I’ve discussed how I talk with a bunch of industry experts all the time and we can catch things here and there. One of the repair companies in New Zealand ran across a unique situation that reminded me of how much consultants can save you money.

In his situation, a company requested a quote on a new server for their office as well as requested internet access be installed at another physical building on the same property. The consultant quickly put together a very nice bid and all was well, until someone on the company’s controlling board decided to speak up: They were in the computer business as well and could beat the prices on the bid. This sounds fine, as some companies purchase their own hardware and have consultants install it, but something else happened. The second consultant overshot the original bid by a heck of a lot of money, thousands, in fact.

When the two consultants talked, an issue came up with the amount of servers that were required. The second consultant, we’ll call him “Mr. X” to avoid confusion, assumed that the first had made a mistake on the bid since they wanted Exchange and another type of major service that controlled logins and such (called Active Directory). This typically can’t be done (and shouldn’t, for good reason). Mr. X confronted the first consultant and tried to get an explanation for the mistake. The first consultant said there wasn’t a mistake, he had saved money by going with a Small Business Server (SBS) instead, which allows multiple things to be installed at once – making things cheaper. SBS is specifically setup for smaller environments and everything is integrated together.

Mr. X also mentioned that he had figured that there was another mistake on the networking portion since it would take a decent amount of money to run fiber to the other building. There wasn’t a mistake, the first consultant figured on using a wireless N based network with special antenna’s to make sure that things communicate better. The speed requirements for the second location didn’t require the speeds that Fiber would provide – it was just too expensive to run  to that location for a few computers to surf the internet and check email.

In the end, the first consultant saved this company several thousands of dollars, and that was over someone else that was in the industry…

I’ve personally run into situations like this as well. Awhile ago, a situation presented itself with a computer savy business owner in Tigard. They had used a local company to work on a virus issue with a Dell workstation. The other company ended up charging a decent amount of money to remove the virus then said that Windows was so messed up that they needed to reinstall it for an additional fee. After hearing they needed to spend that much money, they just paid the original fee and got the computer back. While on-site, the computer showed up and they asked me about it and how much to reload Windows. Knowing the owner was decently computer savy, I asked if they had the restore CD. As a matter of fact, they DID. I told them that this computer could be re-setup, like new, within minutes just by popping that CD in. They did it while I was working on another computer and I answered a few questions for them as well. They ultimately ended up saving a lot of money since I had merely recommended using the Restore CD and I ended up multi-tasking to help out. This saved them time on Protocol16′s hourly fee as well.

Any business considering a project, new hardware, or even the standard computer user having problems should always consider a professional as this can save you money in the long run. For servers, networks, and such, consutants and computer companies can usually pay for themselves when your project is done as someone familiar with the hardware, software, and networks will usually purchase just the right mix of things you need instead of overdoing it. They’ll also setup the hardware or software correctly for you. If you have a larger project that needs to be implemented over the course of months, if done right, it can actually come in under budget.
Justin

An interesting thought came to me while I cracked open a 221 page security checklist for Server 2008 yesterday evening. It was nearly midnight, I had to be up by 6:30 the next morning, yet I just sat down to read a security guide that would make any normal person’s head spin. My wife describes these things as “worse than VCR and Stereo setup directions”, and perhaps, she’s right. It’s amazing how halfway through most of these guides, you find conflicting advice and information: “Open port X” then 30 pages later: “Close Port X” – which is it? These security guides can literally make you go cross eyed after about 100 pages.

I guess my point is, most technicians that pour their life into their business, even as an employee, and never really go home and relax. I have never been one to leave work at work and I’m certainly not going to stop now. If I can find something online late at night, that will either make my life easier or can save a customer some time and money, I’m going to take the time to study it.

On the note of always working. I was driving around Beaverton in the Protocol16 mobile computer repair truck and my wife and I pulled into a grocery store parking lot. I got all kinds of crazy looks… My guess was that it seems crazy that a repair truck would roll up to that grocery store, but that’s my mentality. If I’m out of the office and we get a call, I need to be prepared to go to that customer’s location to fix their problem. Why should my customer wait for me to drive back to the home office, grab the truck then head out to their office or home? In heavy traffic, that could be an extra 40 minutes or more. Unless they’re on the other side of the city, I would nearly be there by that time.

