IT411 System Administration and Maintenance

Module 2: Windows Servers and Software Maintenance Models 1

Microsoft Windows Servers and Software Maintenance Models

Introduction
Microsoft is a software corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses, supports, and sells a
range of software products and services. Founded on April 4, 1975. Software maintenance is the
process of changing, modifying, and updating software to keep up with customer needs. Software
maintenance is done after the product has launched for several reasons including improving the
software overall, correcting issues or bugs, to boost performance, and more. Windows Server is a
brand name for a group of server operating systems released by Microsoft since 2003. The first
Windows server edition to be released under that brand was Windows Server 2003. However, the first
server edition of Windows was Windows NT 3.1 Advanced Server, followed by Windows NT 3.5 Server,
Windows NT 3.51 Server, Windows NT 4.0 Server, and Windows 2000 Server. Windows 2000 Server
was the first server edition to include Active Directory, DNS Server, DHCP Server, Group Policy, as well
as many other popular features used today.
Course Learning Outcomes:
After completing this course, students will be able to
• Explain the differences of Microsoft operating systems
• Explain the function of Microsoft windows server
• Explain software maintenance
• Explain and Apply software maintenance models

C. Server Installation
10 Things to Consider When Buying a Server for Your
When servers work as expected, no one notices that they’re there. The minute
a server stops fulfilling its duty, it can seem like the sky is falling. Many businesses –
especially small businesses – live and die by the performance of their servers. That’s why
choosing the right server and the appropriate configuration is so important.
Servers should be reliable, obviously. Business owners should also expect their
servers to be secure, efficient and scalable. Secure servers protect company data and
can regulate many business functions. Efficient server utilization helps keep costs where
they should be. Scalable servers enable businesses to grow into themselves and can also
help with daily operation. They’re there to help the business, not disrupt it.

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What to Consider
1. Your primary concern is functionality. Obviously you wouldn’t consider any servers
that cannot meet the requirements of your business.
2. Find a server at the right price for your business. Once you have verified that a server
meets your functional requirements you must also make sure you aren’t paying for
anything you won’t utilize.
3. Think about whether you should rent or buy your server. Renting can be a great way
to avoid headaches, but it can also put some severe limitations what you’re able to
do. This consideration must circle back to functionality.
4. Understand what hardware you will need. If you choose to buy, you must account
for the physical server itself. You will be responsible for determining whether your
existing infrastructure will be able to power your servers, and whether that same
infrastructure can support growth. You also have to decide where to keep physical
servers. Many businesses today are turning to cloud-based servers because they are
able to receive adequate functionality without the responsibility of physical
hardware.
5. Find out about any additional software your server(s) may require. One of the major
considerations with regard to software is whether you want to run servers using a
Windows or Linux operating system. Find out everything you’ll need and understand
your total cost before making any purchase decisions. Servers don’t have to be
expensive but depending on how you’re using them, the costs can add up quickly
6. Businesses must also think about integrating existing servers into all new hardware
and software decisions. If there is already a server or network in place, then any new
purchases must be made with the mind of expanding what’s already there.
7. When accounting for both hardware and software, you must take ongoing
maintenance into account. Understanding what will be required, including planned
downtime, to keep a server functional is a key part of making the decision about
which server is right for your business.

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Module 2: Windows Servers and Software Maintenance Models 3

8. One of the primary functions for which a business might use a server is data security.
Ask yourself what you’re looking to protect and how you’re going to do that.
9. The idea of scalability is crucial when deciding which server is the best fit. Businesses
should always choose servers that enable growth rather.
10. Support is the final, and perhaps most important, factor to consider when
purchasing a server for your business. To get the most out of any server, a business
will have to rely on technical support at some point. Read customer reviews and ask
around in hosting forums about different server companies’ support early on. This
should be a major influence in the decision-making process.

Why These Considerations Are Important

All businesses have goals and the right technology, especially servers, can be a
tremendous advantage in the pursuit of those goals. Servers can play a major role in
growth but a poor decision can be damaging. Consider each of these factors carefully
before making any decision that may have an impact on your business.

How to Choose a Small Business Server

Step 1: Research server specs based on the applications you plan to run.
There are two different ways to determine which processor, RAM, and hard drive
requirements you should select when setting up a small business server:
1. Conducting research yourself:
• Make a list of all of the applications you plan to run on the server.
• Consider how many users each application needs to serve, now and in
the near future.
• Take this list and head on over to Google to look for advice and tests
conducted by others that show how much server resources this
application may use.
• Wash, rinse, and repeat this step for each application and add at least
20% buffer to account for spikes in resource usage.

