Servers & Workstations
With so many different types of computers available on the market today, it’s hard to determine which configuration would suit your specific needs. Fortizza Consulting has taken the guesswork out of picking a new system. We can either propose a pre-built system or customize it based on your needs.
Fortizza aims to offer the most reliable systems possible. Therefore, we recommend Dell computers to all our clients. For the most up-to-date pricing, visit our online shop, fortizza.com.
What is the difference between a workstation and a server?
A workstation is typically a computer that the end user (yourself!) would be using to perform your day-to-day tasks. A server is usually a computer specifically designed to handle multiple tasks from multiple users. In most office situations, your workstation would connect to the server. Among the many benefits of having a server is centralized storage of data, easy security management and single-point backup.
A workstation is typically a computer that the end user (yourself!) would be using to perform your day-to-day tasks. A server is usually a computer specifically designed to handle multiple tasks from multiple users. In most office situations, your workstation would connect to the server. Among the many benefits of having a server is centralized storage of data, easy security management and single-point backup.
So what’s the difference between a workstation and a laptop?A laptop is portable, with an internal battery power source, allowing you to use the system in locations where power may not be available. There are advantages and disadvantages between a workstation and a laptop. A laptop does give you portability, but limits the enhancements that can be added to it. Also, a typical rule of thumb with a laptop is that the more powerful it is, the heavier it is. Lastly, most computer systems are assembled using readily-available parts, making repairs and upgrades cost effective, whereas laptops frequently use custom designed parts, which are much more expensive. When deciding on whether you purchase a workstation or a laptop, your main question should be “Do I need portability?” If you answer yes to that question, a laptop is the best choice, otherwise we highly recommend purchasing a workstation. Today’s workstations come in may shapes and sizes suitable for everyone’s office or home!
Do I use the same software on a workstation or a server?
You could, but you wouldn’t want to. Your workstation runs either Microsoft Windows XP or Vista, however a server would run Microsoft Windows 2003 or 2008. Microsoft also makes a specific operating system for servers targeted at small businesses, known as Microsoft Windows Small Business Server. This is one of our most recommended software packages, as it includes a number of additional features at considerably lower cost that regular server software. Server operating systems are designed to handle a large workload and a number of concurrent tasks.
Does that mean a server is faster than a workstation? Would a server be better suited for a powerful game?
Although a server is usually much more robust than your average workstation, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s faster than your workstation. Imagine the server as a trailer truck and a workstation as a car. The trailer truck can handle large and heavy loads, but is not as quick or maneuverable as a car. For a powerful game, you’d need a lot of memory like a server, but a graphics adapter that is much more powerful that the one found in a server. This is because a server does not normally need to handle graphics in its day to day tasks.
Although a server is usually much more robust than your average workstation, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s faster than your workstation. Imagine the server as a trailer truck and a workstation as a car. The trailer truck can handle large and heavy loads, but is not as quick or maneuverable as a car. For a powerful game, you’d need a lot of memory like a server, but a graphics adapter that is much more powerful that the one found in a server. This is because a server does not normally need to handle graphics in its day to day tasks.
What are some of the benefits of a server?
Among the many benefits a company can gain by having a server, are:
Among the many benefits a company can gain by having a server, are:- Single large storage location for corporate documents. This also means that the documents are shared among users. Save a file, and it’s instantly available to every authorized user within your organization.
- User security is managed at the server, allowing you to grant or deny access to specific resources on the server, depending on the user.
- You can easily share resources, such as printers and faxing capabilities.
- Today’s servers have the capability of giving users at remote locations access to data in the main office using an application known as Terminal Server.
- Your server would have the integrated capacity to host your own website, without the need to pay a third party provider for the service.
- Corporate data is much more secure on the server, as you can perform a single backup, essentially saving all your organization’s data in a single task.
- Some programs work better when installed in a client/server environment. An example would be Quickbooks Accounting, where the program is installed on your workstation, but the data part is installed on the server. This allows multiple users to access the same data simultaneously.
Small Business Server (SBS), includes such features as remote workstation access, corporate intranet, simplified user and account management, internal email hosting using Microsoft Exchange and other features. SBS is also available as a Premium Edition, which includes Microsoft SQL Server, an enterprise class database program.
WebPage Last Modified:
2010-08-11 10:04:362010-03-18 09:37:51
Copyright Fortizza Consulting, © 2008
Copyright Fortizza Consulting, © 2008