I guess that last paragraph says something as well. We are not a business that likes to schedule people into time slots. If we can do it right then and there, we’ll tell our customer that. I don’t know how many times I’ve been met with utter shock when I can tell a business that we’ll be there in a half hour. Your computers are important, why would you need to wait a day or two? I’ve personally been told that no one would be able to look at a computer for a week because one shop was “so busy”. My thoughts: hire more people… Perhaps I’m too deadset on providing quality to my customers instead of worrying about my profit margins.
Justin

Most businesses reach a point where they ask themselves a question: What type of server do I need? Once that question hits their mind, most business owners immediately jump on the internet and start looking at servers on a specific manufacturers website. Flabbergasted by prices they see, they typically either close the window and try to forget they ever looked at the servers or they start digging for the absolute cheapest server on the website.

Well, unfortunately, this is the wrong method of going about the look for a new server. Here’s how you should be looking:

How many users will be connecting to the server? Do you plan on hiring more people within the next year or so?

What types of things will be on the server? Do you need file storage and sharing, do you need an internal website to post information, do you want to move your email to an in-house Exchange (email) server?

Will you need a database to query against?

What programs will you need installed on the server for everyone to use?

How much storage do you think you require? A small amount or huge?

Will you be needing other servers later? Perhaps you’ve considered running a Virtual Server for a secondary use?

Those are all relevant questions for any business thinking of running a server. If we’ve gone over your head on the above questions, don’t worry – I’ll work through them with you here…

Q: How many users will be connecting to the server? Do you plan on hiring more people within the next year or so?
This question is here for multiple reasons. We need to see how many User Connection Licenses you’ll need (The industry calls them a CAL) as well as how many users will be getting onto your server. If you plan on hiring one or two people later, that’s fine – but if you plan on ramping up and hiring a lot of people later, that might be an issue. This question also allows you to figure out if you can use a Small Business Server license since it’s limited to 75 people.

Q: What types of things will be on the server? Do you need file storage and sharing, do you need an internal website to post information, do you want to move your email to an in-house Exchange (email) server?
Perhaps the most important question of the day – what will you be using the server for? An application installed at one central location? Gobs of files like pictures and documents in one spot or something else? Do you plan on using it for your email or web server? Or perhaps everything I just listed? This question tells us how “big” of a server you need and how much storage you need on it. It also tells us how redundant the data needs to be. I know I used some big words, so lets break them down:

“Big”: Big is a relative term here. When we say this, we mean how many processors and how much memory you’ll need. Processors are things that you’re starting to hear about on TV from Intel: Dual-Core, Quad-Core… This is the brain of the computer and ultimately controls what you can and cannot do. The memory is basically short-term memory. Typically, on a server, we recommend 12GB or more, but never less than 8GB. To put that into perspective: On your typical desktop, you’re going to run anywhere from 1GB for a low-end machine to 4GB for a higher end machine.

Q: Will you need a database to query against?
A simple question, but one that is VERY important. While most people think a database is there only when they need it and it’s just “a small program”, installing any type of database software on a server is a big decision… The reason is that databases use a decent chunk of memory when they start getting queried. They also take up connections to the server (non-CAL), so a server can sometimes get upset and block the amount of connections allowed. On top of all that, databases get picky on where their files are located on the disk, so installing a busy database on a one-disk server is a no-no…

Q: What programs will you need installed on the server for everyone to use?
This is another one of those big questions that a lot of people may not think of. Are you installing an application that everyone in the office will use or just a few people? Does this application use email, or .Net or a special connecting port that the firewall will need to work with?

Q: How much storage do you think you require? A small amount or huge?
While prices for consumer storage have come down, enterprise based solutions on most servers are still plenty expensive. Storage on a server is at a premium because you typically need to have the space setup to allow a hard drive to fail. This means you lose space, but again, a drive can fail and your hardware can keep going. Some people may say “I’ve never had a drive fail!”, great – count yourself one of the lucky few.  It’s different with a server though. Servers run do much more than your typical desktop and workstation. They work 24/7/365 without a break and they do all kinds of things that you don’t even know about. That being said, it is possible to have enough storage to backup ever computer in the office, but it’s far too expensive in most cases.

Q: Will you be needing other servers later? Perhaps you’ve considered running a Virtual Server for a secondary use?
There are times when you need a second server due to the first server starting to slow down due to how it’s being used. One thing you can do, especially if you know this will happen, is buy a REALLY nice and fast server once, then put virtual servers on that hardware. This means you don’t buy as much hardware. Certain cases that I can think of for this are testing servers for applications, internal web servers, etc.