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Module 2: Windows Servers and Software Maintenance Models 4

2. Book an expert server consultation(https://www.servermania.com/free-

consultation.htm):
• Compile a list of applications you plan to run on the server.
• Visit our website and book a free consultation
• We’ll take our decades of experience and match you with the perfect
server for your needs.
Just as you probably wouldn't perform your own root canal or sell a house without a
realtor, some things are just better left to the pros.
After all, when you help thousands of people find the right server, you develop a keen
sense on which hardware performs best in nearly any situation.
Step 2: Determine the Best Small Business Server Location
When setting up a server for small business, you have two main options on location:
1. setting up a server that will sit in your office; or
2. hosting a server in the cloud.
While it may seem like a no-brainer to just pay a one-time fee and buy a server,
there are pros and cons to each approach.

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Module 2: Windows Servers and Software Maintenance Models 5

Step 3: Calculate Your Business Servers Budget

An important consideration when setting up a server is the cost. While every business
is unique, here are some factors that may steer you towards a cheaper or more
expensive server. This advice applies equally to renting or owning a server.
A cheaper server may be under $100/month when renting, or under $500 when
buying.
A more expensive server is typically over $100/month and over $1500-$2000 to buy.
Which comments sound more like your situation?

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Module 2: Windows Servers and Software Maintenance Models 6

Step 4: Select Your Server Type

If you’ve decided that you want to host your server in a data center, then you need to
decide which kind of server to use. There are two main types: Hybrid and Dedicated
Servers. We’ve broken them down below:

Step 5: Order Your Server and Get Started

Now that you’ve determined your resource needs, budget, server type, and more,
you’re ready to order your brand-new small business server.

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Module 2: Windows Servers and Software Maintenance Models 7

Blade Servers vs Rack Servers vs Tower Servers

What Is a Rack Server?

A rack server is a server mounted inside a rack. Rack servers are typically general-purpose
servers that support a broad range of applications and computing infrastructure. The racks stack
servers vertically to save data center floor space. The more equipment that admins can stack
vertically, the more equipment they can house.

Standardized racks are measured in units (U’s) that are 1.75 inches tall and 19 inches wide. Rack
servers fit into these dimensions by vertical multipliers, meaning that rack server heights may
be 1U, 4U, 10U, or higher, like the 10 foot tall 70U rack that came out in 2016. Additional devices
are also manufactured to fit the rack unit standard, so companies can make use of empty units
in their racks.

Lenovo System x3650 M5 Rack Server

Rack Server Pros

• Self-contained: Each rack server has everything necessary to run as a stand-alone or
networked system: its own power source, CPU, and memory. This enables rack servers to run
intensive computing operations.
• Efficiency: Rack-mounted servers and other computing devices make highly efficient use of
limited data center space. Rack servers can be easily expanded with additional memory,
storage, and processors. And it’s physically simple to hot-swap rack servers if admins have
shared or clustered the server data for redundancy.
• Cost-effective: Smaller deployments offer management and energy efficiency at lower cost.

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Module 2: Windows Servers and Software Maintenance Models 8

Rack Server Cons

• Power usage: Densely populated racks require more cooling units, which raises energy costs.
Large numbers of rack servers will raise energy needs overall.
• Maintenance: Dense racks require more troubleshooting and management time.

What Is a Blade Server?

A blade server is a server enclosure that houses multiple modular circuit boards called server
blades. Most blade servers are stripped down to CPUs, network controllers, and memory. Some
have internal storage drives. Any other components—like switches, ports, and power
connectors—are shared through the chassis.
The enclosures typically fit rack unit measurements, which allows IT to save space. Admins can
cluster blades or manage and operate each individually as its own separate server, such as
assigning applications and end-users to specific blades. Their modular architecture supports hot
swaps. Blades have small external handles, so it’s a simple matter to pull out or replace them.
Blade servers have high processing power to serve complex computing needs. They can scale
to high performance levels, if the data center has enough cooling and energy to support the
dense infrastructure.

