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 .

< Prev		Next >