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| 6.5. Networking - The Virtual Server |
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With the technology that we have and internet speeds capable today onsite servers will
soon be a thing of the past for most businesses. A physical server sitting in your office is
restricting your staffs mobility and is preventing your staff from bonding with clients. |
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The personal touch of sitting in a clients office has become more or less overlooked with
the advances of technology. But now imagine being able to utilize technology to revive the
personal touch, but now be able to access your server from their office. |
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Yes, there are ways to make your onsite server remotely accessible but they face many
point of potential failure. which include; Internet connection, routers and switches, and
access to your server being disrupted from hardware or software issues. |
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| Virtual servers will not eliminate these issues, but can minimize the effects. |
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In a catastrophic scenario, you can access the internet from a local coffee shop and be fully
functional. Whereas if your server crashes the entire company will be down and usually
requires an outside source to physically come to your office and service the server. |
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Moving entirely to the cloud can be scary, moving to a virtual server may be a good jumping
off point. This will allow you start to break ties with office and will function almost the same
as your onsite server. You also gain a level of security and reliability that you may not have
had prior. |
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Most of the data centers available are monitored and maintained 24/7 by dedicated IT
professionals. They generally have zero downtime, if there is a hardware failure, as they are
constantly backing you up and can switch you to backup without anyone noticing. |
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They also focus heavily on preemptive maintenance rather than waiting for something to go
wrong. All data centers have redundant internet connections to ensure no connectivity issues. |
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| Advantages of Virtual Servers: |
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• SETUP - New hires can be set up incredibly quickly. No longer have hours of installing
software and setting it all up. Their computer is just a gateway to the server. |
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• SCALABILITY - You can pick and choose the components that you need, and strike the
best balance between cost and performance for your company. Best of all it can be
added to or taken away from instantly. |
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• COST - Virtual servers are on a monthly subscription plan, eliminating the upfront
investment of an onsite server. |
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• DISPOSABLE COMPUTERS - Nothing is being stored on any of the compters, meaning
they can very easily be replaced should something happen to them. |
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| • SECURITY - No data stored on local computers or flash drives. |
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If you already have a server that is functioning beautifully for you, then don’t worry about
making a change at this time. When it comes time to upgrade or replace then it would be a
good time to take a serious look at moving. |
