Servers & Storage

Servers sound scary, and a lot of businesses we deal with still have the impression it will be a massive, wall hugging machine with whirring tapes on it but that isn’t the case!
Standard servers are only a little larger than a standard PC – but they do a whole lot more and have a whole different type of technology based on redundancy, reliability and scalability. This ensures that once the server is at the core of your business, holding your data, running emails, providing security – it keeps doing that day in, day out.
Servers are also best viewed in 2 ways – hardware and software – Hardware is essential to get right straight away and there is more on that below. The software is what gives your business features and central data storage, central Sage / Accounts, Remote email access, email control, centralised security and centralised backup and a whole lot more!
We can support all Microsoft server products and were one of the first Microsoft Small Business Specialists in the UK.

Call us now for server support and pricing on 01455 611557

Servers have a wealth of physical features that can help your business and are worth investing in and generally cannot be added afterwards;

Redundant PSU (Power Supply Unit)
These are systems that run 2 power supplies, so if one fails, the business keeps running. These can also be replaced without turning the server off!
SAS Hard Disks
No, these aren’t special forces! SAS is a technology that allows very fast, reliable data transfer – we always recommend disks that are rated to run 24/7 (Normal computer disks are on rated for 8 hours a day!) and that can be swapped with the system still on (Hot Swap) – don’t skimp on the disks, these are what hold all your data! We also recommend a minimum of 2 disks, ideally 4 or more!
And always, ALWAYS plan ahead with your server, financially they are zero value after 5 years, however a good server will last you 5-10 years and some of our clients servers have lasted them a lot longer!
We can provide any make or model of server, to your specific requirements and have a soft spot for Fujitsu and HP servers, we find they are faster, less expensive and more reliable than other brands.
If you have an existing server, we can support it irrelevant of brand or the software installed.
Servers can also be very complicated, we can help you through the selection process, and help you avoid any pitfalls in the future, call us now and we can start to discuss all of your server requirements
RAID (Stripe / Mirrored Drives)
This is a clever system where your information and windows is stored on more than 1 hard disk, meaning if there is a failure of a hard disk, your data and windows is kept safe. If you wanted your hard disks to run in “High Performance Mode” then a BBU (Battery Backup Unit) is essentially too, these provide additional power backup to the card that controls the RAID system!
SSD Hard Disks

SSD (Solid State Drive) are storage disks that have no moving parts, they work in the same way as memory sticks do and are an excellent way of improving reliability and speed on a server.

These drives can be set up in a RAID system (See above) for added resilience and productivity.

We can help with the full server specification based on the number of users, software you are running, availability and a lot more and will help you make the right choice on your new business server, giving you excellent speeds, power, productivity and minimal downtime.

Give us a call on 01455 611557 to book your free consultancy today.

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