event then your business is going to seriously struggle. Just imagine that all your customers and providers details had been accidentally deleted or compromised – operating in this scenario would be an absolute nightmare. And if you want to get a feel for the financial damage this can cause, this report estimates that around $1.7 trillion is lost in downtime every year thanks to data loss. Hopefully this should underline exactly why a regular backup is in your organization’s best interest. 

Your Network Needs Data

While your business certainly needs data to operate, your PC network cannot operate without data. So, for example, if a network driver suddenly becomes corrupted or accidentally deleted then that can spell the end of any PC activity within your organization. And, due to our reliance on PCs in almost every imaginable industry, this is the last thing your organization needs. However, by backing up your data you’re providing a safety net that could serve to be crucial in keeping your business trading.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

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