HOW TO DESIGN A NETWORK SERVER

Here you will learn designing a network server techniques, windows 2000, memory,
processor, power supply, clustering, monitoring, software and hardware requirements of a
server.

A computer network server can be configured reliable and efficient according to the
needs of a business. If the business is of a critical nature like banks, consulates, police
department or corporate companies, the cost on the reliability of the server increases.
There are a large number of the objects involved in a computer network such as hubs,
routers, Gateway, bridges, ISDN adapters, Modems, transceivers, firewalls and many
others and all these devices by some means depends on the server to share data and
resources. There are a number of the subsystems involved in the reliability of a server.
Following are the tips and recommendations in making a secure, high performance server
according to your business needs.

1. Hard Disk Subsystem Reliability

The main server component that is prone to failure is the hard disk that stores the data of
the server. Hard disk is a mechanical component in a server. While selecting the disk
drives, you should consider the S.M.A.R.T technology (Self monitoring and Reporting
technology). This technology allows the monitoring of the disk drives parameters and is
able to predict the failure of the disk drives. Most server vendors provide the hot swap
disk drives this means that they can be replaced while the server is in working mode. To
provide fault tolerance, implement RAID (redundant array of the inexpensive disks).
RAID is implemented by installing RAID disk controller in the server. RAID 5 provides
fault tolerance by adding the parity information of the data as it is written on the disk
drives. This parity information can be used to regenerate the data in case of disk failure.
Minimum 3 disk drives are required to implement a RAID 5 (striped set with parity) and
the maximum numbers of the disks involved in the RAID5 are 32.

2. Server Processor

Most of the servers use the Pentium processors that are very reliable in performance and
processing speed. Processor or CPU is a heart of any server and if it fails to work, the
server becomes non functional. Trend is growing to use a dual-processor server or even
multiple processor servers. If this scenario, if one processor fails to work, there is not
effect on the other processors in a server. So it is a best decision of the network
administrators to use the multiprocessor server.

3. Network Subsystem

The attachment of the server to the network is carried out by the NIC adapter. If a NIC of
the server fails to work, the connection of the server with the other computers in a
network also fails. Many servers support redundant NICs that can be implemented in the
fail over or load balancing situations. In the NIC fail over situations one NIC is used to
communicate with the server and the other NIC is held reserve until the other NIC fails
and the second NIC is automatically activated. In the NIC load balancing situation both
the NICs are activated so improve the reliability and performance of the server
communication. A PCI hot swap slot allows replacing the faulty NIC adapter without
shutting down the server.

4. Clustering

Redundancy is achieved by clustering. In a clustered environment, two or more server

operates as a single server and the failure of the one server, does not affect the working of
the other server. There are many advantages of the clustered environment such as
reliability, load balancing and high performance of the computing environment.

5. Memory Performance

The memory technology has been improved and it fails to work very seldom. Purchasing
a memory for a server that supports ECC (Error correcting code) is a best decision of the
system ornetwork administrators. ECC technology is capable of detecting and fixing the
single bit error and reporting the multiple bit memory errors. A server needs a high
amount of memory to perform its function smoothly. If a memory is low in a server, it
can results in slow boot up, slow response time and halting the system so memory is a
vital for a computing server.

6. Power Supply Usage

Many computers come with the multiple power supplies and these multiple power
supplies 2 or more share the electric load of the computer server. The main advantage of
the multiple power supplies is that the failure of the one power supply does not cause the
server to shut down because other power supply takes all the electric loads and so server
works normally without any problem. Like the other hot swappable hardware in the
server, the multiple power supply system is also hot swappable. This means the faulty
power supply can be replaced with the new one, while the server is running.

7. UPS ( Uninterruptible Power Supply) Function

A UPS or uninterruptible power supply system plays very vital role in case of the power
failure. UPS normally provides power back for 3-4 hours and during this time, server can
easily be setup to save the data and all the network users can also access the store their
important data on the server. The shutdown process of the server is controlled by
software that is installed on the server. UPS is very important in a network environment
and if there are a number of the UPS in a network, they can share the load and provide
constant power supply to the server.

8. Emergency Generator Working

When a full time operation of the server is required such as hosting servers, web servers,
email servers, data server, and emergency generator is a necessary. The emergency
generators are usually diesel powers and are developed by a number of the world’s
renowned companies like Jubaili Brothers, Cummins. These emergency power generators
can be set to automatically switch on in case of power failure or they can be used after the
UPS is fully used.

9. Cooling Fans Function

There is a large amount of the hardware installed in inside the CPU so there must be
cooling system inside the CPU. The cooling of the server is achieved by the cooling fans,
which are installed inside the CPU. These cooling fans pull the cool air inside the CPU
and throw away the heated air from inside the CPU. The failure of the cooling fans in the
server leads to the automatic shut down of the server due to high buildup heat in the
server. Many vendors are providing the hot swappable cooling fans.

10. Computer Monitoring Hardware

There is a specially designed adaptor available for monitoring the performance of the
different components of the server. The server can be monitored locally or remotely via a
modem by this adapter. In very critical network environments, these types of adapters are
usually used in the server to put a check on the performance of the different networking
devices.

11. Computer Server Software

Software installed on the server should be very reliable and virus free. A good anti virus
software like Norton Anti Virus, Trend Micro, McAfee Anti virus, Panda Anti virus or
any other anti virus should be installed and updated. Additionally, a good firewall, anti
spyware, malware, adware should also be installed to keep the server virus or spyware
free. Good backup software should also be installed on the server in case of any
emergency. Any unwanted software, media players, codec, flash games or emails can
provide a room for the viruses from the internet to enter in your network. No
unauthorized software applications or hardware should be installed in the server. If a
virus enters in the server by any means, it is very easy for the viruses to spread all over
the network and if they are of severe nature, they can even destroy all your critical data.
The above mentioned recommendations for a designing a good server can play a key role
in designing a secure, reliable and high performing server for your computer network.

12. Data Server Location

A server should be placed in a room that is capable of providing the cooling and dust free
environment to the server. It is very advisable that the server room should be very secure
and only the authorized persons like (network administrators or other users) be allowed to
enter in the server room.