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Two Suns
Plain and Simple

server

Technically, a server is a piece of software which provides a service. You can have many servers running on a single host.

Unnecessary services present a security risk, so only what is required will be installed. The default procedure for many operating systems is to install everything, because "you never know". The thing is that customer often never does until there is a problem!

I provide servers running to your precise specification, running what you ask for, the exact way you want it. You'll have no unexpected or unwanted services running in the background, consuming resources.

As well providing servers, Basically Tech can provide a monitoring service for multi-server environments. In this way, mission-critcal services can be constantly monitored, and alerts can be sent out in a number of ways, such an SMS (mobile phone text) message, or an e-mail.

Whether you decide to manage the monitoring service yourself, or outsource it is up to you, and dependant on the resources you have available.

Here are some examples of different servers and why they might be useful.

web servers

Whether you want a web server to advertise your business on the Internet, or an in-house web server to use as a testbed before you publish material on the Internet, or you just want to use a web server in your office as a central repository for your business documentation, I can build a secure, fast web server, tailored to your precise requirements.

database servers

Database servers are often the powerhouse of an organisation, sometimes holding sensitive material such as customer details, sales transactions, and company financial information.

In such situations, it's easy to see the need for a properly configured, secure server.

file servers

File servers are a central repository for shared and personal data. Many organisations use a file server. With disk mirroring and a proper backup strategy, your file server can be an extremely safe place to store all your important files.

mail servers

There are many mail server configurations, but the three main functions most people are aware of is to receive mail, to send mail, and to act as a location from which to download/view mail.

All builds come with virus and spam filtering as standard (unless otherwise requested) so that the great majority of dodgy e-mails are culled before they even reach your desktop. The level of filtering can adjusted to your requirements.

proxy servers

There are many types of proxy server, the most well-known being the web proxy. This acts as a central point to which all internet access requests are made. The proxy server then downloads the requested web pages, caches them and passes them onto the requesting browser.

The advantages of this include:

  • reduced bandwidth usage, as frequently downloaded pages and files are cached on the proxy server, and only need to be downloaded once
  • in a business environment, the proxy server can be configured to reject access to non-business related web sites

instant messenging servers

If your office spans several rooms or buildings, and you would like to use an instant messenging service to ease communications between staff, and cut down on phone costs, why pay for a proprietary system?

The use of a dedicated in-house instant messenging service is not only more secure in that your traffic can't be eavesdropped, but it also prevents external contacts from transmitting files onto your network, compromising security.

The recommended protocol to use is Jabber. With a huge choice of clients across many operating systems, Jabber is secure, allows encrypted traffic, and is extremely configurable. You can even use your Jabber client to communicate with ICQ, AIM, MSN, and Yahoo IM users if you so wish. Maybe some of your clients use these instant messengers?

One other possible protocol, recommended for in-house use only, is Internet Relay Chat.

dedicated firewalls

A dedicated firewall can not only protect you from unauthorized access via the internet, it can manage internal networking and prevent unauthorized access to the internet or secure subnetworks within your organisation. For instance, you might want to place guests' laptops on a seperate network from your office LAN.