Technology
How Many Servers Does
Your Firm Really Need?
By Dave Kinsey
I
f the servers at your firm outnumber your people, you likely
have way too many. If your firm is expanding, a single server
may no longer be enough. Perhaps you would prefer to retire
all your servers and run your practice through the “cloud.” In
any case, it makes sense on a periodic basis to review your server
architecture to ensure it’s engineered to meet the needs of the
firm.
Naturally, folks in the IT field love to work with the latest,
greatest and most powerful new equipment. There is no question
that new technologies can improve functionality and reduce
costs. There is, however, a clear tendency for technical folks to
over-engineer and design networks that are overly complex,
needlessly expensive to maintain, and inherently less reliable.
One of the more recent technologies is called server
virtualization; while very useful, virtualization can also have
a negative effect if not managed properly from a business
standpoint. This technology allows several physical hardware
servers to be consolidated onto a single physical server. These
servers then become “virtual servers” or “VMs.” This strategy
absolutely needs to be considered as part of any design where
there are multiple servers. Unfortunately, each virtual server
incurs costs for licensing, patching, monitoring, management
and upgrades just like a dedicated physical server. As a result,
it’s important to keep both the number of virtual and physical
servers to the minimum amount required to do the job correctly.
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