The Best Business Servers for Small Businesses

Server still holds important place amidst the resounding popularity of cloud among businesses. The reason is pretty simple—servers get an edge over the cloud when it comes to access files quickly and enjoy the control over the equipment. Server is useful for the businesses involving into the faster process of the data. So this is why server still holds its ground.

You should choose the right server for your small or medium sized business. To make that easy for you, here is a rundown of powerful yet affordable servers for small to medium businesses.

Dell PowerEdge T30

Specifications:

  • CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1225 v5
  • Graphics: Intel HD Graphics P530
  • RAM: 64GB
  • Storage: Up to six SATA HDD
  • Connectivity: 10 x USB ports, HDMI, DisplayPort, VGA, serial, PS2, Gigabit Ethernet

Plus Points

  • Quad Core Xeon Processor with Impressive Speed
  • Space for Six Internal Disks

Downsides

  • Single Gigabit network port
  • No hot-swapping of disks

The PowerEdge T30 server “promises to simplify processes and get more done in less time.”

It comes in a tower case with a lot of scape for upgrades. It is a quiet and compact unit. You can fit in the corner of your workplace. However, it doesn’t come with an optical drive or graphic card.

Lenovo ThinkServer TS150

  • CPU: Intel Xeon E3-1200 v6
  • RAM: Up to 64GB
  • Storage: Up to 40TB HDD
  • Connectivity: 8 x USB 3.0, serial, video, 2 x DisplayPort, audio, Gigabit Ethernet

Plus Points

  • Affordable ThinkServer model
  • Low Energy Consumption
  • Whisper Quiet

Downsides

  • Lack of Hot Swapping
  • Slow Base CPU

One of the affordable ThinkServer models, the TSI50 competes with the Dell T 20. It can accommodate up to four 3.5 inch HDDs in total. The manufacturer claims that TS150 is even quieter than a typical library at 26 decibels. And you get a wide array of ports and connectors.

Synology DiskStation DS916

Specifications:

  • CPU: 1 x Intel Pentium N3710 1.6 GHz
  • RAM: 2 GB
  • Storage: Up to 4 SATA HDD
  • Connectivity: 2x USB 3.0 ports, 2x RJ-45 1GbE LAN Port

 Plus Points

  • Up to 200 Users
  • RAID 5
  • Hot Swapping
  • Quick Setup

Downsides

  • Only 2GB RAM (which is upgradable)
  • Inability to install Server OS

It is one of the best investments for small medium businesses looking for a NAC server. It is a bit expensive and if you are looking to save, you can go for DS216 being equipped with two drives while DS916 has four. You can scale it up to nine drives with DS916 with five bay expansion of Synology. It means that the storage would be 72TB. The DS916 has been designed with information technology and user’s sophisticated requirements in mind. A maximum of 200 users can utilize the DS916 at a time. To keep your files safe and protected, the server comes with an AES-NI hardware encryption engine. Another convincing reason is its speed of over 225 MBPS to encrypt the files while it can write them at over 209 MBPS.

NetGear ReadyNAS 424

Specifications:

  • CPU: 1 x Intel Atom C3338 Dual Core
  • RAM:2 GB DDR4
  • Storage:Up to 4 HDD
  • Connectivity:2x USB 3.0 ports, 2x LAN Port

Plus Points:

  • Up to 40 Users
  • Easy to Setup
  • Expandable to 9 Bays

Downsides:

  • Can’t Install Server OS
  • Only 2GB RAM (upgradable)
  • Media file transcoding can affect CPU

NetGear Ready NAS 424 is equipped with an Intel Atom dual core processor to keep the things up and running. It has diverse set of features and a good build quality. The interface is user friendly. Its attractive design will win over the heart for a sure.

About Ng Wei Khang

Ng Wei Khang, CEO at a Singapore based IT consultancy company, APIXEL IT Support, has been operational for over 8 years from now. Apixel provides fixed price IT Support Services with unlimited packages that includes small business server setup, Cloud Solution Configuration, Network management and Data security & Theft prevention. The company also provides expert IT consultancy to SMEs in Singapore.

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