Basic Server uses for businesses?

[John Prophet]

This is just a general question.

The networking tech stuff I have done has been limited to small offices with no servers....just basic cable internet sharing from a router and maybe some sharing on a workgroup.

When you talk about an office using a server..what are the most basic ways in which a server is used??

I mean, I know a single server computer can run many "services"..such as dhcp and dns and apps etc.

But what are the most basic uses? Would it be that they have a domain in place? Or would it be for stuff like internal emails?? Or what?? Or maybe an app server? For what apps?

What about for backups?? In that case you wouldnt really call it a server though I guess.

So what do you guys see the servers being used for mostly??

JP

[Renesis]

It can be used for anything and everything. Whether or not those uses make things more efficient will vary from office to office.

I'd say the most common uses for an office system are to serve files, backup files, act as a proxy server and sometimes run as a print server.

You usually don't see stuff like internal domains and such in the small business sector, simply because that kind of stuff usually isn't needed, nor is it convenient to implement.

-R

[John Prophet]

bump

What type of apps are shared mostly??

Or when peeps say "file server"..are they referring to the same thing as "app server"..if not, what kind of files are we talking about?

Thanks, JP

[M_Six]

In the several small offices I've worked in or with, the server held all the Office, Autocad, Quickbooks, and other files. They also acted as a print server. The apps were always installed on the desktop PCs, but the files were stored on the server so anyone in the office could access them. Standard file/print server setup.

[Eraserhead]

The best use for a server in a small business would be as a file server, that way you can centralise all files and do one central backup.
In a workgroup / P2P environment, files would be kept locally on each user's workstation, making backing up a real chore.

If users have internet access (for e-mail / web use etc.) it provides much better security to have a proxy / web server but this really ought to be separate from a file server because of the risk of hackers getting in via the internet connection.

A server also acts as a centralised administration point, which is useful for upgrading or installing applications - instead of going round to each individual workstation to perform upgrades or installations, the whole thing can be managed from the server using Remote Installation (on Win2K, this requires DNS, DHCP and Active Directory but it's worth it if you have >10 client workstations in the office).

Finally, the centralised management of a server means that you have improved security by managing users' accounts: logins / passwords and restricting access to certain applications - you don't really want users to be able to access the Registry, for example.

It's not cheap, but it's worth it in the long run.