Why a server older than 5 years is a serious risk to your business

If you have a server, it is a vital part of your business. At Computer Geeks we recommend our clients consider server replacement at the 5-year mark, here’s a short list we’ve put together to explain why:

Servers older than 5 years are more likely to encounter a hardware issue

Typically, servers are running 24/7, 365 days a year. During this time fans and hard disks spin millions of times, heat is generated, and dust is accumulated! All these things gradually age the server and eventually result in a piece of hardware which is less reliable.We’ve seen first-hand that servers aged 5 years and older are far more likely to encounter hardware issues that require direct and immediate intervention to limit the affect it has on the business.

Projects to replace servers older than 5 years are typically longer and more disruptive

Older servers are typically non-virtualised or running older server operating systems (see point 4 below). As a result of this, any project to migrate to a new server infrastructure will be more complex, cost more (in professional services) and result in longer periods of downtime.

Old servers are less energy efficient

Whilst “Moore’s Law”, which is the doubling of transistors on microchips every 2 years, no longer applies in the strictest terms, we’re still seeing exponential improvements to server hardware.

Modern processors provide more performance per watt, power supplies are more efficient and Solid-State Drives use less energy than an equivalent Hard Disk.

This means replacing your old server with new hardware is likely to give you increased performance at equal or lower energy usage.

Older servers are more likely to be running an Operating System at or near to EOL and out of support

It may sound obvious, but an older server is probably running an older Operating System.

This is important for several reasons:

1. Older Operating Systems don’t contain the features and improvements associated with new releases
2. 3rd Party Vendors will typically focus their support on the two latest releases of a server Operating System
3. Certain crucial applications may no longer be supported on older Operating Systems releases
4. Microsoft will drop support of older Operating Systems, at which point they no longer release critical security updates (Windows Server 2012 R2 is reaching End Of Life on October 10 2023)

Your server may well be doing more than you think

Whilst your server is likely performing a number of roles you’re acutely aware of, for example hosting that critical ERP system, or providing access to file shares, it’s almost certainly carrying out a number of other key roles behind the scenes, these include:

• Translating human readable domain names (e.g., www.geeks.co.uk) to IP addresses, allowing you to access external resources such as webpages
• Assigning IP addresses to devices on your network, allowing them to communicate both internally and with external services
• Authenticating users, allowing you to log-on to devices and access resources appropriate to their job role

Is your server nearing 5 years, or even over 5 years old? Get in touch, our mission is to take the worry out of IT, whilst providing the right technical recommendations and support, our friendly team are happy to assist you, whether that be a server replacement or moving to the Cloud.

0117 325 0370 or hello@geeks.co.uk