So you have decided to buy and install your first dedicated server. Many small businesses setup a file and print server, while others setup a web server, or an email server. That’s OK, since setting up any server involves many of the same configuration steps.

Initially, the setup is just like setting up a personal PC: Unpack everything, compare the shipping list to the box contents, connect the keyboard, mouse, and network cable, and plug in the power. But first you must consider the location of the server. Best is a lower traffic location such as a dedicated server room or wiring closet. Don’t forget about physical security- if someone can just pick up your server and walk away then all the OS, network, and application security you setup will mean nothing.

A server environment needs to not only be safe, but should also be controlled for temp and humidity. You will need to make sure the heat from your server can be dispersed. Additionally, if your server is in a location you may not visit often, or there’s any risk from the environment, you should think about using a physical monitoring device. The APC Netbotz 420 or the AVtech Room Alert 11 E both track temp, humidity, motion, flooding, airflow, and more, and can issue alerts when they are needed.

Nowadays many servers have dual power supplies. It is best if you can plug each power supply into a different UPS and plug those UPSs into two separate circuits. This way only one power supply will go offline if you lose a circuit.

If your server’s operating system has been preinstalled this will save you time. If not, insert the DVD or CD into the drive and turn the server on. Here are some configuration guidelines for your new operating system:

Install Only Options You Plan to Use. If this is only a straight print and file server, you do not need to install Web server or email server software. In fact, it is best not to. There are a couple of reasons for this. The first is that the extra software contain extra security vulnerabilities, so if it’s not installed you don’t have to worry about them. The second reason is the extra software takes up drive space and can waste CPU and memory resources.

Use a Strong Root or Administrator Password. Your password contains the keys to your server. A strong password will not contain words from the dictionary, be seven or more characters long, and contain a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. For help generating a strong password, try a website like www.strongpasswordgenerator.com, which will help you do this for free.

Create Usernames That Are Understandable. Some users want to get cute and use names like SkunkyBuddy, but how is that going to help you manage the server? It is best to decide on standard conventions, such as first name.last initial, for example, and stick to that. This is a business environment, not private email. Make sure to create usernames in advance and assign proper privileges to give users access only to the directories they need. Also make users change their password when they first login and periodically thereafter.

Have a Backup Process in Place. Once the server comes online, everyone is going to start storing files to it, which is what you want right? But the last thing you want to do is put all that data storage into a single point of failure, and then not back it up regularly. It’s best not to wait for a server hard drive to fail, or for data to go missing- get a backup system in place and running. To check out different backup options, see PC Mag or some other resource for more tips.

Put in Place a Network Security Policy That Protects The Server. If this is an internal server that does not have to be used externally, then configure your firewall to block all traffic incoming that does not originate from a server session. The server will need to get out for downloading patches. If this is a single departmental server, then block access from outside the department. This can be done using firewall rules, or by setting up a Virtual LAN which creates a network that uses the same infrastructure as everyone else but a separate network address.

Setup Server Monitoring. Many servers already come with utilities for monitoring. Check on system resources such as memory, CPU, and hard drive use to make sure the server is capable of doing its job. If you do not have monitoring in place, then applications can start to crash as the unit gets used more. If this happens, first try adding more server RAM. Monitoring will also give you a heads up if the server goes down. Most monitoring programs or consoles have the ability to send an alert if the server happens to go down.

Don’t Forget Security Software. You are already running software firewalls, anti-malware, and intrusion-prevention systems on your workstations, so why not on your new server too?

Something that I’ve been having trouble with recently is I’m running out of room on my hard drives. Storage didn’t use to be such a problem. However, my addiction to bit torrents have gotten me into storage trouble.

I find myself saving larger video files and it’s constantly eating up my free space. So I have to make some decisions on what to keep and what to delete. You would think that 750gb would be enough for me. But no… I’m deleting files and cleaning up my drives almost on a weekly basis. And of course, fragmenting those drives at the same time.

Here are some of the things I’m doing to keep/consolidate/delete my data:

1. The Big Purge. I hate to do it. I agonize over what I must through out. But in the end, I’m deleting lots of content.

2. Data Shuffle. Here’s where I have to move those larger files I MUST keep to new drives, partitions or other computers. I hate doing this. Normally I’m very organized. Raid Arrays broken out into partitions that are designated for data types. Space constraints force me to mix my files, and it drives me crazy!

3. Forced Defrag. All this data movement constantly fragments my drives forcing me to defrag on a weekly basis.

I know the solution here. It’s time to migrate all my data to a NAS drive, but I’m just too cheap to do it. I’ll be on the lookout for an inexpensive 1TB solution with a simple setup. Hopefully something will catch my eye soon.

Are you being constantly nagged by Windows about your dangerously low virtual memory? You know, that little pop-up bubble in the lower right hand corner of the screen (that’s near the System Tray for those of you who know).

