Servers

[Azz]

I have never touched a server before, but as I am looking for more commercial customers I guess its something i need to look into.

So, servers, how do they differ to normal PC's?

Aaron

 

[thecoldone06]

essentially, they don't. All the hardware is pretty much the same except instead of IDE/SATA you a lot of times will have a SCSI card and a RAID card. Also, they are much bigger cases as they have to hold bigger components. Such as multiprocessor mother boards, lots of HDD's, lots of RAM, etc. The server OS's are much more stable than the desktop OS's. Servers are built to run 24/7. oh and another thing...they are extremely loud! (all those fans) You shouldn't have any problems getting into them though. Good luck!

 

[Azz]

essentially, they don't. All the hardware is pretty much the same except instead of IDE/SATA you a lot of times will have a SCSI card and a RAID card. Also, they are much bigger cases as they have to hold bigger components. Such as multiprocessor mother boards, lots of HDD's, lots of RAM, etc. The server OS's are much more stable than the desktop OS's. Servers are built to run 24/7. oh and another thing...they are extremely loud! (all those fans) You shouldn't have any problems getting into them though. Good luck!

Thanks....

I don't think the hardware will be a problem, it's OS specific things I am worried about.

Aaron

 

[thecoldone06]

The base server OS (talking about Windows here) is pretty much like XP. You have your control panel, network connections, etc. The part where they start really differing is when you get into Active Directory, DNS, DHCP, etc. servers. Those you will have to play with and get used to. They will probably seem complicated at first (especially AD) only because there is so much you can do with it, but it'll get easier.

 

[NYJimbo]

Thanks....

I don't think the hardware will be a problem, it's OS specific things I am worried about.

Aaron

The main thing with servers is if they are networked and you are dealing with drives or "volumes" on other machines or NAS or other network mounted storage. You also get load leveling with some machines like databases on one machine, email server on another and so on. If its a windows machine you have to deal withe Active Directory and all of it's nightmares. But these are all O/S related issues, not hardware.

Sometimes programs you are familiar with like disk cloners/duplicators, anti-virus software, and so on will have a server version as opposed to a single-user version. It's not a big deal but sometimes a little more reading on new functions. It's just like anything else in our business, learn by using a client as a guinea pig and as you become more confident, call yourself a specialist.

Do you know what kind of servers you are looking to get involved with ?. Start slow, no harm in telling someone you do not work with certain things as you slowly immerse yourself into all of this.

 

[seedubya]

Consider doing the Network+ as an introduction. Get onto the MS Action Pack and install SBS 2003 for yourself on an old p4 and experiment for the next couple of months. It's not that difficult.

The main thing to remember is that it's still just a computer

 

[Azz]

The main thing with servers is if they are networked and you are dealing with drives or "volumes" on other machines or NAS or other network mounted storage. You also get load leveling with some machines like databases on one machine, email server on another and so on. If its a windows machine you have to deal withe Active Directory and all of it's nightmares. But these are all O/S related issues, not hardware.

Sometimes programs you are familiar with like disk cloners/duplicators, anti-virus software, and so on will have a server version as opposed to a single-user version. It's not a big deal but sometimes a little more reading on new functions. It's just like anything else in our business, learn by using a client as a guinea pig and as you become more confident, call yourself a specialist.

Do you know what kind of servers you are looking to get involved with ?. Start slow, no harm in telling someone you do not work with certain things as you slowly immerse yourself into all of this.

as it is just myself, I won't be looking for anything major.

 

[The Birddog]

Consider doing the Network+ as an introduction. Get onto the MS Action Pack and install SBS 2003 for yourself on an old p4 and experiment for the next couple of months. It's not that difficult.

The main thing to remember is that it's still just a computer

I totally respect that post - spot on.

 

[TimeCode]

Great Advice.

Consider doing the Network+ as an introduction. Get onto the MS Action Pack and install SBS 2003 for yourself on an old p4 and experiment for the next couple of months. It's not that difficult.

The main thing to remember is that it's still just a computer

That is exactly what I did. I think... But yeah, that is great advice.

 

[MHCG]

Many servers contain redundant systems.... Multiple power supplies, RAID, multiple network cards. The stuff that's different from regular computers are things like directory services, group policies, and license management

 

[TimeCode]

True.

Many servers contain redundant systems.... Multiple power supplies, RAID, multiple network cards. The stuff that's different from regular computers are things like directory services, group policies, and license management

True, but Bro, just start out with a simple server setup on a standard PC. Then when you've got that down, add another NIC. Then add a SW RAID setup. Then do a HW RAID setup. Just keep experimenting and keep upping the ante. Soon enough you'll be building your own servers.

 

[Crgky127]

I have no experience with servers, but must agree with the above post. Building my own desktop computers made it very easy for me to work on other desktop computers, so I assume the same for servers would be just as effective.

 

[bmetman]

Servers range from the glorified pc to the extreme. You can pretty much run into almost anything. Although software will be a bigger hurdle don't underestimate the hardware aspect of them depending on their complexity. As MHCG stated servers almost always have redundancy. However, just because a particular server may have 3 power supplies it may only have one spare. Some larger servers especially some Dell poweredges require 2 power supplies to run. You also may run into backup tapes or live snapshot systems which may be a little different than dealing with the private sector. Some controllers have small batteries that help w/ the caching of info. When the battery dies the drives may bog down. So although they are still pcs please don't take anything for granted. Start small and work your way up. Get used to dns, not just the basics but forward and reverse lookup zones. Learn AD and DHCP. Learn your hardware as well as the software. Databases and DCs are not the places to start. The network+ is a great idea. It will give you a solid foundation to build upon. Good luck and sorry for the long rant. I just don't want you to rush into something blindly. Hope this helps