Infrastructure, in the context of IT servers, is simply organised server support. It describes how servers are grouped physically, logically and functionally, together with the tools used to support them. Those tools are mostly supplied by vendors and occasionally built by the system administrator.
An infrastructure only works when its servers are set up correctly, its services are properly managed and its operations are monitored closely. Because an infrastructure always involves many servers, you need tools to keep them running.
Which tools keep a server infrastructure running?
There are many types of servers and thousands of vendors, so the range of tools is wide. The main categories are:
- Application deployment and management
- Configuration and change management
- Cluster management
- Network administration
- Web systems management
- System performance testing
- User management
- Security control
- Patch and update management
- Storage management
- Backup, restore and archiving
- Disaster recovery
- IT asset and inventory management
- Licence management
This list is only a small part of what vendors offer, but it shows how much is needed to run a server infrastructure.
What administrators need to know before choosing tools
Knowing which tools exist is not enough. To choose the right tools and use them well, the IT professional running the servers needs a thorough understanding of:
- What each infrastructure element is used for
- The hardware and software in the infrastructure, and how it is configured
- Where each infrastructure component is located
Even with that knowledge, the choice of tools can be limited by practical constraints: products that are hard to compare, return on investment that is hard to justify, and limited budgets.
Running servers is never simple
Running servers, and especially many servers, is never easy. Working around those constraints to get the right tools in place is something every administrator has to do.
ICT Shift manages on-premises, cloud and hybrid server environments for SMEs from Eindhoven, the Netherlands. See our cloud and infrastructure management services and managed IT support, or book a free IT health check to review your current server tooling.