Dell PowerEdge MX840c Compute Sled

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Module 2: Windows Servers and Software Maintenance Models 9

Blade Server Pros

• Low energy spend: Instead of powering and cooling multiple servers in separate racks, the
chassis supplies power to multiple blade servers. This reduces energy spend.
• Processing Power: Blade servers provide high processing power while taking up minimal
space.
• Multi-Purpose: They can host primary operating systems and hypervisors, databases,
applications, web services, and other enterprise-level processes and applications.
• Availability: The blade server environment simplifies centralized monitoring and maintenance,
load balancing, and clustered failover. Hot swapping also helps to increase system availability.

Blade Server Cons

• Upfront costs: Over time, operating expenses are reasonable thanks to simplified
management interfaces and lower energy usage. However, initial capital, deployment, and
configuration costs can be high.
• Energy costs: High density blade servers require advanced climate control. Heating, cooling,
and ventilation are all necessary expenditures in order to maintain blade server performance.

What Is a Tower Server?

Tower servers are servers in a stand-alone chassis configuration. They are manufactured with
minimal components and software, so mid-size and enterprise customers can heavily customize
the servers for specific tasks. For example, tower servers usually do not come with additional
components like advanced graphic cards, high RAM, or peripherals.

Tower servers are typically targeted to customers who want to customize their servers and
maintain a customized upgrade path. For example, customers can configure tower servers as
general-purpose servers, communication servers, web servers, or network servers that
integrate using HTTP protocols. Buyers may order the customization they need, or do it
themselves when the tower server is shipped to their site. Another usage case is a smaller
business that needs a single powerful server to run multiple processes and applications.

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Module 2: Windows Servers and Software Maintenance Models 10

Externally they resemble desktop towers, and—like desktops—they do not share input devices.
Multiple tower installations will require separate keyboards, mice, and monitors; or switches
that make it possible to share peripheral devices. They can share network storage like any other
type of server.

Dell PowerEdge T440 Tower Server

Tower Server Pros
Efficient scalability: Tower servers come with minimal configuration, so IT can customize and
upgrade them based on business needs. They are less expensive to buy than a fully loaded
server.
Low cooling costs: With their low component density, towers are less expensive to cool than
dense racks or blades.
Tower Server Cons
• Upgrade expense. Many customers buy tower servers for the customization and not low
capital costs. High-end hardware components and software will raise the ongoing price
considerably.
• Large footprint: These servers do not fit in racks and consume data center space. They require
opening the enclosure to troubleshoot and add or upgrade internal components.

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Module 2: Windows Servers and Software Maintenance Models 11

• Awkward peripheral management: In multiple tower server environments, IT must invest in

switches or re-plug external devices into each separate server.

All three server types can work in your data center. The choice is not so much what they can
do—all three server types are capable of high performance. It’s about what footprint and
architecture best suits your computing needs and data center build.

Server
Type Definition
Rack Designed without an
server external hard enclosure;
slots into the bays of a rack
framework.
Blade A circuit board designed
server with minimum server
components. Requires an
enclosure that houses
multiple blades and
provides power and cooling,
networking interconnects,
ports, and management
interface.
Tower A stand-alone server built in
server an upright chassis. Towers
generally come with
minimal components and
pre-loaded software, so
users can optimize them to
their specific needs.
Usage Case
For businesses who need
up to 25 servers, but have
limited space in the data
center.
High-speed processing in
a small footprint. Blade
servers work well in high
scalability environments
without sacrificing
significant physical space.
In a small data center or
closet, a tower server can
cost-effectively scale with
growing data. Larger
environments can benefit
if the business requires
high optimization and
customization in their
server.

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Module 2: Windows Servers and Software Maintenance Models 12

References

Online Resources
1. 10 Things to Consider When Buying a Server for Your Business(n.d.)hostand store,
Retrieved October 1, 2021 from https://hostandstore.com/10-things-to-consider-
when-buying-a-server-for-business/
2. Lahn,M.(2021, September 20) How to Choose the Best Server for A Small Business
In 2021, https://blog.servermania.com/choosing-a-small-business-server/
3. Taylor, C.(2020, October 1) Blade Servers vs Rack Servers vs Tower
Servers;https://www.serverwatch.com/hardware/blade-servers-vs-rack-servers/

Online video resource/s

1. SimplyInfo (2018, April 20) What is a Server | Types of Servers | Things to Consider
Before Investing in Server Hardware; Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpR_m2_7XDI
2. diyinfosec(2020, April 4) Buying a SERVER - 3 things to know; Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcCkrHfA_gU

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module is intended for educational purposes only.