Why are you getting this message? When you don’t have enough Computer Memory
in your computer to handle the tasks that you are asking it to perform, your computer will use virtual memory. Virtual memory is an portion of your hard drive that the computer will use to simulate the function that RAM (Random Access Memory) performs.

The correct way to resolve this problem and eliminate that annoying pop-up window is to upgrade your computer’s memory. If you just want the quick fix, follow the steps below:

1. Go to your System Properties (Right click My Computer and choose Properties or locate System in your Control Panel).

2. Choose the tab titled Advanced.

3. In the Performance section, click on the Settings Button.

4. In the Performance Settings window, choose the Advanced Tab .

5. The Bottom section is the where you can set your Virtual Memory or Paging File size.

6. You can change the Maximum Size to a larger number than is already there. Many times it will read 512mb as default. This can be changed to 1gb (1024mb) or 2gb (2048mb).

This will eliminate the warning message and give your computer more room on the hard drive to use as virtual memory. A word of caution, by increasing this space, you are essentially removing some of your free space on your hard drive. Make sure that you have plenty of free space available (more than 15% free is a good amount).

Also, please re-read the title of this post. This is a Quick Fix! The only good way to eliminate this warning is to increase the amount of RAM in your computer!

The typical computer user’s ideal laptop would fall into one of the two most popular categories – ultraportable or mainstream. Ultraportables are pretty and trim, generally weigh less than 4 pounds, and can be carried almost anywhere. Mainstream laptops deliver a good balance of portability and power. Between the different manufacturers, models, and sub-models, consumers are faced with a variety of laptops to choose from, varying greatly in price, features, design, and performance.

Performance, dictated by the quality and power of the components, was once the major factor in choosing a mainstream laptop. For ultraportables, performance was not a selling point, because the small sizes did not permit parts that ran faster. Today performance is less of an issue, so most laptops of either type don’t need to be pushed to their limits. Although the gigahertz rating and the amount of RAM included in a laptop are still important purchasing factors, other elements like looks, multimedia features, and cheaper prices are more significant than ever to consumers. Here we’ll look at some of the hottest ultraportable and mainstream laptops on the market, and show how they are selling more than just power and speed.

Not too long ago, laptops were considered underpowered, poor relations of desktop computers. Yea, they were a great portable solution to moving your work around with you, but nobody expected them to be powerhouses. Usually, buyers found themselves paying a premium of $2000 or more for mediocre components, limited features, and so-so battery life. As far as styling went, you could forget pretty. Most laptops came in black, or black, like the old Model T Fords.

Times have changed! Now, laptops have become the primary computer for many people (I am writing this article on my laptop which is my work computer), and buyers demand more. The market has responded, and manufacturers are now offering laptops with a wide range of features for under $1000. If the laptop is selling for over $1500, it had better have a high-definition optical drive. Mainstream systems are packed with cool and powerful components but now rarely weigh over 6 pounds, while the ultraportable laptop field is bubbling with innovative features, from hyper-thin optical drives and LED backlit screens, to super small hard drives. Design-wise, laptop manufacturers are pulling out all the stops, with curving chassis, innovative alloy frames, and a plethora of color choices.

Mainstream laptops offer the best blend of features and portability. They used to be 14 inch screen models with limited resolution, but now offer high resolution screens in a variety of formats and sizes. Using smaller components and 13.3 inch widescreens is making the units lighter,, and even 15.4 inch widescreens can be used without going over the 6 pound level. Resolutions are now being advertised as “HD ready,” where the most generic resolution meets the 720p criteria.

Almost all mainstream laptops now offer built-in web cams. When is comes to still pictures, webcams give poor resolution compared with most digital cameras, but that doesn’t really matter because they are most useful for videoconferencing. Some units are even offering fingerprint readers for personalized security. And today’s mainstream laptops can utilize a single hard drive that can hold up to 320GB of data.

Whichever you decide on, a sleek ultraportable like the new Apple MacBook Air, or a mainstream laptop like the HP Pavilion dv6500t, make sure to get the maximum amount of RAM, either from the factory, or aftermarket from a reputable seller, and you will be happy with your purchase for a long time.

A customer emailed me last night asking about the Acer Aspire 5610z notebook. Our website shows memory upgrades available for this computer up to 4gb installed as 2×2gb. My customer asked if this was actually possible as she had seen several forums of people discussing an issue with the 5610z and installing 2×2gb modules. People are having POST freezes or errors with 4gb installed, however they are having successful POSTs with 1×2gb installed. Hmmm. This looks like a BIOS issue to me. the 2gb parts will work individually, but together,the BIOS is having trouble. I’m hoping that Acer will release a BIOS update that will resolve this conflict so that this machine can actually operate with 4gb installed as the manual states! Here’s a link to the memory upgrades for the Acer Aspire 5610z Notebook at our store.

And a link to one of the forum threads discussing the issue