Preparing For Server Installation Instructor: Enoch E. Damson

Identifying Server Categories Determining the primary use of the server helps to determine the types of components needed E.g. File servers – require high-speed disk drives Application servers – require high-speed processors Determining the necessary types of components can be difficult in a Web server environment Consideration must be given to the need for a Web server, database management servers, servers, and requirements of programming languages Server Installation Preparation2

Evaluating Server Components There is the need to balance components within the server computer, just as balancing parts of a Web server system Ideally, all the components in a server should work together to optimize performance The processor can easily be a bottleneck Bottleneck – a component of the server that generally slows the system, keeping parts of the system from working optimally Server Installation Preparation3

Evaluating Server Components… Some server components that may be considered include: Processors Hard Drive Interface Hard Drive Network Interface Card Server Installation Preparation4

Evaluating Processors The processor is the main focus on most servers It makes everything else work efficiently A bottleneck originating from the processor often lead to expensive upgrades to a new server Some servers allow addition of processors though Server Installation Preparation5

Intel Processors Most Microsoft Windows computers use Intel processors The most common type of Intel processor is based on the 386 chip 32-bit processors – data is processed 32 bits at a time Uses CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computer) architecture – emphasizes the number of different instructions that the processor can handle Server Installation Preparation6

Intel Processors… Linux files often end in i386 These files can be used with all current PCs with the exception of the ones with the Itanium processor Itanium processor – the largest generation of processors A 64-bit processor Requires special versions of operating systems Accept twice as must data than as 32-bit processors Server Installation Preparation7

Comparing Intel Processors Comparing processors depends on the following: RAM – allows the processor to quickly process information without accessing the hard disk Consider the trade-off between price and performance when choosing a RAM L2 cache – an extremely high-speed RAM which is the first place the processor looks to process data Bus Speed – measures the rate at which signals are sent between devices such as hard drive, network interface card, and memory Bus – the path that the data travels between devices Server Installation Preparation8

AMD Processor The most popular among processors compatible with the Intel family but manufactured by other companies Can be a viable low-cost alternative to the more expensive chips from Intel Server Installation Preparation9

UltraSPARC Processors Manufactured by Sun Sun produces the Solaris operating system The associated hardware is based on the UltraSPARC family of processors Only used in computers from Sun 64-bit processors Uses RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture – focuses on efficiently processing a few types of instructions Server Installation Preparation10

Using Multiple Processors Using more than one processor is one way to prevent the processor from becoming a bottleneck Processing a single application, such as a DBMS, spread over multiple processors is more common Applications have to be designed to take advantage of multiple processors The most common form of multiple-processor support used in servers is symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) Symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) – allows a server to divide processes and assign them to available processors Server Installation Preparation11

Selecting a Hard Drive Interface The disk subsystem another important server component and includes: The hard drive interface – connects drives to the motherboard The hard drive itself Integrated Drive Electronics or IBM Disk Electronics (IDE) is the least expensive interface used for workstations Commonly known as Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) or Parallel ATA (PATA) Most commonly found on IBM compatible PCs Limitations with IDE involves expandability and overall speed IDE can control 2 devices and Enhanced IDE (EIDE) can control 4 with primary and secondary slots on the motherboard Server Installation Preparation12

Selecting a Hard Drive Interface… Serial ATA (SATA) also supports external drives through eSATA An advanced ATA Other external solutions include Universal Serial Bus (USB) and Firewire Apple uses SATA Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) is often used for servers that need higher performance and scalability Variables to SCSI include Fast, Ultra, Ultrawide, Fastwide SCSI SCSI can allow a chain of 7 devices with an adapter and 15 devices with 2 adapters Adapter – hardware that modifies capabilities of a computer SCSI adapters can be embedded in the motherboard or added to an existing motherboard using a PCI slot PCI slot – connector on the motherboard to accept hardware adapters Server Installation Preparation13

Selecting a Hard Drive Interface… Server Installation Preparation14 IDE/PATA SATA SCSI

Selecting a Hard Drive The following factors must be considered when evaluating hard drive performance: Vendor Capacity Data transfer rate – hard drive to buffer and buffer to adapter Buffer size – RAM storage between the adapter and hard drive Average seek time – getting to a hard drive position Rotational speed – how fast the disk drive spins Server Installation Preparation15

Selecting a Network Interface Card (NIC) NIC provides the pathway for data to enter and leave the server NICs are the least expensive components in a server environment Server Installation Preparation16

Disaster Planning Helps you avoid problems with hardware and software A challenge to balance costs with benefits In a server, the objective is fault tolerance The ability of a system to keep running even when a component fails Server Installation Preparation17

Disaster Assessment and Recovery To prevent disasters in a server environment, determine: What can go wrong What effects it will have on the organization What it will take to fix Server Installation Preparation18

Disaster Assessment and Recovery… Preventing Hardware Disasters: Determine what will happen if each component fails How to replace failed hardware How to restore software (if applicable) Who will diagnose hardware problems Server Installation Preparation19

Disaster Assessment and Recovery… Preventing Software Disasters: Software disasters are more complex than hardware disasters Could be a combination of application software and the operating system You may be directed to install software that may not work correctly Document installation and problems in detail Make sure that support is available Server Installation Preparation20

Disaster Assessment and Recovery… Solving Electrical Problems: If components are not attached to an uninterrupted power supply (UPS), an overload circuit could cause a component to restart itself An overloaded UPS can also cause its battery to become too drained Server Installation Preparation21

System Redundancy Servers and switches often have multiple power supplies so if one fails, the other(s) can take over In case the devices do not have redundancy built in, try to have as much spare hardware on hand as appropriate for the number of devices, reliability, and cost Server Installation Preparation22

Disk Redundancy through RAID A RAID system can prevent data loss when a single drive malfunctions The RAID levels are: RAID 0 – 6, 10 Server Installation Preparation23

Disk Redundancy through RAID RAID 0 – the fastest because it does not have to store the data to allow a single disk to fail RAID 1 Data is duplicated across two drives (mirroring) Ideal for IDE drives because of only two high-speed drives Two SCSI adapters may be used (duplexing) RAID 5 (most common) Distributes data across a minimum of 3 drives If any one of the drives fails, data can be recovered from the remaining drives Server Installation Preparation24

Achieving High Availability with Multiple Servers Many computers act as one Can have ten’s of thousands of computers IBM uses computers in a cluster that serve different purposes Microsoft’s approach is to distribute the computing load among distinct servers Server Installation Preparation25

Setting Up Backup Systems You should maintain a series of backups so you can restore data from a specific date Types of backup methods Full – all data is backed up Differential – backs up all files that are new or changed since last full backup Incremental – backs up all files that are new or changed since the last incremental backup Server Installation Preparation26

Backup Considerations Back up complete operating system On Windows systems, you have to make sure that the Registry is backed up Back up special application files DBMSs and Exchange keep files open, which cannot be backed up without special backup software modules Back up data files Easy and straightforward unless user has files open Server Installation Preparation27

Evaluating Network Components Hubs should be avoided in a server environment Increased traffic slows communication Switches can come close to the appearance of a dedicated circuit between servers Routers connect one network to another Server Installation Preparation28

Network Address Translation (NAT) NAT allows an IP address from one network to be translated into another address on an internal network You can also use NAT to translate a single IP address valid on the Internet into multiple internal addresses Useful if your ISP gives you a single IP address, yet you have multiple servers and users on the internal network Server Installation Preparation29