Server management: the essential checklist

Server management includes all the monitoring and maintenance practices that enable servers to operate optimally. These practices include the management of hardware, applications, backups, and security. Servers are the foundation for many IT functions in an organization, powering various applications like email management, web hosting, file transfers, and more.

Due to these functionalities, proper server management has increasingly become critical for IT teams.This post examines the tasks associated with server management, how you can administer server management practices for virtual servers and different types of cloud computing, and the benefits of using server management tools. You’ll also learn how Parallels® RAS simplifies application and server management.

Server management: scope and tasks

The overall impact that server management has on enterprise IT is quite comprehensive. As such, its scope is broader, covering virtually everything IT departments need to handle. This includes server setup, configuration, monitoring, and security as well as hardware and software management.

Setup and configuration

This process involves setting up the servers and deploying software, including installing and configuring operating systems (OSs), applications, add-ons, and other functionalities. It varies for different server types and use cases. For example, a server that hosts e-commerce services would require a different platform than one running a blog.

The setup process can also be different depending on the operating environment. For example, setting up a server in an on-premises environment requires in-house IT teams, while cloud-based servers can be outsourced to cloud service providers (CSPs).

Hardware management

Ensuring that the necessary hardware is in good health is an essential server management task. Without robust hardware, all the systems and operations that depend on the server will likely run into problems. There are three primary hardware components that IT teams should continually monitor:

Central processing unit (CPU). An overused CPU can cause many issues in systems. For example, if the CPU is running close to 100% utilization, then there would be no capacity for extra tasks, and this can potentially slow down the server’s operations. Under such environments, IT teams can add more processor chips, upgrade existing chips, or stop unnecessary applications from overusing the CPU.

Random access memory (RAM). A faster and better RAM is essential for boosting the server’s performance and making it more responsive. IT administrators need to monitor RAM usage constantly to determine when the server requires more running memory.

Secondary storage. Hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid-state drives (SSDs) usually serve as the server’s permanent storage for applications, files, and backups. Server performance can be severely affected when HDDs or SSDs operate at maximum capacity. So, IT teams must keep track of the storage utilization and add extra drives or delete unnecessary files whenever the disk space fills up.

Software management

Like hardware, the software that runs on servers requires regular monitoring and maintenance. Below are a few of the tasks that IT administrators need to undertake:

Understanding software dependencies within the entire IT infrastructure stack.
Keeping all the applications, including the firmware and OSs, up-to-date with the latest upgrades and patches.
Searching for software vulnerabilities that could potentially lead to cybersecurity breaches.
Uninstalling old and inactive applications that employees no longer use in the organization.
Ensuring that developers constantly update their source codes to eliminate bugs and weaknesses.

Server monitoring

The server monitoring process helps IT teams gain visibility into server activities—whether physical or virtual. Metric tracking and analysis is an essential component of server monitoring that can allow you to identify and prevent issues before they affect mission-critical workloads.

For a physical server, metrics include processor usage, memory utilization, HDD and SSD space availability, and server- room temperature. For a virtual server, performance metrics include network bandwidth utilization, server response time, and database lags.

Server security

Server security is a server management task that protects data and server resources. It consists of tools and techniques that allow the organization to prevent intrusions, hacking, and other malicious activities. While security policies and requirements may differ depending on the industry, an average IT administrator needs to:

Install use antivirus solutions, and ensure the are always up-to-date.
Set up firewalls to detect and filter unauthorized traffic.
Create and enforce credential policies that ensure employees only use strong passwords.
Run regular vulnerability assessment tests.
Leverage robust encryption protocols to protect sensitive data.

Server management virtual servers

Virtualization has become a significant trend in modern server environments because it allows organizations to operate at greater IT efficiencies and minimize costs while enhancing resilienc in disaster recovery scenarios. For example, virtual servers—also called virtual machines (VMs)—allow companies to increase efficiencies through server consolidation while reducing the overall carbon footprint of their data centers.

Despite these benefits, managing virtual servers can become more complex even though they use the same server management principles. For example, IT teams need to address various issues periodically, including VM sprawl, network traffic congestion, and server hardware issues.