Now that I’ve covered the main questions, I wanted to talk about the actual hardware. I already said there are pro’s and con’s to building or buying a server, here are those:

Building:
Pro: Cheaper, more flexibility of components, you absolutely know what quality is going into it, you pick all the brands and you can price shop across the entire internet.
Con: Typically, other than a 30 day to 1 year hardware warranty, there isn’t an overall 1+ year warranty offered. Other than the hardware manufacturers, individually, there isn’t a technical support department for when things have problems.

Buying:
Pro: You get hardware and software support, you get a 1+ year warranty – if you pay for it. You get the “trusted” name of the company you buy from.
Con: Parts are bulk-bought or manufactured specifically for the task at hand, which can cause lock-in. Expensive, compared to a custom-built solution.

I’ll leave it like that because if you’re at a point that you believe a server should be installed, you really need to speak with a professional to see what type of hardware you need for your environment. Protocol16 also offers Consulting for companies that are looking to buy their own hardware, but need a little professional advice on which hardware to buy.

I have another problem as well. Some companies have started to sell “Servers” to companies that have typical workstation components in a nice “pretty” shell. This means a typical company buying this type of solution pays 3-4 times what the hardware is actually worth because they simply don’t know what’s inside the box they’re buying. Right now, there are “new” servers coming out on the market running Atom processors. These are (roughly) the same processors that run in Netbooks. These Atom servers are designed to run very specific programs, operating systems, etc. and are not made to be used as an office server.

As always, if you have any questions, please let us know.
Justin

Once again, technicians talk and one poor guy came up with a customer issue about RAID 0.  A lot of the gaming machines or high-end desktops use the mythical RAID 0 set for hard drives. This is touted by many as something to help with speed of your hard drive, and it can, but at a heavy price.

Now, the bad thing: RAID 0 does absolutely NOTHING to help maintain data integrity. This means that when one of the hard drives in that RAID Array crash (you need at least 2 drives in RAID 0), everything goes away. This can also happen if your motherboard crashes as well since most cheap desktops and all laptops offering RAID do not use a dedicated RAID card. They use an on-board chip that has a nickname of “soft RAID” since it’s software controlled.

RAID 0 does work for speed, but it should only be used for temporary storage of unimportant data. When I worked with very large databases, we sometimes used RAID 0 as a primary (temporary) log storage area to speed the server up. It should not, in most technicians opinions, be used as a way to boot windows or store valuable data. If you’re going to use RAID for this situation, use RAID 1, RAID 5 or RAID 10.

If you’re confused about RAID levels, it’s best to speak with a professional so you understand the differences between all the different types. If you’re looking for data to remain intact during a hard drive crash, you’ll want RAID 1, 5 or 10. There are differences between them, and there are more levels to choose from as well, but these are the main types. For desktops, you’ll probably want RAID 1. Servers, depending on the age and data you’re storing, either 5 or 10.

As always, please feel free to contact Protocol16 for your questions or computer repair in Portland.
Justin

I’ve talked with a lot of small business owners over the years and one question keeps coming up. The answer to this question just might shock most business owners.

Typically, smaller businesses do not need a server. When I say “smaller”, I mean places that have anywhere from 1-10 or so computers. While others would recomend not installing a server unless you have 50+ machines, there is a reason to do so. BUT, we would not recomend installing a server for anyone that didn’t need it, couldn’t afford it, etc – there are always options. Servers really depend on the actual business.

I’m not going to attempt to sell or un-sell a server to anyone over the internet. There are too many variables, but I will share this. Files and email go across the network needlessly, a lot. On top of that, every computer in your office connects to the internet to download the same updates as it’s neighbor, effectively downloading copies of copies of updates. In both situations, there are solutions that help that are server based – but again, it really depends on your situation.

If you’re curious about if you need a server, or have any other question, just give us a call at 503-524-9047 and we’ll setup an appointment to talk. Don’t worry, it’s free and it’ll be more like an interview to see what your current and future needs are. Oh, and we’re not pushy sales people, I swear.
Justin

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Beaverton, OR —Sep. 9, 2009— Protocol16, a computer company focusing on on-site support, has formed a partnership agreement with Dell to provide workstations, computers and servers for it’s customers.

Protocol16 will offer the Dell line of computers when it is more economical to purchase a pre-packaged computer vs a custom built machine. Servers will also be offered to business customers that require new or additional hardware.

About Protocol16
Protocol16 was started in 2007 in response to a growing demand for technical services in the military communities of Germany. Since starting, Protocol16 has relocated to Oregon and launched a website and mobile computer repair business in the Portland Metro region. Headquartered in Beaverton, Protocol16 is quickly becoming a leader in mobile repair for businesses and consumers. Protocol16 maintains that customer satisfaction is the absolute primary goal of the business.

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