A question that small business owners often need to ask themselves as they grow is “do I need a server?” Like so many other things when dealing with computers, there’s really no cookie cutter, clear cut answer but there are a number of guidelines and indicators that can help determine if a server will improve your business. First though, it’s worthwhile to talk about what exactly a server is.

Technically a server is a computer program – I kid you not. What we usually think of as being a server – a powerful computer that sits in a closet doing highly mysterious things – is actually a misuse of the term and would be better described as the “server hardware”.  However, I always misuse the term as well and will continue to do so here.

That’s not to say that any old computer will do as a server – this is a common mistake small businesses and inexperienced techies make. A server computer should be optimized for working on the network and provide safety nets for the data it stores. A regular computer come server may work for a while but it’s a disaster waiting to happen.

Servers perform a number of tasks but fundamentally their purpose is to provide services to other computers on a network. For example, a file server stores files so that other computers can connect to the server and share those files. Likewise an email server stores email for users until they connect to it and collect their email. That’s a simplistic explanation but it does touch on what a server is at heart.

For many of the services a server will provide, a small business will often outsource to a service provider. A web site is especially important to most businesses but running your own web server usually doesn’t make much sense. Outsourced web servers are inexpensive and running your own requires a good deal of knowledge to maintain. The same often goes for email servers as well. Most providers that will “host” your web site will provide email services as part of the package.

Where servers become important to most small businesses is in a number of areas. For example:

• As central file storage that is backed up regularly
• Increased security
• To enhance the ability to manage users and access to data
• To simplify network management in general
• To provide remote access into the network (if desired)
• To host industry-specific applications (programs)
• The business has outgrown a peer-to-peer (no server) network and has identified another need for a server

In a Windows network environment, adding a server introduces the ability to run Active Directory on the network. Active Directory provides a number of benefits that include:

• The ability to manage users centrally
• The ability to give users access to shared resources (files, printers, etc) without their having to connect to anything manually
• Grant or limit access to any resource on the network on a per-user or group basis
• Manage what can and cannot be done on network computers
• Automatically install programs on network computers
• Redirect users “My Documents” and other folders to a server where they can be backed up regularly
• And a whole lot more

In broad strokes it is safe to say that for most small businesses, a server-less network can work well when there are a small number of computers. When you get past four or five or so though, it can become difficult to manage the network and can get costly if you’re not particularly fluent in managing computers yourself.

So, to answer the question “do I need a server”, a number of factors have to be weighed. How big is the network? Is it manageable? Will it grow bigger? What will my server actually serve? To answer those questions it might be well worth it to speak to someone you trust who is experienced in managing business networks.

Glen Bowes is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, Cisco Certified Network Associate, and a CompTIA A+ and Network+ certified service technician. Glen can be reached at (905) 378-1215 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

I don’t think I can honestly think of a type of business that might not benefit from an Internet connection and some type of online presence. In today’s business environment, the Internet is essential for communicating with customers and vendors, researching the competition, and finding resources that will help a business grow.

As far as an Internet connection goes, there are usually a few choices available. For most small businesses, the choices boil down to dial-up, DSL, cable, and wireless connections. Your choice of which connection to use will be determined by the availability of a given connection type, it’s cost, whether or not you’ll need a dedicated phone line, and your need for high speed Internet.

Of the four connection types, dial-up is the only one that is not considered “broadband” or high speed. A dial-up connection ties up a phone line – you can’t be connected to the Internet and make a phone call on the same line at the same time – and is considerably slower than all of the broadband options. And speed is often a big consideration.

In terms of Internet speed, there are two terms that are useful to be familiar with – “download” and “upload” (sometimes referred to as “downstream” and “upstream” or just “down” and “up”). Often broadband Internet connections will rate both the download speed and the upload speed and if they don’t, they will rate only the download speed.

The download speed is the rate at which information is brought to your computer. For example, when surfing the Internet, a web page is brought to your computer and displayed in your web browser. Download speed is the rate at which you send information to the Internet. Sending an email message is an example of uploading information. All things being equal, it is the download speed of an Internet connection that you will notice most and in general it is safe to say that a connection with a faster download speed will seem faster to you.

We’ve discussed dial-up and the fact that it is appreciably slower than the broadband alternatives, so why might your choose dial-up? Dial-up is usually inexpensive and in some areas – particularly rural areas – broadband connections may not be available. Unless geographically you have no choice but to use dial-up however it is worth really weighing the affordability factor. Dial-up is slow and as such is a major drain on productivity.

DSL, like dial-up, uses your telephone line to connect to the Internet. Unlike dial-up though, with DSL you can surf the Internet and talk on the phone at the same time. Also unlike dial-up, DSL is a high speed (broadband) connection and can vary in both the speed you might get and the price you might pay.

DSL is available from most of the large telephone companies but also from almost all of the smaller, local Internet Service Providers (ISPs). In fact most ISPs will offer dial-up connections and DSL connections as well as web and email hosting and a number of other Internet related services.

Cable Internet service is available through your local cable TV provider (and in some cases your local ISP as well) and uses the same cable connection that feeds your TV. Cable is another broadband service and can often deliver some of the highest speeds available. Cable companies often tier their services and offer economical connections with slower speeds at lower costs. If you need more speed, you can usually upgrade your cable Internet connection and get more speed at a higher cost of course.

Wireless Internet service has grown exponentially in the past few years and there are some businesses and municipalities that offer free service. There are also paid services that can deliver high speed Internet services into rural areas and places where cable or DSL are not available. Wireless connections will even compete with their DSL and cable counterparts.

So, which one to choose? It depends but in most cases, unless it’s unavoidable, a broadband connection will be far more preferable to dial-up. Wireless may well bridge that gap and should be considered especially in rural areas.


DSL and cable are very similar in their perceived performance and in some cases (even within some buildings) one will be available while the other is not.

Another consideration is support. If your connection goes down, how responsive is the service provider to your problem and how quickly will they resolve it? This will be an important factor and determining it beforehand can be difficult. The best bet is to ask people who use a particular service, ask the service providers themselves, and check the online forums for any bad (or positive) feedback.

In making the final decision, you’ll want to weight the availability of the service against connection speed against the cost of the service and then finally against the quality of support. It sounds like a lot to do but armed with the facts, the answer will come pretty easily.