Understanding the hardware specifications of a good server and how to choose the right one

Foundations of server hardware and selecting the right server

After selecting and acquiring hardware, installation, configuration and periodic maintenance are performed within the scope of server support and management. The importance of a server is clear to everyone, and therefore understanding the hardware specifications of a good server is also important. After all, several networks will connect to this server and it will host various applications or websites. Therefore the server hardware should be robust. It may be tempting to opt for the latest hardware regardless of cost, but it is important to identify the most suitable hardware in every respect. In this article we present them fully.

What is the best hardware for a server?

What are the hardware specifications of a good server? When we think about this question, we see a gap between minimum requirements and recommended requirements. These differences depend on the size of databases and network maintenance, number of users, and the underlying architectures. Let us start with the minimums and then discuss recommended systems.

Our minimum requirement is to meet at least 3 GB of RAM and disk space for storing data and databases. However, fulfilling the minimum is not ideal, and using better hardware will improve runtime and server efficiency. Now let's discuss how to choose a good server and the considerations for determining suitable hardware.

How to choose a suitable server?

Here we mention the key factors for determining appropriate server hardware:

• Number of users: If the user count is under 15, extremely professional memory and network support might not be necessary. If more, you should consider increasing memory. Typically, for every 5 additional users beyond 15, add 1–2 GB RAM.
• Workload packages: We need to know how often data gets updated. If updates occur every 30 minutes, the hardware and networking and hardware support services required for these updates should be provisioned. Processed data in ETL transfers to RAM results in faster execution.
• Database size: The database size matters for the processing load on storing data warehouses. If you have about 50 GB database, 16 GB RAM could handle you well, provided updates are nightly and concurrent users are about 10.
• Growth rate: How much will the database grow per year? It may be sufficient now, but future growth could require stronger hardware.
• OS requirements: Always reserve some RAM for the operating system. For example, if the server has 32 GB RAM, allocate about 7 GB to the OS and the remaining to SQL Server.
• Dedicated vs shared: Will other software run on the server? If yes, you must allocate RAM and disk space to each software.

What are the hardware specifications of a good server?

Finally, a solid hardware plan is presented, but note that RAM plays a critical role. If you want high performance, increase RAM, for example from 16 GB to 32 GB. This reduces the time to execute commands. Disk drives also have a crucial role; if you need to store more data, you need larger capacity drives.

Processors, especially multi-core processors, are important. An 8-core processor generally performs better than a 4-core one. This is suitable for small businesses, while larger businesses are advised to use a 16-core processor. For an average client with a 100 GB database, this hardware profile is appropriate: high-speed drives for data and temporary files, SQL Server logs, 4–8 core processors, and 16–64 GB RAM.

To assess reliability, security and maintenance of this infrastructure, also study the network support guide.

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