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How To Set Up Your First Server

Article Summary: So you have decided to buy and install your first dedicated server. Most small businesses setup a file and print server, while others setup a web server, or an email server. No problem, setting up any server involves many of the same configuration steps.

So you have decided to buy and install your first dedicated server. Most small businesses setup a file and print server, while others setup a web server, or an email server. No problem, setting up any server involves many of the same configuration steps.

Initially, the setup is just like setting up a PC: Unpack everything, compare the shipping list to the box contents, connect the mouse, keyboard, and network cable, and plug in the power. But first you must consider the location of the server. Best is a lower traffic location such as a dedicated server room or wiring closet. Don’t forget about physical security- if someone can just pick up your server and walk away all the OS, network, and application security you setup will mean nothing.

A server environment needs to not only be safe, but should also be controlled for humidity and temperature. You will need to make sure the heat from your server can be dispersed. Additionally, if your server is in a location you may not visit often, or there’s any risk from the environment, you should think about using a physical monitoring device. The APC Netbotz 420 or the AVtech Room Alert 11 E both track humidity, temperature, motion, airflow, flooding, and more, and can issue alerts when needed.

Nowadays many servers have dual power supplies. It is best if you can plug each power supply into a different UPS and plug those UPSs into two separate circuits. This way only one power supply will go offline if you lose a single circuit.

If your server’s operating system has been preinstalled that will save you some time. If not, insert the DVD or CD into the drive and turn the server on. Here are some configuration guidelines for your new OS:

Install Only Options You Plan to Use. For example, if this is only a straight print and file server, you do not need to install Web server or email server software. In fact, it is better not to. There are a couple of reasons for this. The first is that the extra software may contain extra security vulnerabilities, so if it’s not installed you don’t have to worry about them. The second reason is the extra software takes up hard drive space and can waste memory and CPU resources.

Use a Strong Root or Administrator Password. Your password contains the keys to your server kingdom. A strong password will not contain words from the dictionary, be six or more characters long, and contain a combination of letters, symbols, and numbers. For help generating a strong password, try a website like strongpasswordgenerator.com, which will help you do this for free.

Create Usernames That Are Understandable. Some users want to get cute and use names like ChipmunkBuddy, but how is that going to help you manage the server? It is best to decide on a standard convention, such as first name.last initial, for example, and stick to it. This is a business environment, not private email. Make sure to create usernames in advance and assign proper priviledges to give users access only to the directories they need. Also make users change their password when they first login and periodically thereafter.

Have a Backup Process in Place. Once the server comes online, everyone is going to start storing files to it, which is what you wanted right? The last thing you want to do is put all that data storage onto a single point of failure and then not regularly back it up. It’s best not to wait for a server hard drive to fail, or for data to go missing- get a backup system in place and running. To check out different backup options, check out PC Mag or some other resource for more tips.

Put in Place a Network Security Policy That Protects The Server. If this is an internal server that does not have to be used externally, then configure your firewall to block all traffic incoming that does not originate from a server session. The server will need to get out to download patches. If this is a single departmental server, then block access from outside the department. This can be done using firewall rules, or by setting up a Virtual LAN which creates a network that uses the same infrastructure as everyone else but a separate network address.

Setup Server Monitoring. Many servers already come with utilities to monitor them. Check on system resources such as memory, CPU, and hard drive use to make sure the server is capable of doing its job. If you do not have monitoring in place, then applications can start to crash as the unit gets used more. If this happens, first try adding more RAM to the server. Monitoring will also give you a heads up if the server goes down. Most monitoring programs or consoles have the ability to send an alert if the server happens to go down.

Don’t Forget Security Software. You are already running software firewalls, anti-malware, and intrusion-prevention systems on your workstations, so why not on your new server too?

Article Source: http://www.upublish.info

About the Author:
Jerry Costas
About Author: Jerry Costas is a writer for UpgradeComputerMemory.com and has over 20 years of experience in the computer memory industry. UpgradeComputerMemory.com is a leading provider of Memory Upgrades.