Remote Server Management: What should I consider?

With remote server management tools, IT personnel can manage data centers that are not around. However, like other technologies, remote server monitoring still has some restrictions that should not be ignored. This is the second article in the remote server management skills series. It describes some criteria to consider when selecting a remote server management tool and provides suggestions for using the management tool. For more information, see Remote Server Management: Tips for efficient management of IT personnel.

Remote Server Tool Selection

There are some potential problems that have to be paid attention to, that is, the connectivity between the server and the management personnel, which will slow down remote management and even directly lead to unexecutable work. However, experts have basically recognized the remote server management technology and admitted that they are mature. These tools enable administrators to take immediate action in the event of a fault. However, people still have insufficient confidence in the overall situation, which hinders the choice. How to choose a management tool? There are still disputes.

For example, some experts agree that tools such as Remote Desktop Protocol on Windows platforms are mainly used for basic server O & M tasks. Other experts prefer Integrated solutions, such as HP Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) and Dell Remote Access Controller (DRAC), because they are a complete set of products with their company's well-known servers, within the warranty scope of the server. Of course, some people also choose third-party remote server management tools because of their clustering and environmental performance. Similar to KVM over IP, KVM over IP is a powerful management platform for operating systems and data center environments, but may not be applicable to all situations.

The tool selection is good. The biggest problem is not related to technology, but the personnel and Duty responsibilities. Ian Parker, Senior Web Manager at Thomson-Reuters, has a deep understanding: "When you face something you cannot reach, your fate is in the hands of others ." Other personnel's schedules, different work priorities, and various internal communication errors may lead to time delays and painful consequences.

In many cases, policy and standard steps can reduce such situations and ensure that on-site personnel are punctual and orderly. If the remote service is provided by a third party, the service contract or service level agreement may contain a well-defined upgrade Route and measurable responsibility time window.

Perhaps the biggest difference is the automation of remote server management technology. Parker tells you with his own remote management experience that they will prolong off-peak hours of free time. If the automation is better, the remote server management tool may allow the company to migrate more idle virtual machines to fewer physical hosts during idle time periods, and disable additional physical servers during idle time periods, then, enable them to re-allocate virtual machines during peak hours. Parker believes that the method is okay, but from the perspective of remote server management tools, more development is needed.

In the next article, we will discuss the best practices for configuring remote servers.

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