A web server requires ongoing maintenance, just as a car needs inspections, servicing, refueling, and oil changes. A significant portion of business activity in the economy depends on computers and servers. A disruption in server activity can cause serious financial damage, which worsens as the malfunction continues and remains unaddressed. This could be anything from email that stops working to serious information security issues, such as ransomware or hacking into servers to steal information.
Today's server technology is reliable and efficient, but to ensure that your business's day-to-day operations are not affected, you need a professional to perform server maintenance for you.
Why is server maintenance necessary?
Server maintenance can be hardware- or software-related. Although it doesn't happen often, sometimes physical maintenance of the server is necessary, such as replacing a fan or installing a better hard drive. Most maintenance services focus on the software side, where ongoing updates and monitoring are needed to ensure that the server is working properly and to prevent problems and malfunctions.
Professional server maintenance services save you a lot of money, enable your business to run smoothly without interruptions, and help protect your information—a valuable and important asset by any measure.
What does server maintenance include?
Server maintenance includes checks at varying frequencies. For example, daily server checks will include checking for updates and installing them (mainly to fix security holes) and checking the antivirus database. Every day, it is also necessary to check the server logs to monitor suspicious activity and see if there have been any hacking attempts.
There are also checks that are performed less frequently (once a week): for example, checking backups to make sure they are working. The backup process is automatic, but from time to time you also need to make sure that the files created are actually working. Checking hard disk space usage (to make sure you don't run out of space) should also be done on a weekly basis.
Monthly periodic checks usually include optimizing the database on the server, updating applications, and more.
Real-time server maintenance
An important part of server management is real-time monitoring to ensure that the server can handle the workload and is not about to crash. Monitoring includes checking the temperature, fan speed, and other parameters that indicate the server's workload.
Server Troubleshooting
Good server maintenance can prevent a significant portion of malfunctions, but it is impossible to avoid them 100%. Therefore, it is important to have a professional available who can quickly handle server malfunctions. For example, a sudden workload (such as a spike in website traffic due to advertising or high public interest) could cause the server to crash. A specific user may have run an application that caused a malfunction on the website, and information may have been deleted or corrupted. Malfunctions are part of everyday life for anyone who works with servers and computers in general, but high-quality server maintenance will help you deal with these malfunctions and prevent a significant portion of them.
Information security as part of server maintenance
Cyber threats are only increasing – hacks, vandalism, information theft, ransomware installations, malicious code installations, and more. Real-time server monitoring, backups, and proper security practices within the organization and among users can help solve almost any security problem and help your business function without interruptions and malfunctions.
Linux Hosting offers professional server maintenance and advanced open source services. Contact us and we will be happy to build a server maintenance plan that is tailored to your needs.