Server Management and Support

Servers are used in most organizations to provide flexible and accessible services from hosting applications or databases, running client/server services, Storage, Print and File Management. Successful management of servers is therefore essential for successful Service Operation.

The procedures and activities which must be undertaken by the Server Team(s) or department(s) – separate teams may be needed where different server-types are used (UNIX, Wintel etc) – include:

• Operating system support: Support and maintenance of the appropriate operating system(s) and related utility software (e.g. failover software) including patch management and involvement in defining backup and restore policies.
• Licence management for all server CIs, especially operating systems, utilities and any application software not managed by the Application Management teams.
• Third-level support: Third-level support for all server and/or server operating system-related incidents, including diagnosis and restoration activities. This will also include liaison with third-party hardware support contractors and/or manufacturers as needed to escalate hardware-related incidents.
• Procurement advice: Advice and guidance to the business on the selection, sizing, procurement and usage of servers and related utility software to meet business needs.
• System security: Control and maintenance of the access controls and permissions within the relevant server environment(s) as well as appropriate system and physical security measures. These include identification and application of security patches, Access Management (see section 4.5) and intrusion detection.
• Definition and management of virtual servers. This implies that any server that has been designed and built around a common standard can be used to process workloads from a range of applications or users. Server Management will be required to set these standards and then ensure that workloads are appropriately balanced and distributed. They are also responsible for being able to track which workload is being processed by which server so that they are able to deal with incidents effectively.
• Capacity and Performance: Provide information and assistance to Capacity Management to help achieve optimum throughput, utilization and performance from the available servers. This is discussed in more detail in Service Design, but includes providing guidance on, and installation and operation of, virtualization software so as to achieve value for money by obtaining the highest levels of performance and utilization from the minimal number of servers.
• Other routine activities include:
• Defining standard builds for servers as part of the provisioning process. This is covered in more detail in Service Design and Service Transition
• Building and installing new servers as part of ongoing maintenance or for the provision of new services. This is discussed in more detail in Service Transition
• Setting up and managing clusters, which are aimed at building redundancy, improving service performance and making the infrastructure easier to manage.
• Ongoing maintenance. This typically consists of replacing servers or ‘blades’ on a rolling schedule to ensure that equipment is replaced before it fails or becomes obsolete. This results in servers that are not only fully functional, but also capable of supporting evolving services
• Decommissioning and disposal of old server equipment. This is often done in conjunction with the organization’s environmental policies for disposal.

Date: 2014-12-29; view: 798