Below are some management tasks related to virtual servers:

Virtual server monitoring. IT teams must understand key metrics associated with the underlying hardware’s CPU, memory, network, and disk usage. They also need to track the allocated resources to avoid unnecessary proliferation of VMs in the enterprise’s data center.

Virtual server visibility. The entire virtualization stack needs to provide IT teams with real-time network topology for better visualization of the virtualized IT environment. IT teams must proactively detect VMs that need attention and understand the relationship between underlying hardware and VMs, data stores, and networks.

Capacity planning. Virtualized environments with multiple VMs can be challenging to manage, especially when allocating resources and moving workloads across different servers. IT teams need solutions that offer monitoring capabilities to unearth critical insights on capacity planning and performance of virtual servers.

Server management: on-premises vs. public vs. hybrid clouds

Based on the server’s location, there are three types of cloud computing environments: on-premises, public, and hybrid clouds. To decide whether to go with an on-premises, public, or hybrid cloud server, you need to consider some factors when it comes to ownership and management of servers.

For example, an on-premises environment—also called a private cloud—runs on IT infrastructure owned by the company. However, cloud service providers (CSPs) such as Amazon Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) now allow organizations to build their own data centers in a public cloud environment. In such environments, your in-house IT team will be solely responsible for everything that has to do with managing the servers.

In contrast, a public cloud provider such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Azure provides VMs, storage, and other services over the internet to any subscriber that wants them. Although the CSP isolates the workloads at the software level, they leverage a shared IT infrastructure in a multi-tenancy architecture model. In such an environment, there is shared responsibility for ownership and management of the servers.

A hybrid cloud environment, on the other hand, combines on-premises and public cloud resources. For example, you could run public cloud resources on an on-premises IT infrastructure by leveraging a platform like AWS Outposts and using Systems Manager to manage enterprise workloads. CSPs can help you set up VM instances and object storage like public clouds. However, unlike public clouds, hybrid cloud environments give the organization more control over the cloud environment.

Server management tool benefits

Servers are complicated hardware components, requiring more cooling power and regular updates and maintenance to run efficiently. Despite these, many organizations, especially small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs), are often understaffed, and server management can be overwhelming.

Server management software can help such organizations lessen the burden on in-house IT teams and keep the servers running efficiently. Below are four benefits that organizations can derive from server management tools:

Increased automation. Most server management tools provide automation features, such as detecting anomalies in the machines and initiating remediation measures. Some tools can help secure the system by automating mundane processes like backups and patch installations.

Enhanced response times. Server management software can help IT administrators respond faster to problems by sending automated alerts. For example, the alerts could inform the IT administrators when storage space is shrinking or new patches for OSs and applications are available.

Lower operating costs. Server management tools enable the servers to operate more efficiently with less hands-on management by in-house IT teams. Organizations can leverage these tools to operate at a lower cost.

Better customization. As the server technology and organization requirements become more complex and demanding, a more customizable server management software can help you solve issues on many fronts. For example, a customizable server management solution could give your business the agility and compatibility it requires to scale up or down to suit the company’s requirements. Server management solutions can also generate customizable and prioritized alerts that IT teams can leverage to provide relevant insights into the server’s performance.

Application and server management made easy with Parallels RAS

Servers are at the core of every modern organization because they provide a foundation for a reliable and working IT environment. However, to derive maximum value from servers, organizations need to complement them with a scalable solution that promotes business agility.

Parallels RAS is a turnkey application and desktop virtualization solution. Organizations can leverage this virtual desktop integration (VDI) tool to provide virtual workloads remotely, giving employees access from any device on any OS platform.

Parallels RAS allows organizations to consolidate their IT infrastructure while strengthening security. For example, IT administrators can easily deploy and manage enterprise workloads via a single pane of glass enabled by the Parallels RAS Console. Besides providing a single console for managing routine activities, the Parallels RAS Console tools also allow IT teams to integrate third-party tools.

Test drive Parallels RAS today and experience first-hand how it simplifies server management!

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