A short poll about server architectures

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By Jon Collins, Freeform Dynamics • Get more from this author

Posted in Server Management, 2nd November 2009 10:57 GMT

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Tech Panel Reg readers, we're interested in finding out what your server architecture looks like, and how this might map onto what we have uncovered as some of the core challenges. Is it hub-and-spoke, all in one place or highly distributed? Let us know.

READER POLL

1. If you add up everything in the boxes, racks and blade chassis, roughly how many servers do you think there are in your environment?

Over 1,000
50 to 1000
10 to 50
Under 10

2. What would you say was the primary server architecture in your environment? (Tick the one you think fits your own environment most closely)

The vast majority of servers are centralised in a single place (with a few outliers)
We have more than one centralised data centre where the majority of servers are concentrated
We have one or more central data centres, then a number of smaller server rooms for branches/remote offices
We don't have a central data centre as such – servers are collocated in multiple office buildings (though they may have a room to their own)
Other (please state)

3. To what degree are the following a challenge at the moment? (1 - 5 where 1 = Not a problem; 5 = Major Challenge)

	Not a problem			Major Challenge
	1	2	3	4	5
Maintaining/patching servers
Server monitoring, e.g. for performance and health
Operations staff being overstretched
Data backup and recovery
Software distribution and provisioning
Problems with network bandwidth and latency
General issues around data security
Responding to challenges of data growth