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3 Common Sense Ways to Minimize Server Costs

Sense Ways to Minimize Server Costs

Maintaining a good digital framework for your company can sometimes be expensive. One of the most expensive elements of your company’s digital framework is the servers required to make anything happen. Between the power to run them, cooling systems, regular physical maintenance on the parts, and licensing hassles, these vital components to your business can’t help but look like a money sink. It’s not like you can avoid the expenditure, either! You need them to do almost anything in today’s increasingly integrated world. Without servers, your company is dead in the water.  

Fortunately, there are steps you can take to minimize your expenses. Sometimes it may feel that you’re walking a tightrope trying to balance how much you’re spending against how much functionality you’re getting. However, just because they require some financial investment doesn’t mean that you can’t take steps to make servers cost a little less in the long run. In fact, there are plenty of handy tricks you can rely on to lower your expenses when maintaining your company’s IT capabilities. 

Invest in the Right Physical Setup

This is an often-overlooked consideration, but there are many varieties of physical server setups. There are three main types of physical setup for your space. The first is the rack mount, which is composed of several rectangular computers organized on a rectangular rack. This is by far the most popular kind of setup, and most companies will do just fine with a room full of racks. The second kind is the blade, composed of several thin modular servers that slot vertically into a larger chassis. Each blade is a single server, usually tasked with one function, with the chassis providing power and network capabilities. Finally, towers are smaller variants that are only about as big as your average desktop computer. 

Each one has advantages and disadvantages over the other. The rack is convenient for organizations that need more than one server, but not an exceedingly high number of them. They’re easier to cool and, pound for pound, produce a lot more power than the other options. Blade setups utilize less space and power, and are ideal for larger companies with high computational demands. Additionally, blade setups draw power from the chassis, which means less cable management is required. Tower setups are ideal for smaller organizations that don’t need entire rooms dedicated to physical IT setups. They’re easier to maintain due to lower component usage. You can click here to see more about these three setups. Determining what setup is best for your company starts with figuring out what physical system is right for your needs. 

Consolidate Your Data and Storage

 Sense Ways to Minimize Server Costs

This one seems like a no brainer, but it’s surprisingly common to neglect. Why have ten direct attached servers each doing something when a single, unified storage area network can do the same thing with fewer physical components and with more efficiency? In a similar line of consideration to picking the right physical structure that works best for your needs, making sure you’re using all your storage capabilities correctly can save you money. You’re rarely ever going to find an instance in IT when doing the efficient thing isn’t also doing the cost-effective thing. As you can see at https://www.sqlshack.com/sql-server-consolidation-hosting-multiple-databases-single-sql-server-instance/, consolidation is key to efficiency. Making sure that you’re maximizing your storage is going to not only free up some extra money, but will increase your storage capabilities anyway! 

Similarly, your data could probably use a look-over. It isn’t uncommon for people to save a picture to their phone twice by mistake, and then again three weeks later when they see it again and forgot they saved it. How many times have you downloaded the same file twice on your personal computer, either because you don’t remember downloading it before or because it’s easier than rummaging through your folders to find it again? When was the last time you cleaned out old files you’ll never use again? These happen on the regular for the average person with their personal devices, and they’re a nuisance at best. Imagine how much worse it is for a business, where it can actively harm productivity! Take a look at your files for redundancy and obsolescence. 

Do Maintenance on Your Plans

Your needs will change. As your business grows and adapts to new demands, the things you need to accomplish and the means by which you accomplish them will shift. This is the money-saving tip that requires the least amount of effort on your part, but is vitally important: make sure you’re getting what you need. You shouldn’t devote your time, money, manpower, or resources to goals you aren’t pursuing. Don’t buy a massive structure if a tower will cover your bases, and don’t settle for a tower if a rack will be more efficient. Once a year, check in with your IT team to see what can be improved and invested in – and, importantly, what can be reassigned to other tasks. 

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