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Servers vs. Desktops: Which is best for Small Businesses ? [Infographic]

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Servers vs. Desktops: Which is best for Small Businesses ? [Infographic]

Once a business reaches a certain point, its technology needs rise to the level where laptops and desktops simply aren’t going to be sufficient. Eventually the requirements of an internal network and the necessity to centralize data that is accessed by everyone in the company make a dedicated server necessary to continue doing business. Dedicated desktops, acting as office servers, may suffice for a while. But there are certain limitations to that kind of setup, as this infographic illustrates. Let’s go over a few comparison points to see how servers differ from desktops.

Desktop Servers vs. Enterprise Servers

Performance Characteristics: Servers are designed to handle intensive back-end tasks, acting as a repository for information, such as databases or web-based applications that users can access through a web browser; resource-intensive tasks meant to serve an actual user are probably better run on a desktop. For example, graphics-intensive desktop applications, such as photo- or video-editing software, will perform better on a desktop machine with its own memory and processor rather than on a server which shares resources among multiple users. If you tried to run such programs on a server, with the user interacting from their desktop, the programs would be sluggish and hard to interact with.

Cache Size: There aren’t too many differences between the CPU on a desktop and that on a server, but the cache for a server processor tends to be much larger. A CPU cache is computer memory that is set aside for frequently requested information so the CPU doesn’t have to constantly request the same data from the computer’s general RAM, which is slower to access than cache memory. A server, which is often dealing with varied data requests from multiple users at once, sees much better performance because of this larger cache, enabling it to operate more efficiently than a desktop acting as a server, especially as your office’s demands on the server grows to accommodate more users.

Data Storage: Most desktops include only one hard drive to store data; servers usually contain multiple drives that are configured to appear as a single, unified data storage system called a RAID configuration. A RAID setup is typically used to help servers recover data in case any single disk fails, storing the information on multiple disks in different ways so that a hardware failure doesn’t mean losing all of your precious data. Many entry-level servers also use hot-swappable hard drives, which can be changed out without shutting down the server and interrupting service, unlike a desktop, which must be shut down to change hardware.

The infographic above covers even more of the differences between servers and desktops, and it makes it clear that a company’s increasing technology needs are probably best met through a server of some type. The faster your company is growing, the bigger you may want to think, both in terms of storage and performance, for any IT infrastructure you’re looking to put in place. That way, you’ll extend the life-cycle of any device you do purchase, and make sure that your growing company has its technology needs met for the foreseeable future.

Brian Jenson works with Dell. In his spare time he enjoys traveling, cooking and spending time with his family. He has a passion for learning and writing about all things technology.

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