Server Setup Services

How these faults present

• Files are copied between machines by hand: There is no central storage Introduce a file server with permissions.
• One machine holds everything: No redundancy and no tested backup Add a second machine and a backup target.
• Applications are slow at certain times: Resources exhausted on one machine Measure capacity before buying hardware.
• Backups run to a disk on the same machine: No separation between original and copy Provide a separate backup target.

Where this differs by device

• A deletion or an attack reaches every mirrored copy, so RAID and backup are needed together.
• Without a UPS, an outage during a write leaves a corrupted file system, harder to recover from than a disk failure.

Where engagements like this go wrong

• Buying a recommended specification rather than one for the users in front of it.
• Treating RAID as the backup, so a deletion reaches every copy.
• Racking a machine without checking the power circuit or cooling.

What changes the cost

• Processor, memory and disk specification, driven by the user count.
• Whether RAID is configured, and which level.
• UPS capacity, rack or tower, and remote access.