So your business has grown to over 5 employees. Congratulations! Your business has grown large enough that you need your first server. Our selection of refurbished HP servers will leave money in your pockets and the comfort of reliability. Acquiring a server is a big decision, so we understand some trepidation.

Server Basics:

Although a small server might look no different from a high-end desktop PC, the machines are designed for very different tasks. While a desktop computer is designed for one person who needs a user-friendly operating system to run desktop applications such as a word processor, a spreadsheet, an email client, and a Web browser, a server runs a specialized operating system designed to support many users while running multiuser applications such as email, messaging, and print servers; shared calendar programs; databases; and enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management software.

Choosing The Right One:

Choosing the right server depends largely on the applications you intend to run on it. If all you need is file sharing, automated client backup, and light-duty remote access for PCs (typically ten or fewer employees), then you should consider a NAS or even a Windows Home Server machine (HP, Netgear, QNAP, Seagate, and Synology are the major players in this arena).

If your business has more than 10 employees using computers, if you need to operate an email or print server, manage a complex database, or run sophisticated server-based applications (such as ERP or CRM), if you have very large storage requirements, or if you require large-scale virtualization capabilities, you’ll want a more robust option such as a tower, rack, or blade server.