Having to deal with a poorly managed or IT network that hasn\’t been updated or configured correctly is not easy. Sometimes it\’s a good time to make an assessment of the roles which the servers perform and look for an upgrade path. It\’s wise to have a solid platform of server hardware and for small and medium business requiring IT support it tends to fall between a few hardware providers such as Dell, HP and IBM. Budget is always going to play a part when upgrading your server, buying the best hardware you can afford is advisable but more consideration than that should be taken. If you\’ve got to replace a few servers all at once you should ask yourself whether one powerful server setup for virtualisation is a better solution for you. Lots of small and medium sized businesses these days are using this route because it allows them to reduce the costs of buying expensive hardware whilst not compromising on the hardware. This is a good choice because you can get your mission critical servers all onto one server hardware thus cutting down onward going. Maintaining a virtualised environment is very similar to a conventional network without the hardware maintenance of having multiple servers.

Something to consider when migrating into a virtual server environment is the server memory, disk access times and general performance of the equipment you\’re utilising. It\’s important that you have considered adequate, lots of RAM and enough disk space to cope with the extra tasks you\’ll be requiring from your new setup. A RAID5 as well as at least one hot spare is important as is dual power supplies, redundant fans and teamed network adapters. If you haven\’t already got one it\’s time to invest in a good UPS.

If you\’re making a wholesale change then now is a good time to upgrade to the latest version of Windows server. It\’s likely you might be migrating from 2003 so considerations should be made to run the latest version of Windows Server. If you have an on premises version of Microsoft Exchange then now is also a good time to review whether you want to upgrade to the latest on premises version of Exchange Server or whether to opt for a cloud hosted version. If you\’re considering the on premises version of Microsoft exchange then considerations of how to filter spam and email retention and archiving should be considered. If you\’re migrating to a cloud hosted version of Exchange then it\’s still important to think about anti-spam, email retention and one other important consideration; is your current internet line capable of multiple users being connected to the remote server.

With so many considerations to make, the planning and the implementation of a server and network upgrade you might want to think about how you plan to maintain and prevent any failures from happening in the future. If you value your own job now might be the time to outsource your IT support to a specialist IT Support Company. One of the major advantages of outsourcing your IT support is knowing how much maintaining your network will cost. A good IT Support department can plan the whole installation and migration and then take on the management of your network which in turn will allow you to get on with running your business.

New Vision Networks is a provider of pro active, remote help desk and onsite Outsourced
IT Support London, Essex and Kent.

New Vision Networks is a provider of pro active, remote help desk and onsite Outsourced IT Support London, Essex and Kent. http://www.newvisionnetworks.net

Author Bio: New Vision Networks is a provider of pro active, remote help desk and onsite Outsourced
IT Support London, Essex and Kent.

Category: Computers and Technology
Keywords: it support,london,essex,kent,remote support,it services,help desk support,computer support