You’ve probably heard servers mentioned a fair amount; they are something that are often talked about. When something goes wrong with a website they’ll mention that the ‘server is down’ or a slow loading webpage could be explained away as ‘server problems’. But unless you work in the IT or computing industries, it’s unlikely that you’ve ever really been told what a server actually is and how it impacts your daily life.
Our team at catalyst2 is committed to changing this. We work with businesses from a range of industries and we want to ensure that they all take full advantage of their server packages, no matter how much IT experience they might have. This post is designed to break down what a server actually does and how you can go about choosing the right server for your business.
What is a Server?
A server is a type of computer that is designed specifically to store, send and receive data. To put it simply, it is designed to ‘serve’ something else, usually to provide stored data to users that request it. A server can have one single service or it can provide several, making it ideal for a number of different uses.
What Types of Servers are Available?
There are various types of servers available these days, all of which play an important role in day-to-day business operations. Below we have looked into some of the different types of servers that lots of businesses will use;
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Web Servers
If you’re doing any work online, then you’ll be working with a server. Viewing a webpage through your browser involves getting data from a web server for the text, images, videos and other content that you’ll find on the page. These are the servers that we work with, maintaining high quality web servers, allowing you to send and receive files to your customers through the internet. As a business owner, having the right web server is important for a fast and reliable service, keeping you and your customers as happy as possible.
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Email Servers
Another important type of server for your business is an email server, which can help you to create the right email for your business. A specific email server allows you to create a professional looking, company wide email, which will support you during the sending and receiving process. The additional security is always beneficial when you’re working with customers’ data.
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Proxy Servers
A proxy server is a third type of server that acts as an intermediary between a person’s computer and another server. This particular type of server is useful if users are looking to speed up internet traffic and keep unauthorised users from accessing the network. Many business internet connections use a proxy server because they help to keep data safe and ensure that their employees only use specifically permitted web functions.
How do you Choose the Right Web Server for your Business?
As at business, finding the right web server for your business’s needs couldn’t be more important. The right server will help to keep your website up with fast loading speeds, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. But the wrong server can be disastrous. The wrong server can easily become overloaded, which can lead to extended downtime as the server needs to be reset. You need to make sure that the server that you choose fills the needs of your business.
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Start with your Budget
Here at catalyst2, we offer a number of packages, ranging from flexible servers to dedicated servers. These servers fill different needs and there is no doubt that a dedicated server, which offers you the resources of an entire server. This is a great choice but the reality is that dedicated servers are significantly more expensive than the other server options. It’s so important for your business to run to your budget rather than reaching out for something that will risk upsetting your budget.
It’s important to note that not every business needs a dedicated server, so don’t be afraid to choose the server that fits your budget, scaling it up when you need to. Our flexible server service allows you to scale your package up and down depending on your needs. This allows you to work well within your budget while still having the right server for your needs.
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Understand what your Customers Need
How many customers will you expect to visit your website? How long are they going to stay? How much data are you planning on having on each webpage? These are all important questions for you to answer when you’re picking your perfect server package. The right server will help you meet all your customers expectations, ensuring that they have a fast and enjoyable experience while visiting your website.
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Learn more About the Different Server Types
In our opinion, the best way for you to choose the right server is to really understand the difference between them. Taking some time to fully research the different options will help to solidify your decision and if you’re looking for a place to start, why not read through this post that we’ve created? It will help you to identify the differences between the three major types of web server.
Once you’ve determined what the differences are between the servers, you’ll be able to pick the one that fills most of your needs. You can make a checklist to help keep track of your thoughts, which will also help to ease the decision making process. Finding the right server will actually be surprisingly easy when you know what each option can do for you.
Why Not Speak to Our Experts?
One of the best ways for you to find out what server you need for your business is to speak to our experts. Our service is designed to make the entire process simple and straightforward for you, breaking down the complicated world of IT. We would be happy to answer any questions you might have about our server packages and offer you obligation-free advice about the right server for you. If you have any questions, then don’t hesitate to call us today on 0800 107 7979 or send an email to sales@catalyst2.com and we’ll get back to you.
