Is it Time To Buy a Server? April 5, 2011
Posted by charitysolutions in charity computers, charity IT, General, Servers, Uncategorized.Tags: charity computers, charity IT, charity software
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We are often asked to help small UK charities who feel (or have been told) that it is time to invest in their first server.
Though there are huge advantages in having a server, there are significant time and cost implications, so it isn’t a decision to be taken lightly or rushed into – in some cases a server isn’t even really what is needed. So we thought is was high time we updated our (sadly recently neglected!) blog with a few posts to help you make the decision and, if you decide it is right for your charity, implement it.
Firstly, let’s start with the basics. What is a server?
A server is basically just another computer, designed to provide a number of centralised control and storage features – more details below.
You could use a “normal” workstation PC or laptop as a server, but it is better if at all possible to buy a machine designed for the task. Unlike “standard” PCs and laptops, server hardware is especially designed to be left on 24/7 and often includes extra options to help keep things running if a fault develops – spare power supplies, fans, network cards etc. The more expensive servers also often have better hard disks (faster and/or with a better warranty), though sadly this is no longer always the case … more on that in a later post.
Another significant difference between servers and PCs/laptops is that servers don’t normally by default come with any operating system software – so when budgeting you need to make sure you include this extra cost. (And when you do, make sure you get the software with the biggest charity discount possible!)
Servers can be used for a variety of tasks including (depending on their capabilities) any number of the following:
- Central control of users – login names and passwords, access rights etc
- Central storage of files
- Databases
- Remote access capabilities and control
- Website hosting
- Printer management
- Central management of antivirus and antispam programs
- … and lots more
But it’s unlikely (and not advised) that you get one server to do all of the above. You would need pretty a pretty “high-spec” server to do it all effectively – and by putting all your “computing eggs in one basket” you would be risking major issues for your charity if the server ever went down.
In our next post we will look at whether a server is the right option for you or whether there could be a better/easier/cheaper solution for your specific needs. And in later posts we will cover more about how to choose the right server for your particular needs and budget.
But if you can’t wait that long just contact us (details on the About Us page) and we will be more than happy to go through the options with you and help you find the best solution for your particular organisation.
2 Key Ways of Keeping Mailbox Sizes In Check August 25, 2009
Posted by charitysolutions in charity computers, charity IT, Email.Tags: charity computers, charity IT, Email
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In the last post we highlighted the problems you can face if your mailbox grows too big and how to check if it is about to explode.
This time we cover two key ways in which you can keep your mail files down to a manageable size – without resorting to mass deletion of emails you would really like to keep. Again these solutions are only applicable if your emails get delivered to personal mail files – if your mail stays on the server then other solutions will be required. If you are not sure, then ask your system administrator – or us!
Each of the methods we suggest has its own advantages and disadvantages. Opinion on which one is best is divided – even amongst the Charity Solutions team. You will need to pick the one that you think will work best for you and best matches any data handling procedures your organisation has in place. If you don’t like it, you can always change later – but the main thing is to do something now - before your mailbox explodes!
Archiving
The first method is archiving. This is automated process where Outlook automatically moves mails over a certain age into a separate folder. You need to set it up but after that it basically runs by itself without intervention.
The advantages of this method are that once it is set up you don’t need to worry about it (Outlook does it automatically) and that the process happens relatively seamlessly and you should not notice any appreciable loss in speed while it takes place.
The main disadvantage of archiving is that it your mails are split over two or more areas, so if you are hunting for a specific mail message you’ll need to look in more than one place.
If you use archiving it is still important that you check the archive size once in a while to make sure it hasn’t grown too big. Archive files are no different to any other type of mail file and they can explode just as easily if not monitored and kept in check. In order to avoid your archive file growing out control we suggest that you create and use a new one each year.
Multiple PST files
The other main way of dealing with mail is to work on a divide and conquer principle and split all your emails over several PST files. Outlook allows you to use and view multiple PST files at any time – you are not limited to just one.
This means that you can store all emails relative to a particular subject together – for example all mails to and from a particular supplier or about a particular project. You can even set up rules within Outlook to automatically file mails into the correct areas. This means that (providing you remember the theory you used to file it!) you can easily track down a specific mail regardless of when you received it.
This total control of where emails end up is probably the biggest advantage of the multiple PST file approach. The main disadvantage is probably that the process isn’t automatic – but whether that really is a disadvantage probably depends on how you like to work and organise your emails.
With this method you will still have to keep an eye on the size of your PST files, but by dividing your mail like this you got much better control and it’s far less likely that your email PST files will exceed the 2GB limit.
The Single Most Important Check You Can Make to Stop Your Email Self-Destructing August 11, 2009
Posted by charitysolutions in charity computers, charity IT, Email.Tags: charity IT, charity software, Email
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A large number of the support calls we receive relate to problems with over-sized Outlook personal folders – which if left unfixed can lead to major problems using Outlook and loss of stored messages.
Logging in to your Outlook to be either confronted with warning messages or, worse still, corrupted data files or missing emails, is something that can strike terror into anyone.
In this post we look at the single most important check you can make to help avoid this happening to you – and (in our next post) what to do if the warnings are already there. It is based on Microsoft Outlook, but a lot of the information holds true for other email clients too – though the ways of doing things will of course we different.
Also, the information below applies only if you download your email messages into local files rather than keeping them all on the mail server. If you don’t know which applies in your case, then please ask whoever deals with your IT internally. Or us!
First of all, let’s identify the number one cause of these problems – and how to check if you might be affected.
Outlook can only cope with Data Files (Personal Folders and Archive files) up to a certain size.
…. if they are bigger, then it is a case of when (not if) disaster will occur
- If the files have been created in the newer format (not 97-2002 compatible) using the most recent version of Outlook (2007) or the most recent Service Packed version of Outlook 2003 (SP3 or above) then you can have files up to 20GB
- If any of the files were created in an earlier version, even if you are using the most recent version now, the absolute maximum size of any file is 2GB. In practice any file over 1.8GB is highly likely to cause problems soon (if it hasn’t already) so you should take steps now to reduce it.
If you are not 100% sure which version of Outlook you have, then the easiest way to find out is to click on Help -> About Microsoft Outlook. The window that pops up will tell you the version (and Service Pack) you are running.
But unless you have only recently created your Outlook profile and files from scratch, there is a fair chance that you may be working with files created with the older restrictions – so unless you are 100% sure, stick to the 1.8GB limit.
To find out what size your Outlook data files are:
- Look at the file size by browsing to the area(s) where they are stored in My Computer
or
- Right-Click on the top level of the folder in the left-hand Outlook pane
Choose Properties
Click on the Folder Size button and wait for your machine to count up the total
If you are not used to checking computer file sizes, the number of digits can get a bit confusing – let alone working out how many KB or MB in a GB!
Normally the results are displayed in KB. If your file size is less than 1 800 000 KB (add another 0 to this if you are sure you are using files created in the latest version) then you should be ok for now. But if it is close to or more than that, you need to take action immediately if you are to avoid huge problems later.
And remember, if you have more than one data file (including archive files) you will need to check each one separately.
And if any of your files are to big, what do you do next?
First of all make sure that you have deleted anything in your Deleted Items folder – unless your Outlook is set up to do this automatically on exit (which by default it isn’t) then there may be hundreds of files in there.
But there are other more long-term ways of re-arranging how your email files are stored to keep the folder sizes down. We will cover some of the most common options next time.
Any comments or queries … or suggestions for follow up topics that you would like us to cover? Just leave a comment or contact us (details on the About Us page) and we will do our best to help.
