A healthy network is an essential part of doing business these days. But many companies fail to protect servers from a hardware and software perspective. Here are some mistakes to avoid.
Poor Cable Management
The wires of your network are vital to its operation. All data is carried through the cables between everything connected. But one interruption can bring the entire network to a halt. So, of course, you should have redundancies in place. However, solid and reliable wiring solutions with products like Everflex are what you need to avoid all but the worst kind of issues. There are many aspects to network integrity, but poor technicians or beginners often overlook cable management. However, network health, user safety, and data integrity rely on it.
Trying to Do Everything Yourself
Getting professional help with managing your servers, network, and data is an option if you lack the time, skills, or budget. Outsourcing IT services has become incredibly popular. A skilled and trained professional will assist you with no effort on your part. There are pricing tiers, but standard features include network monitoring, data backup, and cybersecurity. You can save a lot of money by outsourcing instead of hiring a full-time IT employee. Pricing usually depends on how extensive your network is. But even budget tiers offer substantial savings and services.
No Healthy Network Maintenance Schedule
One of the simplest is to prevent disasters in the first place. There’s a time commitment, but it’s nothing compared to the consequences of not doing it. Yet shockingly, only 54% of global businesses have a data disaster plan. It’s helpful to make sure you schedule regular hardware inspections. But it’s also important to schedule regular software inspections as well. Ensure any software patches are installed right away since keeping cybersecurity systems up-to-date is also essential. Update your software to fix known bugs that could be a hacker backdoor.
Not Keeping an Eye on the Network
It’s best to keep an eye on your servers and network activity to spot issues before they have a chance to develop. Many problems can affect your data center, network, or hosting. And these include natural disasters or severe weather such as hurricanes. However, being busy it’s not something you can do all the time. You’ll need someone qualified to manage servers and familiarity with network monitoring tools like Nagios if you want this done. Then your team will be able to spot any abnormalities that could indicate a problem is on the horizon.
Failing to Regularly Backup Data
It’s a good idea to backup data regularly. This includes company procedures, business finances, employee records, and customer details. Data loss happens often. Some of the main culprits are hackers. However, power outages are common and could be a disaster for your data and network integrity. Fortunately, it’s easy to back up data. You can upload your data to the cloud for safekeeping, use off-site USB storage, and backup your network with built-in OS tools. Given how easy it is, there is no excuse for losing data, and the consequences are severe. If you do plan on uploading to the cloud, make sure that you are using a system you feel secure with. There are great Cloud Hosting resources out there for you to use, so always do your research when deciding.
Summary
Keeping your network in good shape is easier than you think. Of course, cable management is essential. But you should also plan regular maintenance and actively monitor for issues.