How to Setup a Server for a Small Business: A Complete Guide

These days, with everything being digital, a small business’s ability to handle and use data effectively is often critical to its success. As businesses grow and evolve, so does the volume of data they generate and the complexity of the processes needed to manage it.

This is where servers come into play.

A server acts as the main hub for organising, controlling, and enabling network-wide access to data and services. This covers data backups, file storage, email hosting, multimedia distribution, web content delivery, and application hosting.

So a server, particularly a dedicated server, can be extremely beneficial to your small business, especially if you have an application, a large amount of data to store, or data backups. A dedicated server offers a centralized location for file storage and management, making it easier to organise, access, and share files across a network. Many advanced file servers even save files in multiple versions, making it easy to recover any file that you accidentally deleted.

This centralised file management improves efficiency and productivity within a business.

With all of the benefits of having a server, you may be curious about how to set up your own. This task can be difficult, especially if anyone on your small business team does not have any IT experience.

But don’t worry; in this article, we’ll walk you through the process of setting up a server for your business.

Server Installation and Configuration, Step-by-Step

Setting up a server for your business involves several steps. It includes selecting the right hardware, installing the necessary software, and configuring security settings to protect your data. Let’s go over the steps for installing and configuring a server. We compiled the steps with the assistance of the Jones IT blog to provide you with a complete guide:

Step 1: Planning and Preparation

The planning and preparation phase comes first, before you even consider purchasing hardware or installing server software.

This initial phase includes a thorough assessment of your company’s specific server needs and requirements. A thorough assessment can make selecting server hardware and software configuration easier.

After you’ve assessed your needs, the next step is to select hardware. We’ll go into detail about this in step 2, but each server has a unique use scenario. So, before you start shopping, make sure you choose it carefully. Aside from that, processing power, storage capacity, and scalability are all important considerations when you decide to buy a server for a small business that is prepared for future growth.

Now that you’ve determined your requirements, let’s begin by selecting your server hardware.

Before we proceed, you may want to learn about the different types of servers. One of these is storage server. To learn more, read our article, “Storage Servers for Small Businesses: What They Are and the Best Options“.

Step 2: Selecting the Hardware

Although servers’ hardware is capable of handling many different tasks, it is best to use them for one or a small number of specialised tasks.

Your server’s software and hardware configuration will be determined by the tasks it will be used for. Some of the most common server types are: file server, database server, web server, mail server, print server, domain server, and application server. You can also choose server hardware based on its form factor, which includes three types: tower server, rackmount server, and blade server.

There are specific hardware requirements that must be met, depending on the type of server you choose.

Database servers, for example, should support RAID (a redundant array of independent discs) and have hard drives that can write data quickly. If you’re building web servers, you’ll need plenty of RAM and hardware redundancy to make them run smoothly. Another example is file servers, which should ideally include multiple hot-swappable drive bays.

The capabilities of each type of server are determined by the hardware and features unique to it. Therefore, the purpose of the server should be taken into consideration when selecting the CPU size, RAM, and hard disc capacity.

Step 3: Choosing the Operating System

After you’ve completed the hardware configuration of your server, the next step is to install the operating system. Servers require specialised operating systems that are more robust and designed to support a large number of concurrent users. Windows Server, Linux Ubuntu Server, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and CentOS are some of the most widely used operating systems for servers.

When selecting an operating system, there are several factors you need to consider:

• User Interface: You must ensure that the OS is simple to install and configure. This is especially important for small businesses that may not have dedicated IT teams. For example, Windows server operating systems can be your choice because they have a look and feel that are very similar to the commonly used Windows operating system for PCs.
• Support: High-quality, multichannel customer support can help you configure your server more easily. Because of this, Windows Server is frequently selected as the default option. On the other hand, the Linux operating system does not receive much customer support. While it may be more customisable, you will require a dedicated IT team that is familiar with Linux to easily configure the server.
• Customisation: This is another important consideration when selecting an operating system. In general, Linux is more customisable than Windows. However, you will need someone with technical expertise and familiarity with Linux to do this.
• Cost: As a small business, this aspect may be the most important of all. If we only consider the operating system, Linux is always the most cost-effective option because it is free and open-source. However, server operation is more than just the operating system. You need to consider the entire IT operation, including technical expertise requirements and maintenance costs.

Step 4: Selecting the Server Location in Your Office

Even if you choose a small tower server, it is preferable to have its own dedicated space.

This separate space not only isolates the noisy server, but it also improves security by limiting physical access, mitigating data security risks, and meeting certain regulatory requirements. The server room should be windowless, equipped with cooling and backup power, and large enough to allow easy access to the server. Investing in a proper rackmount is beneficial for securing and organising server hardware, which allows for greater scalability.

Furthermore, cable management is often ignored, despite its value for easier servicing, maintenance, and troubleshooting. Well-organised and labelled cables make these tasks easier, especially in an office with a large number of cables, so a patch panel is an excellent investment for effectively organising the server room.

Step 5: Configuring the Server

You now have the server hardware, operating systems, and space to set up the server. The next step is to install your operating system and set up the server.

Installing server operating systems is similar to installing software on PCs or Macs via DVD, USB, or virtual media. Some servers, however, may come with the operating system preinstalled, allowing you to skip right to the configuration process.

After the OS has been installed, it is time to configure the server, which consists of the following steps in general:

1. Create a secure administrator password for the server.
2. Configure networking; the default network settings are usually enough.
3. Create local admin accounts for each computer and connect them to the server.
4. Set up your server as a domain controller, allowing all computers on your network to join the new centralised environment and the server to authenticate user credentials.
5. Configure remote access and sharing options.
6. Set up the server backup. Maintain your organisation’s data backup strategy.
7. Set up the firewall to protect the server from intrusions.

The above steps will change based on the server’s functionality. Whether the steps are to serve as a web server, database server, printer server, etc. will also affect how complicated they are.

Step 6: Security Implementation

In your office, your server is most likely the most important piece of hardware. All business operations, including database management, data swapping, and service delivery to clients, revolve around them.

Servers are a popular target for hackers because they are so vital to the day-to-day operations of a business. As such, server security needs to be given careful consideration.

Some ways to improve the security of your servers are as follows:

• Set up physical and virtual access controls to limit server access.
• Install and update antivirus and anti-malware software.
• Set up and maintain a firewall.
• Activate intrusion detection and prevention systems.
• Encrypt your data.
• Backup critical data on a regular basis.
• Use software to monitor server health and traffic anomalies.
• Regularly analyse logs, and
• Regularly conduct network security audits.

That’s all you need to know about configuring your own server for your business. If you believe that setting up an on-premise server is too complicated, you may want to consider cloud servers. Learn more about that in our article, “Cloud Servers for Small Business: What They Are and the Best Options to Choose“.

Conclusion

To sum up, a small business’s server setup is an important task that can have a big impact on cooperation, operations, and data security. Small businesses can build a solid server infrastructure that supports their expansion and success by following the step-by-step instructions provided in this article. Adopting the advantages of a dedicated server, like improved data security and streamlined operations, can put small businesses in a competitive and productive position in the digital market.

Maintaining an on-premise server can be a hassle. Consider moving your server to the cloud with Server migration to cloud service from Axle Networks.

We provide Azure consulting, Cloud File Storage Migration, Server Migration to Cloud, and Email Migration to Cloud, all handled by experts with a service tailored to your needs.

Axle Networks is a professional IT services provider based in Melbourne that provides a full suite of IT services designed specifically for your business and delivered Australia-wide!